Imperial Sand Dunes Plank Road

52 Hikes in 2025 - Hike #8

Kelly can’t take a road trip without planning at least a couple of stops along the way. On our recent trip to San Diego over the long President’s Day weekend, we did three of these short impromptu hikes. This first one is from Kelly’s Weird Arizona book (even though it’s technically across the border in California).

After waking up early and unsuccessfully trying to find an antique bus stuck in the desert back on the Yuma side of the state border, we drove another 20 minutes to the Imperial Sand Dunes Recreation Area. We did not stop at the visitor’s center, or pay the fee though, as we were not planning to go drive off-road vehicles in the dunes. Instead we went another mile or two up Grey’s Well Road to the Plank Road Memorial.

This plank road was constructed through the Imperial Sand Dunes in 1912 to connect Arizona to Southern California. Even with the planks it was still a treacherous journey, as they were often covered by blowing sand and had to be moved on a regular basis. I’ve often lamented that I probably wouldn’t have lasted very long had I lived 100 or 150 years ago. It was a tough life.

We spend about an hour wandering around the plank road and the dunes. I didn’t realize at first just how close we were to the Mexican border. But Kelly made a video showing the border fence and explaining how sometimes the sand dunes blow right up against the fence, to the point that it’s relatively easy to just walk right over. I bet that keeps the Border Patrol in this area busy.

I think if we ever visit this park again it would be cool to rent a dune buggy and get the full experience. But on this day, I’m still glad we made our short stop.

Todd