First time I heard about ATVing in the California was about two years ago, when I was working in LA. It seemed at a time like a crazy idea at the time to go to ATVing on huge sand dunes. I voted against it back then since I was just too broke to pay for it. Two years later I was able to finally finance a trip to Pismo Beach and make this dream of mine come true.

I have to say this is by far the funnest thing I have ever done in California. The Oceano Dunes are so big that you have a lot of freedom to have an awesome time.

We rented from a place called Steve’s ATV Rentals and got a pretty good deal of 66$/2 hours per person. The price is common for many rental places in the area. Steve’s place was recommended to us by some other folks that I’ve done it before. Their Honda ATVs are quite powerful, which makes the whole activity extra fun.

I highly recommend to do this thing for anyone who travels in California. It’s definitely worth the money. You can watch my video below with some highlights and judge it for yourself. Also, here are a couple of pointers, if you decide to go:

• Arrive there by 3pm the latest, so that you can finish your 2 hours of rental by 6pm. You probably don’t want to ride the dark
• The staff at Steve’s told us that it can get quite busy during the summer, so the best time to go is probably some time in the fall or spring.
• Wear long pants and a sweater for protection from the sand.
• Bring GLOVES to avoid blisters on your hands. If you don’t have bicycle gloves, go to Wallgreens and buy gardening gloves for 3$.
• If you can, bring your own goggles, since the ones that they provide are usually really dirty and hard to see through.
• It’s ok to bring women and children for the ride. We had two girls in our group and they loved it as much as everyone else. At Steve’s they also have ATVs for kids.
• 2 hours is more than enough for a good time. After that your hands and your back start getting tired.
• It’s more fun in a group!

Here is the video. Enjoy!