Patton Valley

Stinky

Stinky

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There any Patton Valley goers here?  

How long does it take to get from the parking area to the dunes?  What sort of Ranger presence is there in the area?  What sort of knuckle-head presence is there in the area (boo-boo heads that do their engine tuning at 10p, and etc.?

 
Last I heard, it was almost impossible to get there from Gordon's without getting into restricted areas.. 

@Big_Daddy_Jp will know, he practically lives out there.

 
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Camping at Gordon’s doesn’t have access to Patton Valley without going through the dunes. You used to be able to go down the sand highway and cut in but now the closures are blocking that access. The Ranger presence is hit and miss out in the dunes. I can’t speak for buggy flats at Gordon’s as I stopped camping in that area over 20 years ago. I camp at Ogilby and the Rangers hardly ever come by anymore. I was there for 9 days during Thanksgiving and never saw one. Had one come into our camp new years trip but he was super cool.

 
Red way, 20 minutes if moving at a decent speed and in a hurry to get to the destination, and legal (most people cut through a small finger if the closure (red line to the left and I've never seen a ranger monitor that space). Blue way 10 minutes and typically no rangers on off-weekends...But I've seen them during busy weekend monitoring the area on more than one occasion. Play at your own risk.

Screenshot 2024-01-10 191825.png

 
Let me rephrase the question as it was poorly worded....Using Wesinls' map, in the upper right corner is a camp-ground....

What is it like between there and the dunes?  

And, what is it like at that camp-ground?

Big Daddy, you say that you camp at Ogilby.  Do you mean the spot in the map or at Ogilby Road and I-8?

 
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I camp at Ogilby road and the I-8. Turn in at the first tower. Now the campground you’re talking about is the actual Ogilby Campground. I’ve never camped there but have friends that do. That is the way we go into Patton’s Valley. I can’t say how the Ranger sightings are there but I do know that the road in used to get soft. Seems most of it is graded now so probably not a problem. The dunes you go through from the campground to Patton’s are small and windy. Very easy to drive through. Kids have no problem following through there. I actually duned my Jeep grand cherokee through there one time just cruising. From that camp ground to Patton Valley is probably 10-15 minutes.

 
The little dunes between Ogilby Rd and Patton are very choppy and rough this year. Traditionally there have been a few nice lines through it but haven't found a good one yet this year. The blue line on Wesinls map we saw a ranger in a canam sitting at the sand hihgway entrance to Patton a few times over New Years. Easy to take the other route if you are on the sand highway side but if you are coming out of Patton and the ranger is there you are a sitting duck. 

 
The handful of times I took the blue route I saw rangers and had to reroute. Duning there it is easy to end up in a closure if you don’t know where they are. Even still, I took the red route but chose the left road. Thought we were far enough over but ended up in the closure. Ran right into a ranger that was nice enough to only ticket one of us and not the whole group. Need to take the far right red route to stay clean. If you camp at Ogilby campground, you can drive straight in without worry of closures. When you leave Pattons stay to the left if headed to Swingset or Test. Saw Rangers at Pattons New years waiting near the closure. I think the closures are BS but still try to respect them as I don’t want my mistakes to cause our playground to be taken away. I also don’t blame the Rangers as they are just doing their job.

 
Big Daddy....traditionally we go to Buttercup, somewhat near the Ranger's office.  This New Years I was left alone on Saturday.  I did something that you aren't supposed to do...I went out by myself.....if that was possible during the New Year's rush.  Sunday I moved over to you area ar Ogilby and I-8.  I rode that side for the 1st time in a long time. It took me, I think 10-15 min to the dunes, and 20 min to the top of Test (through the dunes, which is not direct) and 40 min back from DB Flat.  I'd never been to the Love-Nest, Swing-Set and the south side of Patton Valley.

In the early 80s, we camped at the campground at Ogilby and the RR Tracks.  But, I've never made the drive from there to Patton Valley.  I knew guys that went there, from Yuma, but they never took me.  It looked like a long way.

One of our deals was, in June, we'd work a night shift, in Yuma, get off be there are 1a, be home at 4a, and gotten 2 hours of riding in.  In Total, from town, to the dunes, to town, we'd have less than an hour's worth of driving....total everything else was duning.  Where we park is less than a minute from the dunes....the long way.  We are really reluctant to go to a new place and add 20 minutes to our dunes ride, that is really sort of a waste (10min each way). 

We can tell the kids, go over to those dunes right there, stay w/in sight of camp, and not really limit their ride at all (these are the dunes between the All-Am and the Ranger Station/Cul-de-Sac.

 
Hilarious that thousands of us MUST and are forced by armed law enforcement to pay and display camping fees and obey vague closures of open desert while the streets of California are congested with illegal camping and the entire border is flooded with millions of illegal crossings onto federal land, private property and sensitive habitat.

 
Bansh88 said:
Hilarious that thousands of us MUST and are forced by armed law enforcement to pay and display camping fees and obey vague closures of open desert while the streets of California are congested with illegal camping and the entire border is flooded with millions of illegal crossings onto federal land, private property and sensitive habitat.
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Seems like they're paying too much attention to the wrong crowd. I see your point @Bansh88 What's more important? Then again..........us Duners can afford the ticket. Peace

 
Facts are the best dunes skirt the closures and it is easy to find yourself inside the closure just flowing with the dunes.  This map is really good and simple, thanks for sharing.  All those people that used to camp in Gordons are now squeezed into Glamis, very sad.

 
There are pros and cons to every area we all camp in. You just need to pick which one best suits your family and style of riding. I love Glamis but will only go on off weekends. I don’t ever plan to camp at Gordon’s again due to the closures and tired of being the only 4x4 to pull people out! As for Buttercup, I haven’t camped there in many moons. I wouldn’t be opposed to it but I do remember the dunes being more stacked on top of each other and easy to run through them in a short period of time. As I said it’s been a long time so I could be wrong? 

 
Big_Daddy_Jp said:
There are pros and cons to every area we all camp in. You just need to pick which one best suits your family and style of riding. I love Glamis but will only go on off weekends. I don’t ever plan to camp at Gordon’s again due to the closures and tired of being the only 4x4 to pull people out! As for Buttercup, I haven’t camped there in many moons. I wouldn’t be opposed to it but I do remember the dunes being more stacked on top of each other and easy to run through them in a short period of time. As I said it’s been a long time so I could be wrong? 
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You're correct @Big_Daddy_Jp Buttercup is quick and easy off the 8. Our group has a specific run we take. It works for us. Good dunes. good Runs. If we run into trouble, our group knows where we'll most likely be. Peace

 
Buttercup Dunes, easy camping, even on Holidays.  The dunes flow and are predictable, but not a lot of them.  If you are on a quad, there is a lot to explore towards the borders, they are too tight for sand cars.  We go there every Thanksgiving to stay away from the crowds (over 30 years now).  But for us it is more of a camping trip than a riding trip.  It is especially good place to teach newbies how to dune as well.

 
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