I just finished a van conversion to get off the grid and wanted to try it out in the short time I had to work with so I headed to Yuma. Calif is locked down, places to go are colder, and I always wanted to ride at Sugerloaf in Yuma for some odd reason. Because I never have I guess..

I Vamped at Mittry Lake about 15 mins off Hwy 8 and located by the Colorado river. Free camping, real quiet, fishing if you choose, and riding nearby. The area is mostly used by UTV's & Jeeps on the northside near the lake but if you start at the Sugarloaf TH, the bikers usually ride on the south side.
Being that I camped by the lake, I just rode up and over from there each day and was really the only biker out there.
Mittry Lake



Socially distancing in moonscape



Most of the trails are ridge lines that wind up & down the canyons.



Be prepared to fend for yourself alone because not too many people ride the area especially the North and east sections.

Start of Black Canyon trail. Quite a loose rocky climb up and one heck of a chute you drop into. It caught me by surprise.



If you want to get away to someplace closer that's safe & not locked down now, might try this place out. I think it would be best to kick back & relax, maybe go fishing, just use 4X's or UTV since the biking is "different" and a lot of work. The trails are skinny and you might even find yourself on game trails because there's not much difference. I went out there 2 weekends to try out the van and totally unplugged. Both worked well

_________________
You never know what tomorrow will bring so go ride your EBike today or walk your pooch
Fear the Yeti

Mike

Thanks for the TR! I’d never heard of it, and today it pops up twice. I think evdog just went there too.

This is a great ride report. I bet the weather is nice too right now. Is this close to Lake Martinez as well? I have done some wakeboarding there in the past.

I rode there yesterday. Fun trails and perfect stopover in the way to PHX or Tucson. Never camped there but I've been wanting to check out Picahco state park a bit north on the river. Fishing would be great. I'll have to look into Mittry. There was a van camped right at the sugarloaf TH when I left at dark.

It was chilly in the morning and got up to around 68 around 2PM.
Martinez is close, the river right there, Mittry lake, and there are other small lakes and canals right there. I choose to park up on that lovely bluff to get away from the road and be by myself. There are numerous spots all along the lake to pull into, larger areas that are more open, and a couple of side roads to camp at.

_________________
You never know what tomorrow will bring so go ride your EBike today or walk your pooch
Fear the Yeti

Mike

Maybe a white Ram Promaster with 3 bikes on the rack? Met him (Jason out of Salt Lake) on Sunday and a very nice younger guy spending a week in that area. I'm really surprised by the amount of people that travel most if not , full time now.
My goal is to get comfortable with the whole experience and then travel around for a week or two at a time. Still working full time but I can work remotely and have tons of vacation time banked.
I would also hit up a Hotel every 3-4 days for a full shower (I have a DIY ghetto setup now that works fine), stock up on food & water, and then head out again. My stays during work travel gives me over a Million Hilton points and Lifetime membership so that part is free for me

_________________
You never know what tomorrow will bring so go ride your EBike today or walk your pooch
Fear the Yeti

Mike

I didn't see anyone when I was there but I think the van did have utah plates, so possibly the same person. Not the best spot to camp imo with all the agriculture activities nearby incl at night.

Option for hotel room would be nice every so often, especially when bad weather rolls thru for a couple days. Otherwise I was going to suggest truck stops for showers. All the ones I've used have been impressively clean and are cleaned between each use. Sounds like you don't need that though!