Put the paperwork into your trip plan
Read the requirements below before packing. Keep your registration and pass information with the trip, then check the map for arrival and the campground you plan to use.
Open the access and planning map →
Before the trailer leaves pavement
Hot Well Dunes fees and Arizona OHV permits
The Hot Well fee is small and easy. The Arizona OHV decal is the one that surprises people, because out-of-state riders need it and it has to be bought before you ride, not when somebody asks.
The site fee is $3, and towed vehicles are free
BLM charges $3 per vehicle per day, collected on site, or $30 for an annual pass from the Safford Field Office. A vehicle being towed behind another is not charged separately, which matters if you are arriving with a truck and a toy hauler. For a place with soaking tubs, toilets, and a maintained campground, that is close to the cheapest recreation fee in the state.
Nonresidents need an Arizona OHV decal
Since September 2019, Arizona has required nonresidents operating an OHV in the state to buy a nonresident OHV decal. It costs $25 plus a processing fee and must be purchased before you ride, not after a ranger asks. Given that Hot Well draws riders from New Mexico and Texas as well as across Arizona, this is the single most commonly missed requirement here.
Arizona residents register through MVD
Resident machines carry an Arizona OHV decal obtained through the Motor Vehicle Division, renewed annually alongside registration. Get the current requirement from Arizona Game and Fish or ADOT rather than from a forum, because the details have changed more than once.
Check your machine against the threshold
The decal requirement is tied to an unladen weight limit for vehicles built for unimproved terrain. Published sources do not agree on the exact number, so confirm where your specific machine falls with Arizona Game and Fish rather than trusting a figure from anywhere else, including this page.
Street legal is a separate registration
Registering an OHV as street legal through MVD is a different process from the OHV decal, and it is what allows use on maintained roads rather than just trails. Having one does not give you the other. Carry the paperwork for the configuration you are actually running.
The flag and helmet rules are specific
BLM publishes the flag requirement: bright red or orange, at least 6 by 12 inches, mounted 8 feet high. Arizona requires a helmet for riders under 18 on public and state land. Confirm both before you leave rather than in the parking area. Arizona also runs OHV education material worth an hour before a first trip.
Keep it all offline
Save decals, registration, the annual pass, and current BLM notices to your phone as files, and keep paper in the rig. Service at Hot Well is thin, and a document that only exists in the cloud does not exist at the wellhead.
Verify before travel. Conditions, zones, and regulations can change. Use the responsible agency's current information for final decisions.
Open the official BLM source →