Cibola National Wildlife Refuge

Basically a gravel parking lot. Two levels, second level is a little bumpy to get to. Wide open areas with lots of space between sites and not very busy. Entrance gate is a little narrow. Very quiet not much activity going on. Visitor center is worth a visit, good displays and the drive tour is good for bird watching. All in all a very nice boondocking area for a few nights

Easy access. Open space, level enough. Beautiful mountains views and sunsets. Neighbors around but plenty of space to pick to be further apart. We were here early Feb, parked near the back before the road climbs up, by a tree. We checked weather ahead and knew that we would have a day of super strong wind, 60 mph gusts, all day so decided to stay down low. Parked our airstream front heading into the wind. We stayed indoor all day that windy day to do household chores and planning for the next location.

Highly recommend taking the Auto Tour by the Visitor Center, across the road. We did this multiple times, in the mornings and late afternoons. Lots of birds to see - widgeons, coots, geese, sandhill cranes, egrets, flycatcher! Even a coyote. Do bring your binocular or scope. The Visitor Center was closed due to Covid, but it was a treat to hand out there some to watch the hummingbirds at the feeders there. They are super territorial and live to chase each other away from their feeder. We took hikes from our camp spot. Just walked out across the desert floor in any direction you want. Love that flexibility We’d definitely stay here again. Verizon 2 to 3 bars LTE that worked fine for us.

This has been the most peaceful place I've camped in. The road that divides the Cibola Wildlife refuge and the boondocking spot across the street is not used much. During these times of silence, it sounds as if the birds at the refuge are directly adjacent to the camping spot. Flies and bees can be heard. There are no actual hiking trails but certain much land to walk and hike. There are very few dirt roads that can be hiked on for quite some distance. Time is the limit of how far one can hike. Others were camping there at quite some distance and yet no sounds could be heard. The sunsets and sunrises are fantastic. On one night the wind blew very hard. It certainly felt threatening at times. Just as the sun begins to set, the howling of coyotes can be heard and the soaring of bats can be seen and heard. A short walk across the road is the Cibola wildlife refuge. There are restrooms, a walking path with informational placards and the "auto tour" road. What a sight it is to witness the birds moving around in droves. After a great day, conclude it with a campfire as one sits facing the sunset.

The road south from I-10 (exit 236) is good except for the short section through Imperial County, which is severely potholed. The highway bridge across the Colorado has a sign on the Arizona side that says, "This bridge constitutes a danger. Use at your own risk. Private bridge." It seems sturdy, and serves the whole area around the refuge. Perhaps the danger relates to the decaying safety rails at the sides.

The BLM entrance is through a gate with a cattle guard opposite the Wildlife Refuge headquarters road. The dirt road goes back less than 1/2 mile from the highway. There is a 5 ft deep dip part way back. My 21 ft trailer got through with no trouble, but I saw a 5th wheel, that I would estimate to be 30 ft, get stuck. You certainly could not get a big rig through it.

I counted 6 campsites before the dip, and 6 sites on the far side of it, plus a large area on the left that would make 6 or 8 sites with no privacy. All the sites look level. The ground looks solid, but the large area on the left has patches of deep, fine sand with a deceptive crust. I saw a van get thoroughly stuck, and evidence of other deep ruts into the sand.

Everything about the camping area is excellent, as is the wildlife refuge. Driving around the refuge most evenings before sunset, I saw coyotes, mule deer, burros, burrowing owls, cranes, ducks, geese, and many other birds.

You can access the river levee road from Baseline Road north of the refuge, and drive south along the river bank, then past the end of the levee road to the Cibola Lake overlook, and then on into the Trigo Mountains Wilderness. If you go into the wilderness, you have to come back out the way you went in. I found that of the other two roads out shown on google maps, one was closed and the other washed out.

Within a few hundred feet on the north side of I-10 exit 240 in Blythe, there are Albertsons and Smart And Final grocery stores, and a Rite Aid with Glacier water machines (25 cents per gallon). The Shell gas station on the north side of exit 239 refills propane, and has a dumpster. Go to the Flying J at Arizona exit 1 for gas. Arizona is over $1 cheaper per gallon than California. There is a laundromat on the north side of exit 1. It has a water hose for 75 cents for an unspecified amount of water, a Glacier machine at a rip-off price, and dumpsters. The Blythe wastewater treatment plant on South Broadway has a spotlessly clean, $7 dump station. The open-hours are limited, so check online.