Coyote dry lake
📍 California , San Bernardino County · Nearest city: Joshua Tree (10 km)
12 XC score / 100 · takeoff at 791 m · 📍 View on map
Coordinates and external links
34.18610, -116.21700Forecast next days
Updated: 2026-04-21 02:46 UTC · Source: Open-Meteo · Thermal window 10:00–18:00 local time
Not recommended for flying, cloud base ~3144 m, strong wind (54 km/h).
base ~3144m · wind 54 km/hNot recommended for flying, cloud base ~3229 m, strong wind (28 km/h).
base ~3229m · wind 28 km/hNot recommended for flying, cloud base ~3206 m, wind 20 km/h.
base ~3206m · wind 20 km/hComposite flyability score (CAPE + LI + wind + precip + low clouds). Cross-check with local pilots before flying.
🌬 Daily wind (next days)
Daily summary (10m wind). Full hour × altitude chart is being added progressively.
Takeoff orientations
Green = good orientation · Yellow = possible · Gray = not suitable
Why this site has thermal potential
| Factor | Value | Interpretation |
|---|---|---|
| Hotspot density (5 km) | 0 | Low |
| Avg thermal probability | 0.00 | Based on thousands of aggregated IGC flights |
| Solar orientation | 0.39 | Slope faces south in northern hemisphere |
| Own flight history | 0.00 | Thermals detected in platform IGC tracks |
Pilot comments
George Zelenz, 2006/2/28: Word of Caution: The Coyote Dry Lake ridge site is very unforgiving. Lots of injuries and near-fatal crashes have occured even among experienced pilots. I\'m not one to talk, but I would say that 99% of those were due to poor judgement at launch. Sometimes the wind goes from flaccid to honking in short order and with little or no warning. Single surface aircraft need to be especially picky about wind speed. Pilot beware. On the positive side, in Spring and Fall when the winds are generally less consistently ferocious, the ridge is a really cool place to fly. About 4 miles long with only one gap to jump, you can get a lot of air time. The LZ is a 4 mile wide and 6 mile long dry lake bed. If you can\'t hit it, god help you. The ridge has been flown since at least 1976. The ridge and dry lake are BLM land, and currently there is no restriction for flying.
Nearby sites
Blackhawk (8) · Mentone (53) · Idyllwild (3) · Thomas Mt (15) · Bee Canyon LFB (9) · Soboba (12)