Boulders OHV Area

I was staying at Lake Pleasant while visiting friends in Phoenix and decided to stay a couple of extra days but Lake Pleasant was completely booked for some event. Friday, Feb 24th-Sun 26th. I did try staying a mile down the road at Castle Hot Springs Road but It was a little scary. I left a review of my experience. Anyways, I am glad I decided to drive a little farther down the road. I followed in a large RV on a dirt road that was nicely graded and very wide. I was surprised how big this place was when I entered. I saw several groups of huge Toy Haulers and Large RVs all around with plenty of space for others to be away from them. I drove around to the backside of the area behind the bathrooms. I was able to find a nice spot by a trail leading to them. The bathrooms were pit toilets but very clean and not smelly.. I saw two picnic tables but in odd locations. I think they were mainly for day use since they were so close to road that someone trying to camp using them would get ran over. *smiles*

The draw back to all the large RVs, Wow, and there was a lot of them was that they all had generators and they were running well into the night. Even the little A-Frame hard shell tent trailer next to me had a small generator. But, I did feel safe and it was nice to see that the RV that I followed in was a nice older couple with their grand kids. The kids were riding their bicycles around the area which made me smile. Plus, I did notice big signs stating no shooting allowed on the premises which brought a bigger smile after my earlier experience.

I have Google Fi and it was a little difficult to get a connection but I did get a weak one as I wandered around my camp.

clean nice views mainly quiet at night be aware of all the ATVs and four wheel drive vehicles going out there during the day it's a pretty hotspot

We arrived at 1a after a long drive. The site was easy to find and close to he highway. There were lots of dirt bikes and pick up trucks coming in and out. Lots of dust. We woke and left instead of spending the day.

I arrived on a Tuesday and it was not too busy. Just a few dirtbikes. It got busy Friday night though and was fairly noisy. Left Saturday morning as I had an appointment in Phoenix. This made a good layover place. There is plenty of room and my spot was level enough I didn't even unhook. Nice views and hiking. Heard lots of coyote close by. Did even see a wild burro. It would not be my cup of tea on the weekend.

Fairly large open area, mostly level. OHV staging area can be very busy on Saturday and Sunday, mostly day users so very quiet at night. Much better than the Old Airstrip, drove by there on Sunday, easily 10 times more rigs there lining both sides of the airstrip. I have a Jeep and have been off roading since the late ‘60’s, don’t go to either of these places if you’re looking for peace and quiet. I stayed Saturday through Wednesday, and would stay again. Verizon cell service marginal, a lot of 0 or 1 bar 1X (extended) occasional 1 or 2 bar LTE.

This spot would have ranked 5 stars if there was faster Verizon coverage and water. But since it's free and the trails are excellent, it still gets 4 stars. We have a KLR adventure bike and had a blast on the trails. The entire area behind Lake Pleasant, off Castle Hot Springs Rd, is gorgeous and great riding.

Thanks to other reviews we knew to continue past the vault toilet (the only service on site) and then go around to the left and back to a large circular area. We were easily able to get our big rig lined up with the fence that surrounds the area and separates it from a nice natural area so that it felt like we had a really private spot; our windows and door opened up to the natural area and no other rigs were in sight. There are absolutely no size considerations. There were plenty of huge toy haulers and even some Class A's comfortably parked. There were also several tent campers and some other folks who were not there for the riding - no toys. The one mile dirt road from the highway to the staging area is rough but OK.

Since there's no water on site, we stopped at the Escapees North Ranch RV Park in Congress to fill our water tank. The other alternative is to pay the day use fee at Lake Pleasant Regional Park (about 10 miles to the East) and fill water tanks there. This is where we dumped tanks after a 14 day stay.

Whatever you do, do NOT set up in the large staging area, which is the first open area you come to. This is where all the day-use folks park and off load bikes and Razrs and it's pretty busy on weekends. As I mentioned above, continue past the vault toilet and then turn left. There is a large open area there and, if you continue to the left, we see the dirt road that leads to a nice cul-de-sac.

Additional info: There is zero signage on Highway 74 to mark the turn off. But Google Maps is dead on. Even though we didn't see anyone checking for permits, we paid for the AZ Land Trust Permit (purchased on line). If you will be driving in from the west and going through Wickenburg, be aware of the low clearance RR bridge in downtown. We have a 5W that definitely exceeds the height limit (another reason to detour through Congress enroute). There's a great little restaurant at the marina in Lake Pleasant Regional Park.

Although I knew it may be a bad idea we arrived on a Sunday afternoon from Wickenburg and the place was packed with off-roaders of all sorts. Keep in mind this is a designated area for off-roading vehicles to go and play with their toys and camp if they choose. This is great for the state to provide such an area for the people to use. Do not go here if the sound of dirt bikes or dust bother you. Thanks to the reviewer who described the area and google maps we found a great spot past and around behind the toilet. The fenced in path goes back about 1/4 mile with areas to either side to set up camp. There also is only one trail at the end of that area so the amount of dust kicked up is much less than in the main area where most people are loading and unloading their toys. During the week it was rather quiet with a few dirt bikes and side by sides coming and going. The weekends were a different story with many rvs showing up and riders of all sorts. It was fun to watch all the different toys rip around out there. There was even a group of about 20 or so rvs that showed up for what appeared to be a family reunion. Aside from the music till one in the morning, they cleaned up all of their trash and packed out as you need to here, so more power to them. We heard several wild burros here and there but never made a visual. There was some nails and glass here and there, but not any worse than some of the blm spots we’ve been to. All and all a great spot

The turn off comes up quick and the sign is back off the road.
We arrived on a Tuesday and thanks to previous comments, we found a nice spot after the pit toilet to the left. There were several campers there, some looked like they’d been there awhile, but it wasn’t over crowded. This is an OHV site so there was noise and dust. Everyone was very respectful at night. People did not run generators all night so it was quiet. We had several beautiful rides in our side by side. We are not adrenaline junkies so it was pleasant.
We left on Friday and it looked like they were setting up for a race or something over the weekend so we can’t report on the weekend crowd.
If you want a camp fire you must bring your own wood.

Easy access off 74 of dirt/rock road but no issues with any vehicle getting in. There are several spots separate from the OHV staging area where day users normally park. Go beyond fit toilets and make a left. During the week it is relatively low key but the weekends get very busy. Had one large group that came in and had little regard for quiet hours with music playing and continued operating OHV's till near midnight. Most of the OHV day users unload, head out riding, return, load and go. Always amazed when various people taking advantage of this free area leave trash when they leave. Fortunatley either BLM staff checking on the place or other users seemed to be packing out the trash. I would stay here again but only for 1 or two nights during the week. Beautiful desert cactus surroundings. Heard buros at night and observed droppings but never saw any.

So, a few things……..the trail riding is great. Check the maps, though, because we found ourselves on some trails that were more technical and dangerous than we expected. The sites were great, busy during the weekends, with day users, and quiet during the week. No issue getting our big rig set up. Exactly as described by others.

Beautiful sunrises and sunsets. Nice for the dogs, once they learned to stay out of the cacti. Close to Phoenix.

For amenities, we made a couple trips into Surprise AZ for major need…… groceries, Walgreens, UPS store, etc. But, if all you need is supplemental water and a great hardware store, head to Whittmann. DelGado’s Hardware, in Whittmann, is owned by the nicest people on the planet. They have basic supplies, as well as DEF, and they let us put trash in their dumpster, (if you know, you know!). On the corner in Whittmann, you can get good, clean, municipal water that pumps about 100 gallons per minute for $.25, (no, I’m not exaggerating….). You can’t fill your RV tanks with a hose here, but if you have a supplemental tank, and you need a refill, this is the place to refill.

This place is great. We will be back.