Why did they travel to Africa to film the Tatooine scenes when they could have done it in California? This is a very unique landscape, well worth the detour to get here. Its fiendishly hot for much of the year, but crowded with dune buggies and dirt bikes in the cooler months. Pick your poison.

Turn off California Highway 78 (a.k.a. the Ben Hulse Highway) east out of Brawley on to Osborne Park Road to arrive at Hugh T Osborne Lookout Park, so named in honour of an Imperial valley conservationist who has a memorial plinth (dedicated in 1961) erected in the car park.Located in the southeast corner of California, the sand dunes of the Imperial Valley are the largest mass of sand dunes in the state, formed by windblown sands of ancient Lake Cahuilla.The sand dunes offer fabulous scenery and a home to rare plants & animals and are also a favourite location for off-highway vehicle enthusiasts. They are also a favourite filming location for Hollywood including all-time desert-epic, classic movies such as Beau Geste.

Amazing place to experience the largest area of sand dunes in California.

Would not recommend a boogie board as a sand board (at least don’t stand up on it). Beautiful place just a couple hours from San Diego. Fun for an hour or two unless you bring your own activities. We brought a picnic. Def bring sunscreen or maybe a little umbrella.

Expansive, golden, soft sand under the toes. Lawrence of Arabia vibes. Highly recommend going at sunset.

Absolutely stunning view of the Glamis sand dunes! Bring some plastic bottom sleds for some downhill fun.

Awesome view & not many people around great area for riding an atv or utv

I love the view, its like a movie or something, definitely a site to behold.

Very nice spot to overlook desert, but very hot

Was incredible to see the dunes from this high up.

Great view of the dunes and Glamis. Small parking area due to campers and off roaders.

We drove out and was able to find parking in the limited parking area. I recommend getting there earlier in the morning to get one of the few spots. Bring water! Know that the further you venture out, the harder it is to get back and you are totally winded! Beautiful place!

Great place for sunset pictures with beautiful sand dune backdrops. Its also great place for star gazing.

This place is like out of this world! You need to take off your shoes and take a walk barefoot to feel the vibe of this amazing place!

Better not try to climb the sand dunes in the middle of day barefoot :-)

Such a unique and beautiful place to check out! Since its farther away from the big cities, it was not too busy and absolutely gorgeous at sunset! Highly recommend for a day trip or an engagement shoot! (Photos by Candice Marie Photography)

Beautiful Sand dunes, quite warm during the day but twilight hours are incredible

It was worth the 5 hrs drive from Anaheim ca amazing park so much to enjoy

Great place to watch the Sunset.

Perfect place for a photoshoot! We saw some teenagers sliding sown the sand dunes with snow sleds and people ride around on dirt bikes. No one got in our shots and the cloud was friendly

Really surreal seeing all the sand dunes. A must see if you are in the area. Nothing else like it in the US.

I saw this place on a map and thought, thats not real. Come on. Sand like that doesnt exist two hours from LA. Well, thats partially true as its not two hours, sadly, but three. BUT it does exist and its incredible. Only downside is sand gets everyyyyywhere. This isnt the beach sand youre used to but a fine powdery insidious blight that will get into the fibers of your soul (and clothes) and wont come out for weeks. Worth it.

Super cool and beautiful place to stop at. The sand is so soft and fine. Cant wait to go back and slide down the dunes.

Very cool, and well worth taking a different route between San Diego and Phoenix

Handicap Parking, Good Latrine style toilets. Excellent views!

Super windy but unlike anakin I enjoyed the sand

Definitely visit this place of you can. What a magical place! Dont wear flip flops. Your feet will burn. Do take pictures!

The sand dunes are really beautiful. It was like stepping out of our RV onto another planet. Hot as hell though. Like 117F the day we were there. Could almost feel the soles of your shoes melting when you stepped in the sand. Bring lots of water.

A beautiful natural work of wonder. People with their off road vehicles ruin it. Thanks to more wind, hopefully those lovely ripples great redone

I love looking at the dunes. They are magical.Its fun to watch the bikers- as they ride up and down the slopes. Sand billowing behind them.The last time we were their I was hoping to see a sunset but a wedding party was there for photos. Its a nice stop from from time to time.

We had an amazing time at Glamis this Thanksgiving 2018 with the family . We will see everyone again next year. The weather was perfect no body from our group got hurt and we all had fun in the sand.

Best view of the dunes, the only of their kind in California and maybe the country.

Located near the top of some of the highest dunes, this viewpoint is the perfect spot to admire the vastness of the dune field.

Awesome view of the dessert. 360 degrees of view

It’s beautiful! Bring your camera.

Love this view over the Imperial Dunes. If you stand in the right spot you can see the dunes field stretching to both the NE and SE as far as you can see.

One of the coolest places i have ever been! It was cool to watch everyone riding around on the sanrails and side by sides. Sunset was beautiful over the dunes! Go check it out, well worth it.

Dunes are amazing. Unless you have a dune buggy or other means of recreation, I wouldnt plan to spend a large chunk of the day here, but its still worth the drive if youre in the Imperial Valley already.

Great place.. must visit.. restrooms in the middle of desert...

The bathrooms were a mess and stinky if you stood downwind from them. Other than that, this was a pretty cool place to visit. And by cool, I mean hot. 108° hot. It was windy, and the wind carried sand to you face and eyes, so take caution. The views were amazing. This was a good place to stop as we drove across the desert.

Beautiful place to see some really large dunes..

Amazing!

Do not go on the summer, any other time I the year is excellent and fun. Get some sand in your crevices!

Free and easy to go, secure area and nice people, in the night you can see the stars because of the low light pollution, and in the morning you can catch the best panoramic views, going in the weekend can be a good idea because on weekends you can find a lot of people and that kinda ruin the dessertic environment.There is a tower where you can leave your car and start walking through the dunes.Photo tip: If you want to take pictures I recommend going in the morning before 7AM on a weekday, people walk and cars pass by so you can see tire trails and people steps if you go latter than 7AM, and those elements kinda ruin the natural and dessertic look.

Awesome otherworldly experience. The downside is dunebuggy and rider tracks everywhere but this makes the best way to explore and it is fun.

Great lookout point for the Imperial Dunes! Pit toilets there and free parking. Can travel out onto the dunes from here but as a side note, if youre wearing flip flops and decide to walk out onto the dunes, about halfway up the sand will start to fall between your feet and flops and it can be REALLY HOT! Forced me to scramble back down the dune in a quick hurry and left my feet burning/tingling for miles after we left! Beautiful area though! Ill be back (with the proper footwear! Lol)

A nice place I found by chanceJust ... I knew for the first time that the sand was so painful

Dramatic sand dunes on the edge of California border. Dunes riders paradise.

Convenient rest spot. Long drop toilets. Easy turnaround when towing a trailer.

No fee area to stop and explore the Imperial Dunes.

A most beautiful view of am amazing landscape

Gorgeous dunes. Easy access and lot of fun

We love to stop here. The view of the dunes is awesome.

The parking lot is ridiculous.

We stopped on our way through, so the dogs could run around a little bit in the sand. Eady on and off with our RV, and a nice view of the sand dunes.

When the world is your playground, you have the freedom to come as you are: a tank.

Very hot place

Very beautiful in a different way. Feels like Id expect Egypt to look. But couldnt find the Sphinx.

Awesome views! Dont get Sand in your pants!

If you are driving through Glamis, make a stop up here for the spectacular views. The sunset is incredible.!

Great place to view the dunes and off road vehicles.

Good view of dunes. Easy access

Great for the Desert Lovers

Great sand dunes stop. There is a very close dune you can walk up. Go early in the morning or the sand will be too hot to stand on. Flip flops are recommended. My kid loved it.

White pristine sand with lot of activity all around.

Lots of buggies playing around

One of the best place I have visited in the USA and I found it by accident. The sand dunes are incredible, using bodyboards to surf them was absolutely amazing. Such a unique and tranquil space. Be aware of the sand which can cover the entrance in no time

I love Glamis...Been coming here for about 55yrs.Its changed a LOT, for the better.Clean restroom here at this overlook.

Great view of the dunes and a great place to camp for people who dont want to drive onto the sand.

Great views, nice place to play in the sand dunes.

If you are ever out at Glamis California you must go here great View

Nice look out. They have Bathrooms. Dunes are cool to see when passing through!

I met a gorgeous girl with an amazing accent here. I took her on a little ride in my sand rail, but I lost a paddle tire at the bottom of a bowl. Story of my life.

Blank, dunes perfect for vacation with razers , atvs, and bikes

Cool view

Great overlook of Glamis and a great place to view sunsets.

Amazing views. If you have never experienced sandy dunes, this is a great way to visit what seems like an alien planet.

I am so glad that this lookout was here. It was an amazing spot to stop and take a closer look at the dunes. We took a nice walk out in the dunes from here and had a blast watching a group of UTV’s. It was funny watching them accidentally flipping one that most have had front suspension issues. We will have to rent a UTV next time when we have more time.A group of Duners had kinda set up shop up here... I kinda thought they should have been parked with all the other RV’s and not in the lookout.

The most breathtaking view. Very romantic and peaceful at the same time. Go watch the sunrise and refresh your existence.

Looks like the sahara dessert.

Superb location. Lot of photographers shooting models, few families just sitting around and lot of adventure bikers and atvs too.

Loved it. A must visit.

Best sunset seen in long time

Loved it

Great scenery

The vastness of the desert was cool. The vantage point is just above all the dunes.

Glamis sand dunes are awesome!!!

Everything we needed forbade quick look at the dunes

Great stop for a break and watch some guys messing around in the sand dunes.

Glamis central higj point look out north end of Imperial State Sand Dunes

Interesting, but full of small bugs that seemed to be attracted to the cars

Great upgrades, Bathroom!!

Ahh the Dunes no better place!

Highly worth the drive(~3 hours in my case). Awesome area with sand dunes great for taking pictures and just walking around in. You can drive a non ohv car up to the edge and it’s still nicely paved.Bring lots of water though as it was very dry, hot and windy(obviously) and pay attention so you don’t get heat stroke.

Great view at Glamis Dunes.

Everything about the sand dunes is incredible. This was just a little spot that you can park and walk around the dunes. I went for a hike from this spot into the dunes and climb some big ones for exercise. It was a good place to park. It was wide open. And easy access to the dunes.

Amazing view of the dunes!!

Very cool stop for photo ops.

Awesome view from this area !

I love this place unlike anything else I have found in the USA.