Important Note: All recreational off-highway vehicle activity is illegal at Lucerne Dry Lake. This refers to the riding of dirt bikes, quads, and other vehicles not licensed for the street. However, rocket recovery operations by licensed vehicles are permitted. This means get on the lakebed, get your rocket, and return directly to the range head. If your rocket leaves the lakebed and lands in the brush, your vehicle must stay on established roads while you collect the rocket on foot.

Camping & Survival

Since it is (after all) the desert, Lucerne Dry Lake displays extremes of temperature and climate. In June, it can easily get over 100 degrees F; needless to say, there is no shade unless you bring it with you (stake it down securely!). Sunscreen is a must unless you like that “fresh lobster” look!

Also, bring three times as much water as you think you will drink, and then drink it. The hot desert can dry you out very quickly. We are very serious in this warning! If you are not acclimated, dehydration can be life threatening in a short period of time.

You can camp on the lakebed itself – there is no camping fee due to this being “un-improved” camping. You can remain on the lakebed continuously from Noon on Thursday, June 6 until Monday, June 10th at 10 AM. All campers must be off the lakebed by 10AM on Monday due to a post-event site inspection by the BLM.

We will provide dumpsters for your trash and porta-potties, which are not for trash. Some of the “potties” will be the larger variety designed for handi-capped access.

If you have never been here before, plan to arrive in daylight! The lakebed is usually quite firm, but is crisscrossed with ruts and generally not quite level. A great place to launch rockets, but it can be a challenge to drive, or even walk, at night. Be careful!

If you are tent camping, make sure you have a sturdy tent and it is staked down solidly.

The lakebed is managed by the BLM, so all fires must be above ground in a suitable fire place. Please bring a suitable container and pack out your ashes.

Generators and other motor driven devices must be approved by the California Air Resources Board.

If you bring out an RV, please note that we will ask you to not park in the front row – it is a safety hazard.

Lakebed Weather Conditions

Please understand that launch times are tentative and are subject to change without notice. If adverse weather conditions occur, please check this site get accurate lake bed conditions before heading out to a launch as a cancellation can be made as late as the morning of the launch! In June the greatest risk for a cancellation is wind above 20 MPH, which is usually only occurs later in the day.

Weather updates will be posted on this web site in the news feed, on Twitter (@NSL_20192), and on Facebook, anytime relevant information is available. The weather AT THE LAKEBED may not match surrounding areas, even as close as Victorville or Apple Valley. When we post weather updates, they will be for the lakebed. Other sources may be too general to give an accurate indication of conditions at the launch site. While we cannot offer any guarantee that our forecasts are going to be perfect–if you rely on other sources for information we definitely can’t be responsible for their accuracy. We have had many instances of people deciding not to come to a launch due to weather conditions, only to find out that the lakebed had great flying weather!

Current launch site weather from the nearest weather station.