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Nearby · BLM land · Off-highway vehicle area

Dove Springs OHV Area, California

A sandy bowl and hill climbs just north of Red Rock Canyon State Park, open to cross-country riding, with primitive camping and none of the comforts. Desert tortoises live inside the riding area.

Last reviewed · 16 sources

At a glance

Managed by
Bureau of Land Management; listed by its Ridgecrest Field Office21
Where
Off Highway 14 just north of Red Rock Canyon State Park; the entrance is on SC 941
Size
More than 5,000 acres of open riding1
Fee
None listed1
2026 closures
BLM lists Dove Springs among the riding areas that remain accessible4
Water
None for camping; arrive self-contained6
BLM office
Ridgecrest Field Office, (760) 384-54002

What is Dove Springs?

Sandy riding trails winding through desert scrub dotted with yellow spring flowers in the Dove Springs OHV area, with dirt tracks climbing the brown hills beyond and a mountain range behind.
Trails in the Dove Springs OHV area, on BLM land north of town, April 2023. “Dove Springs OHV Area”, photo by Jesse Pluim, Bureau of Land Management, via Wikimedia Commons, public domain; resized and converted to WebP.

Dove Springs is an off-highway vehicle area of more than 5,000 acres of open-use public land, where BLM describes the riding as anything from cross-country play in the sandy bowl to steep hill climbs. The bowl is also a starting point for the trail riding in the wider region.1 BLM’s Ridgecrest Field Office lists it among its OHV areas, with Jawbone Canyon.2 As at Jawbone, the state’s Onyx Ranch State Vehicular Recreation Area land is laid out in a checkerboard among the BLM land.6

Outside the open area, riding is restricted to the designated route network.3 For what that means in practice, and the rules on paved and maintained roads, see where you may ride on the Jawbone Canyon page.

How do you get to Dove Springs?

A brown Bureau of Land Management sign reading Dove Springs Off Highway Vehicle Area beside a sandy road lined with green shrubs and yellow wildflowers.
The Dove Springs sign, April 2023. “Dove Springs OHV Area”, photo by Jesse Pluim, Bureau of Land Management, via Wikimedia Commons, public domain; resized from Wikimedia Commons' 3,840px rendering.

BLM puts Dove Springs off Highway 14 just north of Red Rock Canyon State Park, about 30 miles north of the junction of Highways 14 and 58 in Mojave. The entrance is on SC 94: a left turn from Highway 14 when driving north, a right turn when driving south.1 See getting to California City for the roads from town, and Red Rock Canyon State Park for the park just to the south, which has its own rules for vehicles.

Is Dove Springs open in 2026?

Since 24 March 2026 a federal court order has closed every BLM route in desert tortoise critical habitat in the western Mojave to off-highway recreation, including recreational use of street-legal vehicles. BLM lists Dove Springs among the designated riding areas that remain accessible.4 The federal government has appealed the order.5 Check BLM’s route-network page before riding the routes beyond the open area.4

What do you need to ride: stickers, permits and equipment

  • Any vehicle that is not street legal needs a California green or red sticker.1 Since 1 January 2025 red stickers are valid year-round in areas designated for OHV use, like green ones.7
  • Riders from outside California must comply with all California OHV rules, and an OHV not registered in its home state needs a California nonresident permit.1
  • An approved muffler, brakes and a spark arrester are required.1
  • ATV riders under 14 must be supervised by a parent or guardian, all ATV riders must wear a helmet, and ATVs may not carry passengers.1
  • No glass containers, no firewood with nails, screws or metal (no pallets), no fireworks, and no riding under the influence.1

Can you camp at Dove Springs?

Friends of Jawbone says the whole OHV area and the public land around it are open to primitive camping, with numerous camping and staging areas.3 BLM’s Dove Springs page lists no stay limit; its general rule for dispersed camping is 14 days in any 28-day period, after which you move on, often 25 to 30 miles.18 You may not camp within 200 yards of a water source.9

What is the weather like at Dove Springs?

BLM describes the area as hot and arid, with summer highs from 100 to 120°F, winter lows that can drop below freezing with daytime highs in the 70s, and winds that are frequent and strong.1

This site’s live forecast and wind outlook are for California City, not Dove Springs: see California City weather and riding conditions and the wind forecast.

Desert tortoises in the riding area

BLM notes that desert tortoises are found within the riding area.1 The tortoise has been listed as threatened under the federal Endangered Species Act since 1990,13 and in June 2025 California moved it from threatened to endangered under state law.14 BLM’s Dove Springs page still describes it as threatened in both.1 The advice the Desert Tortoise Preserve Committee gives at its natural area near California City holds here too: check under your vehicle and in front of the tyres before driving off.16

One note on the name: the fossil-rich Dove Spring Formation is described by the California Geological Survey as part of the rock sequence at neighbouring Red Rock Canyon State Park.15

Sources

Every fee, rule, distance and date above traces to one of these, checked on the review date. Rules, closures and fees change: where it matters, confirm with the managing agency before you go. If something here is wrong, tell us and it will be fixed.

  1. 1.Dove Springs OHV Area. Bureau of Land Management.
  2. 2.Ridgecrest Field Office. Bureau of Land Management.The office's address and phone, the areas it manages, and the Jawbone Canyon visitor center's address, hours and phone.
  3. 3.Dove Springs OHV Open Area. Friends of Jawbone.
  4. 4.West Mojave Plan route network. Bureau of Land Management.BLM's notice of the court-ordered closure of routes in desert tortoise critical habitat to OHV recreation from 24 March 2026, the areas that remain open, and the Rand Mountains permit.
  5. 5.BRC files intervention in Ninth Circuit appeal of WEMO closures. BlueRibbon Coalition (an off-highway access advocacy group), 6 May 2026.Reports the federal government's notice of appeal. An advocacy source, used only for the fact of the appeal.
  6. 6.Onyx Ranch SVRA. California State Parks, Off-Highway Motor Vehicle Recreation Division.The state vehicular recreation area laid out in a checkerboard among the BLM land at Jawbone and Dove Springs; states that no water or hookups are available for camping in the area.
  7. 7.OHV Information Bulletin, vol. 24, no. 3. California State Parks, Off-Highway Motor Vehicle Recreation Division, 19 December 2024.Red-sticker vehicles may ride year-round in areas designated for OHV use from 1 January 2025.
  8. 8.Camping. Bureau of Land Management.
  9. 9.On BLM Land. Friends of Jawbone.
  10. 10.Safety. Friends of Jawbone.
  11. 11.California fire information and restrictions. Bureau of Land Management.Current restrictions by field office, including Stage I rules for Ridgecrest and the free California Campfire Permit.
  12. 12.BLM announces seasonal fire restrictions for southern California. Bureau of Land Management, 14 April 2026.
  13. 13.Rand Mountains Management Area permit and map. Bureau of Land Management, 23 March 2026.The free permit itself, with the area's rules, history, tortoise information and the 2026 closure notice.
  14. 14.News & Press. Desert Tortoise Preserve Committee.
  15. 15.Geological Gems of California State Parks, GeoGem Note 38: Red Rock Canyon State Park. California Geological Survey, for California State Parks, 2010, published 2015.
  16. 16.Visiting the DTRNA. Desert Tortoise Preserve Committee.