If you grew up riding motorcycles in Southern California in the 1970s and ’80s, you probably remember Indian Dunes. “The Dunes,” as it was known to regulars, was a motorcycle off-road playground located in Valencia, past Magic Mountain, out on Highway 126-in what at the time seemed like the boonies.
I practically grew up at The Dunes, first riding there when I was 13, on my Honda Mini Trail 70. I’d stripped the lights off and spent the entire day on the mini-cycle track. I was in heaven.
Indian Dunes had two specific motocross tracks; the famous Shadow Glen (which earned its name from the numerous oak trees that shaded the course) and the International Track (who knows where it came by that name?). Indian Dunes had something for everyone.
There was a mini-cycle track, an oval (for flat track and speedway) and several side bar tracks, one of which was referred to as the Sand Track. There were also 450 acres of trails and a major sand wash—the Santa Clara River—that was excellent practice for deep sand riding.
On any given Sunday, races were run on one or more of the tracks. Quite often a famous racer would show up and sweep multiple classes. More than once I saw riders like Kenny Zhart, Tim Hart, Pete Lamppu and Billy Clements walk away from the field with ease, awing those of us who dreamt of moto stardom.
Perhaps The Dunes’ most famous regular was Steve McQueen. The majority of scenes of McQueen riding in On Any Sunday were filmed on the International track.
I changed motorcycles over the ensuing years but the riding venue stayed the same. I matured through a Yamaha 100, DKW 125, Honda Elsinore 250, Penton 125, CZ 250, Suzuki RM250, three different Maico 250s, a Bultaco 250, a Yamaha 250, and finally an RM400. Over a period of some 15 years I must have racked up a hundred thousand laps.
In addition to hosting races every Sunday, they also ran Friday night races during the summer months. This allowed most of us racers to claim it as a “date night” to our girlfriends. In 1976, when I was 17, I had it made (in terms of a teen’s immediate aspirations).
I was working at Bill Robertson Honda, had a pristine 1970 El Camino, a new Suzuki RM250, and was dating the top AME Women’s Amateur Motocross racer, Roxanne Dougherty. For a teenager in love with motocross, I couldn’t have asked for more.
I had the good fortune to be at The Dunes one weekday when Team Suzuki was testing. I can say I had the opportunity to be passed by Kent Howerton, Darrell Schultz, and the legendary Roger DeCoster.
The high point of the day was crashing into Danny LaPorte when we each refused to give up the line heading into a corner and came together at speed. He and I each apologized to the other, then struck up a conversation trackside after picking our bikes up out of the sand.
The Dunes also served as a back lot for Hollywood. Its close proximity to the studios made it ideal for a place to crash cars, light things on fire, and dive bomb WWII fighter planes on mock villages.
All those shots in the TV series Dukes of Hazard, of “The General” being launched into the air, were filmed here, as was the World War II series, “Baa Baa Black Sheep,” along with dozens and dozens of films.
Nothing will ever replace the excitement of heading west off Interstate 5 down Highway 126, when the big billboard for Indian Dunes came into view. When you pulled into the pits you were immediately surrounded by screaming two-stroke engines and the intoxicating smell of pre-mix wafting in the air.
Well, eventually the music came to an end. Roxanne left me for a fast 125cc pro and I departed for Santa Cruz. Today, there isn’t a single remnant tire, strip of ribbon, or track marker left over from the old days.
The once grand facility, which blossomed so many legendary racing careers, has been combed of all its racing history and is now just rows of agriculture. Even the well-traveled trails in the mountains have been greened over.
But anyone who spent time at “The Dunes” can still conjure that sweet sound of 2-strokes that speaks to our youth. I’d be interested to hear any reader’s thoughts and/or memories about Indian Dunes.
I have been riding since 1968, but mostly street riding, but I had certainly heard of Indian Dunes as it was quite famous in the day. An interesting subject is always why ID closed in 1985. You may hear many opinions, but in my conversations with many riders, the consensus is: that the owner was tired of getting sued. Apparently many riders who were getting injured there were suing him. And you know how lawsuits go: Even when you win, it is costing you money. The straw that broke the camel’s back was a drunk ATV rider that ended up going outside of the ID property who crashed, and was injured, but nevertheless sued the owner.
Started riding there in the mid-’70s. Had a friend break his leg on the International around 77 or 78. One of the few mementos I have from the Dunes is the carbon copy of the “General Release” I signed the last time I was there in January ’85. It’s pretty thorough: “[I agree] not to sue the Promoter, Racing association, Park Operator, Park Owner and each of them..etc…. Hold harmless…”
And down at the bottom right above where you sign, in big red print: “MOTOR CYCLING IS DANGEROUS”.
I happily agreed and signed and had a fun day on my Alpha 1 Maico.
“Misty water-colored memories…”
Racing motocross up in Montreal Canada in the mid 70’s the dream was to get away for the winter and race Indian Dunes and Carlsbad. In the winter of 76, 3 of us headed south west for 3 months. Most of our racing was at the dunes. I remember one Sunday they turned us away due to rain/mud. I complained, and the promoter said no one would race under these conditions, to which I replied it was a lot better then racing in snow (yep we raced a few times in May in snow storms in Quebec)
Raced there in 1978 and 79 some of my best memories are there
Indian dunes was every little boy’s dream come true. From the time you were 5 years-old, playing with your Evel Kenievel stunt bike, visions of jumps and tracks danced in your head like sugar plums at Christmas. Indian dunes is where those dreams turned real. My folks wouldn’t allow me to ride a dirt bike until I turned 12 and, that was 1982. I was allowed to ride horses though, and there was a riding stable between Magic Mountain and the dunes where I would ride those horses from the stable up to close to the dunes where we’d have to turn back because the horses got spooked by the motorcycles. Oh, that was a terrible tease for a young man, longing to be grown-up enough to get an iron horse. So, I saved my lawn mowing and car wash money to get a 1972 GT80. I didn’t have a trailer so, my dad and I would lift it in to the trunk of his 1977 Cutlas Supreme and head 10 miles to the dunes. Took it out in the parking lot with a sack lunch and a gas can and dad said, “Have fun, kid. See you at sunset.” I would ride all day long and, it really was heaven on earth. The freedom you’d feel was the coolest thing a young man could imagine. What an adventure it really was. As the next few years passed, I graduated to a CT-175 and regularly explored all the hills, trails and forest service roads around the Santa Clarita valley. I remember when it closed, right around the time Vic Morrow and two young actors were killed in a terrible helicopter crash while filming an action sequence in a scene of the movie “ Twilight Zone.” I still ride those trails and forest service roads over 40 years later on my 1988 bumblebee but, it all started at Indian Dunes, man.. What a wonderful place in time.