Desert Camping and Hiking

We are loving being back in our van, finding remote dispersed camping spots and hiking new trails.

Hiking to Lake Havasu

As we left Scottsdale, I wanted to target an area I had never been but Julie knew well: Lake Havasu City. Julie remembers going there for parades while she was in high school marching band: full poly and wool uniforms in the pleasant Arizona desert sunshine.

Just south of town we pulled into SARA Park, home to a rodeo venue, racetrack, RC aircraft park, and of course hiking trails.

Julie descends down the crack

Julie and I hiked the 5 mile out and back to the lake via the crack in the mountain trail, a fun walk down a wash with a few small slot canyon-like traverses. The weather was perfect as we worked out way down. On the return via the upland ridge trail we saw dark skies that turned into some distant rumbles and worries of lightning. We high-tailed it in!

Just north of Lake Havasu City we found some great BLM land to boondock. It was crowded, but there was so much space that we still felt secluded.

Our campground in Rainbow Basin

Our next night was spent north of Barstow in the Owl Canyon area, BLM land that is part of the Rainbow Basin Natural Area. This is a bit different than BLM dispersed camping as it was an established campground with a nominal $6 feet. We probably could have found a pullout outside of the campground, but close access to the trailhead and some pit toilets made the stay worthwhile.