OCOTILLO WELLS STATE VEHICULAR RECREATION AREA
Welcome to the Ocotillo Wells State Vehicular Recreation Area. More than 80,000 acres of magnificent desert are open for off-highway exploration and recreation within the boundaries portrayed on the park map are operated by California State Parks. Outside the boundaries, to the south and east, large tracts of BLM land (U.S. Department of the Interior, Bureau of Land Management) are also open to off-highway vehicles. The western boundary and part of the northern boundary connect with the half-million acre Anza-Borrego Desert State Park, which is closed to off-highway recreation, but open to exploration by highway-legal vehicles along established primitive roads.
The rangers and staff of Ocotillo Wells are dedicated to providing a safe and enjoyable desert riding environment, and to ensuring that a quality experience remains available for future generations.
No fees are collected for camping or day use. Open camping is permitted throughout the unit for up to 30 days per calendar year. Vault toilets, shade ramadas, picnic tables, and fire rings are located in the Quarry, Main Street, and Holmes Camp areas. Water is not available. Vehicle repair shops, fuel, telephones, groceries, a motel and restaurants are available in the neighboring small town of Ocotillo Wells and along Highway 78 where it borders the park.
Ocotillo Wells is open seven days a week, 24 hours a day. Open camping is available throughout the park for up to 30 days per calendar year. Camping is not permitted at the Shell Reef, Devils Slide, and Blow Sand Hill areas. If you are in a self-contained vehicle with holding tanks, fill your tanks before you arrive?water filling stations are not available. Also, the park does not have a dump station for your waste water disposal.
Vault restrooms and limited shade ramadas are located in the Quarry, Cove, Main Street, Holly Road, and Hidden Valley areas. Pay showers are available only in Holmes Camp and Ranger Station Road. The pay showers accept quarters.
Vehicle repair shops, restaurants, and motels are available in the towns of Borrego Springs, Salton Sea, and Ocotillo Wells.