California has several great places to ride dirt bikes, and the Jawbone Canyon Off-Highway Vehicle Area and the Dove Springs Off-Highway Vehicle Area, both near the town of Mojave in southern California, are a couple of them.
They are both managed by the U.S. Bureau of Land Management.
The Jawbone OHV area offers more than 7,000 acres of open-use public land you can ride. The OHV area offers cross-country riding as well as advanced technical routes. Outside the OHV area, riding is restricted to designated routes marked with brown trail markers.
Travel maps are available at the Ridgecrest Field Office at 300 S. Richmond Road, Ridgecrest, Calif., (760) 384-5400, or the Jawbone Canyon OHV Station at the entrance to Jawbone Canyon off State Highway 14.
The Jawbone open area is off State Highway 14, about 20 miles north of the intersection of State Highway 14 and 58 in the town of Mojave. It’s a left turn from State Highway 14 onto Jawbone Canyon Road when traveling from the south, and a right turn onto Jawbone Canyon Road when traveling from the north.
There are three vault toilets located in the area. Food and fuel are available in the town of Mojave. The nearest medical facilities are in the city of Ridgecrest and in Lancaster.
The entire OHV area and surrounding public land are open to primitive camping. Within Jawbone Canyon itself, there are a number of excellent primitive camping sites and OHV staging/off-loading areas. Most of the sites in the OHV area are accessible by two-wheel drive vehicles with trailers.
“Green sticker” OHV registration is mandatory for all vehicles that aren’t street legal. Visitors from outside California must have a valid permit/registration from an OHV program in their home state. If the rider doesn’t have one, then he or she must buy a “nonresident OHV permit” for California. This sticker can be purchased at the Jawbone OHV Station.
The Mojave Desert is home to the desert tortoise. Collecting or harassing a desert tortoise is illegal.
For more information, go to www.blm.gov/visit/jawbone-canyon-ohv-area.
The Dove Springs OHV Area encompasses more than 5,000 acres and features everything from a sandy bowl to ride in to steep hills to climb.
Dove Springs is located off State Route 14, just north of Red Rock Canyon State Park, about 30 miles north of the intersection of State Routes 14 and 58 in the town of Mojave. The entrance to Dove Springs OHV area is on SC 94. Traveling from the south, make a left turn from SR 14 onto SC 94. Traveling from the north, make a right turn onto SC 94.
The entire OHV area and surrounding public lands are open to primitive camping. Within the Dove Springs area there are numerous camping and OHV staging/offloading areas.
“Green sticker” OHV registration is mandatory for all vehicles that aren’t street legal. Visitors from outside California must have a valid permit/registration from an OHV program in their home state. If the rider doesn’t have one, then he or she must buy a “nonresident OHV permit” for California. This sticker can be purchased at the Jawbone OHV Station.
For more information, go to www.blm.gov/visit/Dove-Springs-OHV-Area.