It's the journey.......: #43 Imperial Dam Long Term Visitor Area-Winterhaven CA

Winterhaven is not much of a town, two liquor stores but only one open. That’s okay, we only needed one. Our goal was to find the Imperial Dam Long Term Visitor Area (LTVA) where we had planned to spend the whole winter but we got distracted. Since we were in the neighborhood, so to speak, we decided we should actually check this place out to see if we even liked it planning for next winter. We are camping on the South Mesa with a view of Senator Wash Reservoir with Squaw Lake not far away.

We got in late in the day and found a great spot but there was a chair there which usually means the spot has been claimed. We asked some nearby campers, Steve & Shirley, if that was their chair. They said no and that they hadn’t seen anyone claiming the space. Then this really nice man, Moe from Canada, came over and asked if we wanted the spot. He said that it was his chair & he was saving the spot for his brother-in-law but we could have it if we wanted it & his brother-in-law could set up next to them. So we said THANK YOU VERY MUCH & settled in. We paid for a 2 week pass which is $40. A seasonal pass from Sept. 15 to April 15 is $180. Such a good deal! We figured we would know if we liked it in 2 weeks. We’ve decided to stay another 2 weeks since the weather is warm, the campers understand social distancing & it’s a relaxing atmosphere. There are a LOT of campers but the sites are spread out over 3,000 acres.

The facility provides dry camping, boon docking or whatever you want to call it. Simply stated, there is no electricity, water or sewer at your site. However, there are several potable water stations, several dump stations & several trash receptacles nearby. So all you need is a self contained RV or trailer. There are also vault toilets so tent campers have to camp within 15 of them.

We’ve experienced a couple desert rainstorms; the term “flash flood” takes on a new meaning as we watched waterfalls appear cascading down the ravine walls in just a matter of minutes. We were perfectly safe high up on the mesa. So here’s a look and our temporary home.

This is what the reservoir looks like after the storm.