Randsburg OHV. What is closed, what is open, what you need.

Since March 24, 2026, and until further notice, every West Mojave (WEMO) BLM route in desert tortoise or Lane Mountain milk-vetch critical habitat is closed to off-highway recreation. BLM says that includes street-legal vehicles used for recreation, so a plated dual sport is not an exception.

The order comes from a federal court case over BLM’s West Mojave route plan. About 63% of West Mojave routes stay open, and BLM’s revised plan is due by October 14, 2029.

On BLM’s closure map, Randsburg and Johannesburg sit inside the critical habitat boundary, and the routes around town, including the Rand Mountains to the south and west, are marked closed. Routes north of town toward the El Paso Mountains and Ridgecrest are marked limited use: designated routes only.

The court order brought back the Rand Mountains permit system: required education and a free, but required, permit. Download the permit, sign that you understand the route map, and carry it while you ride.

• Limited-use area: a route is closed unless a brown numbered post signs it open.
• Off-route riding: a fine of up to $1,000, up to 12 months in jail, or both.
• Noise: 96 dBA for bikes built in 1986 or later, 101 dBA for older ones.
• Equipment: a spark arrester, plus a headlight and red taillight at night.
• Also: no target shooting, and old mine tailings here contain arsenic.

BLM’s closure map marks the Rand Mountains routes closed while the permit is still required, and no BLM page says which Rand Mountains routes are open. The BLM Ridgecrest Field Office is the one that knows.

BLM lists these designated OHV areas as still open: Dove Springs, Jawbone Canyon, Spangler Hills, Olancha Dunes, El Mirage, Johnson Valley, Stoddard Valley, Dumont Dunes and Rasor.

Spangler Hills

95,220 acres open to cross-country riding, outside the closure boundary. From Red Mountain on US 395, take Trona-Red Mountain Road seven miles north to the boundary; Teagle Wash staging is two miles farther.

Jawbone Canyon

An open riding area, with designated routes only (brown markers) outside it. Primitive camping is allowed throughout, up to 14 days, with no fees. The Jawbone Canyon Visitor Center is open daily, 8:30 AM to 4 PM, closed 1 to 1:30, and sells the nonresident permit.

Dove Springs

More than 5,000 acres of open riding, entered off Highway 14.

Red Rock Canyon State Park

Licensed vehicles, street-legal or green-sticker, may use the park’s dirt roads, and every driver must be licensed. Nightmare Gulch is temporarily closed, and Ruins Ridge, Steep Trail and the Steep Trail complex are permanently closed to vehicles. Kern County lists Abbott Drive, the park’s campground road, as closed.

Not open to bikes

The El Paso Mountains Wilderness is closed to motor vehicles and bicycles.

• Plated, street-legal dual sport: no sticker needed.
• Green sticker: $54, good for two years.
• Red sticker: 2003 to 2021 bikes that do not meet California emissions rules. 2022 and newer non-compliant bikes are competition only.
• Out-of-state bike: no California sticker if it has valid home-state OHV registration. Otherwise, a $30 nonresident permit, good for the calendar year.

BLM Ridgecrest Field Office: 300 S. Richmond Road, Ridgecrest. Public room open 8 AM to 4 PM, Monday through Thursday. 760-384-5400.

Jawbone Canyon Visitor Center: on Jawbone Canyon Road off Highway 14. 760-373-1146.

For the town itself, see our Randsburg, CA guide.