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Local Knowledge

Tips & Tricks

Decades of dune experience, condensed. Read this before your first trip in. It's cheaper than learning it the hard way.

The #1 rule GO SLOW when you are going into the dunes. Most serious accidents happen on the way in.
Every Rider

Ride Smart

  • Take a safety course. Formal ATV training under a certified instructor is recommended for everyone and mandatory for riders under 18.
  • Gear up. Every ATV rider must wear a helmet and should wear proper protective clothing.
  • Learn the terrain first. Know the telltale signs of a slipface before you need to. Avoid surprises.
  • Be cautious heading east. Slipfaces normally face east; the steep drop is on the side you can't see coming.
  • Know your controls cold before you open it up, and ride within your limits. When in doubt, stop and look it over.
  • Ride with a buddy. Going off into the dunes alone is not recommended.
Trucks & Buggies

Four Wheels in the Dunes

  • Focus on the short-term horizons. Drive in arcing right-hand turns to come parallel with them so you can see into the slipfaces. Some drop 100 feet straight down.
  • Never drive straight up to a horizon. You can't see the conditions ahead, and stopping on an uphill (or hoping for the best) is how bad days start.
  • Buggies: use angles. Trucks can usually take a dune slow and straight-on, but a lighter buggy will high-center and sink to the frame. Enter and exit dunes on a slight angle.
  • Exit at an angle too so you don't high-center going up and out.
  • Never brake or fully lift off the throttle while climbing a dune.
  • Bring a tow rope. Most dune rescues take two.
Recovery

If You Get Stuck

  1. Air down. Drop tire pressure, but not below 15 PSI.

  2. Dig out the sand from around your tires.

  3. Push straight. Recruit friends, keep the front wheels straight, and drive gently forward or backward. Never spin the wheels; that only digs you deeper.

  4. Call for a tow if all else fails; beach towing is available.

Before you enter the park Find a real tow point on your vehicle. Most newer cars are wrapped in plastic below the frame, so a strap on a bumper cover rips panels off instead of recovering the car. If your vehicle has no safe towing access, don't drive it on the sand.
In the Water

Swimming & Riptides

Dangerous currents called riptides form from the combination of wave action and the shape of the shoreline.

  • Caught in a rip? Don't fight it. Never swim against the current.
  • Swim parallel to the shore until you're out of the rip, then make your way in.
  • Lifeguards are on duty at Oceano Dunes SVRA from June through Labor Day.
Warning sign: dune conditions are always changing, be prepared for sudden drop-offs
The Sign Says It All

Dune Conditions Are Always Changing

The park posts exactly one warning in big letters: be prepared for sudden drop-offs. The wind rebuilds the dunes constantly, so the clean crest you launched last month may be a 30-foot slipface today.

  • Crest slow the first time, every time — even on lines you know.
  • Ride with a buddy and always expect to meet someone on a blind crest or curve.
  • Carry a small tool kit: spark plugs, first aid, and drinking water. Take breaks — fatigue is when people get hurt.
  • Gasoline is for engines only. Not for starting campfires, not for cleaning parts.

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