Aug. 11—OHV. BLM. ATV. ROV. NMDGF.
OMG!
A veritable alphabet soup serves as the guide when it comes to riding off highway vehicles on public lands in New Mexico.
OHV stands for off-highway vehicles and includes ATVs: all-terrain vehicles; OHMs: off-highway motorcycles; ROVs: recreational off-highway vehicles and side-by-sides and snowmobiles.
Mescalero Sands North Dune Off-Highway Vehicle Area hides along the road past the caprock and the Pecos River Valley about 45 miles east of Roswell on New Mexico 380 as it leads past Tatum into the level lands of West Texas. The reddish dunes invite a quick stop for a picnic with a pit toilet, covered tables and barbecue grills less than 1.5 miles from a paved road. Gravel loops off the main road provide a cheap, though often noisy, place to overnight. OHVs ride late into the cooler nights with their required headlights that must be powerful enough to see objects, animals and people up to 150 feet into the distance, according to a New Mexico Department of Game and Fish brochure about the New Mexico Off-Highway Vehicle program.
If you aren’t paying attention or don’t know it exists, you’ll zip right past this mini red sands recreation area just south of the paved highway. The park, when visited in early July, was clean and well-cared for. Picnic grounds sparkled without broken glass or trash littering the ground. Bring your own water, though.
If you own an off-road vehicle, it is a perfect spot to zoom on public lands.
“More than 610 acres of towering 90-plus foot sand dunes await your enjoyment in the Mescalero Sands North Dune Off-Highway Vehicle (OHV) Area,” says the Bureau of Land Management recreation website. “The dune field stretches over most of the area and lends itself well to all terrain cycles, sand rails and dune buggies.”
“The dunes are made up of quartz particles and are constantly changing due to the prevailing southwest wind. When the dunes are active, they move about a foot per year.”
BLM says it does not recommend leaving the surfaced areas except on foot or in an all-terrain vehicle because of soft sand off established roads.
The parking areas provide different perspectives of the dunes. The Bowl, a large depression, provides access to the northern dunes. And per its name, it is a bowl-shaped area surrounded by dunes. The Cottonwood Site provides access to the southern dunes. Drivers in OHVs are required to follow directional signs to reduce mishaps, and hikers need to be aware of surroundings to prevent being run over while viewing the abundant flowers and desert flora and fauna.
Mescalero Sands is one of the many places to enjoy off-highway vehicles in the state. You and your vehicles must be licensed. BLM recently increased the day rate for the dunes to $5 per vehicle with up to nine people, but all public land passes are accepted. Camping does not require an additional fee.
What exactly does the Bureau of Land Management do and why does it provide recreation sites as part of it federal mission? BLM is one of the keepers of America’s public lands, along with the National Park Service and the U.S. Forest Service.
“The BLM manages about 245 million acres of public land located primarily in 12 western states, including Alaska, on behalf of the American people. The BLM also administers 700 million acres of sub-surface mineral estate throughout the nation. Our mission is to sustain the health, diversity, and productivity of America’s public lands for the use and enjoyment of present and future generations,” it says in its news releases.
The New Mexico off-highway vehicle guide at RideNM.org outlines rules to keep you and public lands safe. A map on the website shows areas throughout the state where you can legally drive OHVs on public land.
“Be safe, stay on trails, tread lightly, enjoy,” as the NMDGF brochure says.