Closed Sand Dune Areas
Rice Valley Dunes
Rice Valley Dunes are now closed to vehicles
Location: Approximately 35 miles north of Blythe, CA. Just south of
Highway 62 near old Rice Airfield.
Directions:
Highway 62 to South on Santa Fe Rd.
Access Road and BLM Kiosk were located off of Highway 62 at GPS coordinates:
34° 05 20N, -114° 44 26W
Description:
Formerly designated specifically for OHV recreation. Small rolling dunes
with some vegetation.
Managed By: BLM - Palm
Springs
Size: 3,770 acres
Date of Closure: December 2002
Type of Closure: Permanent
Reason for Closure:
BLM determined area was "under-utilized". Designation was changed
to "closed" through the Northern and Eastern Colorado Desert (NECO)
Coordinated Management
Plan, an amendment to the CDCA Plan. The Record of Decision for this plan
amendment was signed in December 2002.
"The two small open areas, Rice, and Ford Dry Lake, we propose to close
and keep them closed. We have said that the reasons are they are high value
habitat for species and low use on recreation -- basically no use in 20
years." Dick Crowe, BLM from BLM
DAC Meeting Minutes - June 2, 2002
BLM
Approves Northern and Eastern Mojave Plan (BLM Press Release) - December 20,
2002
Other information:
-
Rice Airfield (World War II) is just to the north of the
dunes (forms a "V")
-
Remnants of Camp Rice can also be seen south of Hwy 62, and
NE of Rice Airfield
-
Several online OHV guides still list the area as open
-
Rice Valley Dunes are near the Rice
Valley Wilderness Area (41,643 acres), but are not designated as
Wilderness.
Endangered or Threatened Species:
Map:
Rice Valley Dunes from Google Maps showing the boundaries of the designated
OHV recreation area
Google Maps screenshot - White line show approximate location of the now
closed access road. Access Road and BLM Kiosk were located off of Highway 62 at GPS coordinates:
34° 05 20N, -114° 44 26W
Other Photos:
Links:
Back to Closed Dunes
Back to Sand Dune Guide
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