Interesting rest stop since it in the middle of the freeway therefore you got cars speeding around you and beyond that, you got great sand dunes view. But if you got to go then this is the only choice you got...but it's clean and plenty of parking. read more

Located in the middle of the highway is this rest stop. Four unisex bathrooms, no running water or hand sanitizers available but there is a drinking fountain, and free trash dump. There is a large parking area but you are limited to 8 hours parking only. read more

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Would want to give this higher rating, but I can't. It's decent and if you need to go then it's a spot. It's going to be on your left side/driver side going either direction. 4 restrooms total. The one I went in had no toilet seat covers. Only one sink on the outside. Bring hand sanitizer. read more

This is a good stop if you really really really have to use the restroom. You'd think when building a rest stop for a bathroom they would calculate the fact that hygiene is a thing but I guess not everyone cares about that. There's no sink to wash hands or even hand sanitizer. There was a long line so clearly this is a much needed resource since this is on a long highway with not many stops. It gets 1 star because I'm glad it was there. There was someone cleaning the facilities while we were there which was good. I'm glad they have these cleaned out at least. read more

Sand Hills Rest Area - Rest Stops Near Me - Winterhaven, California

I just made a stop here to take some of photos of the Imperial Sand Dunes that are pretty spectacular in an otherworldly type of way. Please note that turning into this rest area will be from the left lane in both directions. It's located in the median strip between the opposing lanes on Interstate 8. read more

Sand Hills Rest Area - Imperial sand dunes - Rest Stops Near Me - Winterhaven, California

Not even 1 star, but if you drink 3 cups of coffee and 2 bottles of water you can't be too picky in the middle of nowhere and believe you me this is in the middle of nowhere. It is located in the middle of the freeway so it can be accessed either west or east on highway 8. A step up from porta potties. No sinks in the rest rooms. Thankfully a sink in front of buildings that someone had left a container of hand soap at. No towels or dryer to dry hands. If you need to, stop. If you can wait a bit then do so. read more

Sand Hills Rest Area - Restrooms - Rest Stops Near Me - Winterhaven, California

Sand Hills Rest Area is located on California I-8 exit 156 about 20 miles west of the Arizona border close to Grays Well Road. Situated between the east-west lanes of I-8, the entrance to the Rest Area in both directions is a left exit. Don't expect much. Sand Hills is a bare-bones Rest Area with no amenities. It's the wild west, so park wherever you like. For your convenience, until recently the best that Sand Hills offered was portable toilets. Bling! Enter the modern era with four hard-structure spacious toilet rooms. Don't be amazed. Instead of a small plastic box, you get a big brick box. The technology is the same, which means, there isn't any technology. The toilets empty into a lower container, which needs to be suctioned daily, you hope. There's no running water, no sinks, no mirrors. The stainless steel urinals are not much more than a hole in the floor. Note to the guys. If you go in there to empty your bladder, do your thing and get out. Resist the temptation to look over the toilet seat into the abyss. I repeat, do not look. Even if a cell phone is down there chirping plaintively, ignore it. Girls may feel the need to look before they sit down, but you have better things to do. Get back on the road. read more

Sand Hills Rest Area - Sand Hills Rest Area - Rest Stops Near Me - Winterhaven, California

Doug K. did an excellent review on this place... It is as barebones as you can get... the only thing I can add is that there is one sink with running water but there is no soap so u gotta bring your own... or use some sanitizer... There is plenty of dirt parking if you do need to stop and take a nap but since it's located in between both east- and west-bound, I don't feel exactly comfortable parking my car there... Yuma isn't too far away from here though.. probably about 10 miles east on the 8... so, if you don't feel comfortable droppin a deuce in a permanent port-a-potty type toilet, take a ride east for a few more minutes... read more

Sand Hills Rest Area - Rest Stops Near Me - Winterhaven, California

So this place is truly filthy but hey if you are sleepy you have a maximum of 8 hours (per the sign out front) to sleep and get back on the road. It's easy access for people going east or west. The views are truly beautiful from each side you look but the sewage smell is a bit unbearable from the moment you step out your car into this hot sun. My doggies were even shaking their heads at the smell lol. (Well maybe they were just being dogs but we will go with the smell =) Oh did you think you were going to use the bathroom and wash your hands....well fooled you !! The toilets from the two potties I seen were dirty but you can at least wipe your booty if needed. They had a good amount of toilet paper so that's a true positive! There's not much light in each potty area so if you have kids you might want to go along with them so they don't get scared from all the graffiti, smell and the random noise you may hear. So let's put it like this, they aren't getting a one star because at least you can park and sleep (not sure how safe it is). You can use the bathroom and wipe your booty but not wash your hands....hehehe. Oh and the views are so beautiful!! Stop if you need to potty but make sure to have sanitizer....or you need a nap and can't wait 73 more miles for the next stop! read more

This rest stop is a very dingy rest stop but it makes due when needed. Access is easy from both sides of the i-8. The bathrooms are really gross just so you know. They are just like permanent port-o-potties with nowhere to wash your hands. Only stop here if you have to read more

Ahh...if you don't mind the smell of open pit toilets and have your own tp you'll love this place. read more

Sand Hills Rest Area - Dune buggies racing down the hill...too cool! - Rest Stops Near Me - Winterhaven, California

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I tried to hold it until we got to Yuma. These are porta potties. Hot desert. Think about it.

Not terrible, I've certainly been to a lot worse. I stopped here used the restroom took a nap and went on my way. The restroom was clean as was the ground. I will use it again if needed on future road trips. Well the message says "This review is currently shorter than most" That being the case I'll try to come up with something witty to say...... I could tell a banjo joke but that's not within the scope of this review. read more

We hit this west bound a few years back. Hot sunny day. As we began down the exit I was looking for the nearby stockyard I smelled. Silly me. We should have just kept driving. We still laugh about the car full of young women we watched. They must have needed to go real bad. Such faces they made. read more

Located in between the I-8 freeway you need to exit stage left (kinda weird) from either direction (going East or West) It's not much, just a place to stop and make a stop for number 1 or 2. I didn't go to the restroom. I just wanted to stop and snap a few pictures of the sand dunes. Not really a good idea from here. Too many power lines in the way. Just pull off at Grays Well Road a little further East on I-8 and you can get a better picture of the sand dunes. Kind of reminds me of the desert scene from Star Wars! read more

Sand Hills Rest Area - Looking North from the rest area - Rest Stops Near Me - Winterhaven, California

There is literally nothing here, I drove all around down the block in 3 different directions. I looked up on iPhone maps and yelp address. The address just stops at an intersection with no lights. Next to two fields on either side. I got out to look around and coyotes were screaming in the distance. And shortly after that 4 birds or bats started circling my car. This was near midnight. I have a 3 minute video of them just circling my car at window level. Read a comment that this place is a portal to hell hahaha it just may be. read more

The sand dunes are about 15-20 minutes from anything either West or East. With that being said, when you have to go you have to go, right? Well these bathrooms lack a lot. Cold and grungy. Right off of Interstate 8, the highway runs on both sides with Sand Dunes on both sides. Nice place for truckers to sit and rest - but that is about it. read more

I'm giving this place 5 stars just because of the LOLs the reviews gives. Came across it when searching for the route from of a trip I did many years ago. I mean seriously, you are giving a PUBLIC bathroom in the middle of the hot desert aka the middle of nowhere a bad review because you expect it to be kept clean by someone on 24/7 guard for you? News flash, the public is a bunch of slobs lol. Thanks for the very detailed hilarious reviews of a public shitter. read more

+1 for the Dunes. Minus everything else for the smell, the vagrants, the lack of sinks, and the solid metal toilets that are neither hygienic nor particularly well up-kept. read more

Doug and David both hit the nail on the head with this place... and got me to fall down laughing in the process. Three years of driving between San Diego and Yuma when I lived out that way, and this place has changed very little. It smells, it is unsanitary, and is enough to make a guy vomit in his own mouth. If you have to do your business, wait till you get to Yuma. Or if you're going the other direction, wait to the next exit, scurry behind a sand dune, dig a small hole, and numero uno or dos away. Cause that would still be more sanitary than stopping at the 'upscale' port-a-potties they have here. The only reason this place gets two stars is because it has SOME use if you're traveling and too d*** broke to afford a 30 dollar hotel room in El Centro or Yuma. For a grand price of nothing, you get a tumbleweed for a concierge, a bed the size of your driver's seat, luxuriously disgusting bathrooms, and a complimentary continental smell of raw sewage to start your day off the wrong way. Bottom line, go only if you MUST. Otherwise, move on. Oh, and for those who stop, enjoy your stay! read more

"When you have to go, you have to go!" ... and you better have that mentality walking into the restroom because it is definitely nothing special. The restrooms have a prison-like decor (not that I've been, but I have seen plenty of prison-reality TV shows recently). But, hey, it does the job if you can't hold it until Winterhaven or Yuma!!! read more

Sand Hills Rest Area - Don't expect much! - Rest Stops Near Me - Winterhaven, California

This rest stop is for emergencies only, the smell is horrible but if you gotta go it is always available. It is basically a concrete port a potty that is not cleaned very frequently, in fact I have never not seen it smelly which must just be from the volume this rest area gets but it has never been overflowing so they must clean it sometime. read more

If I could give it a "no star" I would !! This has to be the most disgusting rest area I have ever been to! No running water!! It's not sanitary and it reeks a terrible Uribe/feces smell!! Just TERRIBLE!! Shame on you California for allowing this kind of facility to still be open! How in world have you not done anything about this! I would never allow my children to go in there! Soooo grosss!! read more

Don't stop, don't stop, don't stop. This is the worst rest stop I have ever been to! Even third world countries have better facilities! You need a hazmat suit to ensure safety. Excrement ridden walls and floors, bugs crawling on you. 4 concrete Porta pottys that haven't been pumped in millennia, it seems. No running water. No shade. No tables. This is the first and last impression of California on Interstate 8. They are spending millions on Hiway renovations and not spending a dime to upgrade the rest stop from the old plank road days. I can't express how bad it is. I wrote Gov. Jerry on this. It was so hot in this shit hole (that's what it really is) I burned my butt on the toilet seat. I watched as bugs crawled on me. Diseases, did I catch anything? OMG! Don't stop. read more

Bathrooms smell so bad kids wouldn't even use them. Some serious cleaning is needed.

These are portable toilets with walls and a door. If desperate go for it. If headed east go to Yuma it's only 18 miles further. Glad it was there but next time I will plan better and get all the way to Yuma. read more

Shame on you California! At least CLEAN this place and provide tp. Urinals clogged, outhouse filthiest ever seen! How much would it cost the state to have an onsite maintenance worker? Ugly welcome to CA. I couldn't enter due to the stench. Holding on until El Centro. read more

Gross. Nasty. Smelly. Only stop here if the imodium isnt working or you are about to explode. Yes, it's that bad.

located in the middle of nowhere, far from any other choices, it is still welcome to find, although, pretty klunky. briing your own toilet paper, it will help! read more

a genuine piss stop. smells like it too. do NOT stop. just keep on driving unless you or someone with you is about to dirty the vehicle. nothing but portapotties and you have to be in the left lane to get there because unlike most rest areas where there are two "versions" one on each side of the highway this one is only one rest area in the middle. Better than doing it in a jar or under a bush at best. Best bet is to wait till either Yuma or El Centro. read more