Best Four-wheel-drive Trek

With an area stretching 40 miles long and six to eight miles wide, it's no wonder the Imperial Sand Dunes has been named Yuma's Best Four-wheel-drive Trek.

"The vastness of the dunes affords great opportunity to those inclined to that kind of recreation," said Stephen Razo, external affairs director with the California Desert District of the U.S. Bureau of Land Management.

Because of the area's multiple-use mandate, it is also used for other activities, such as hiking and photography, but the majority are off-road vehicles, he said.

"For off-roading, the area affords a great experience because of the amount of space available to ride off road."

The Imperial Sand Dunes is a great location for family-oriented recreation, and an average of 1.2 million visitors per year recreate there, he said. Though the area is open to the public year-round, it is busiest during the six major holiday weekends.

"We're very proud and happy to have achieved that (Yuma's Best) rating, and we feel it is a result of our off-road recreators at the dunes that are very responsible recreators. They do recreate safely."

The BLM works in conjunction with United Desert Gateway, the American Sand Association, Imperial County and other state and federal organizations to ensure that Imperial Sand Dunes remains a safe recreation experience while protecting natural resources that are there, he said.

Nationwide, it is considered one of the top 10 best places to recreate in BLM system, he said.

For more information, call the El Centro BLM Managing Field Office at 1-760-337-4400.