I'm fortunate to have this gem just a short drive from my home (about 30 minutes) and I don't visit here often enough. I headed out last weekend for a brief recharge, and the wilderness area did not disappoint me. 

Because the weather was mild and it was a weekend, there were lots of folks using the ORV area. I parked roughly in the area of the parking icon on the BLM's map. I drive a lightweight pickup truck, so I have better clearance than most passenger vehicles. But the truck is front wheel drive (it's a hybrid with limited towing capacity) rather than 4WD; I had some concerns about some of the soft sand but I made it in & out okay. The large number of ORV users meant that the best areas to park were already in use. 

As has been my experience in all my trips to the Juniper Dunes, once I was inside the wilderness area I didn't encounter another human. The noise from the ORVs faded away fairly quickly, and I wandered at whim. Because there's no discernable trails having the ability to navigate back to the gate is critical, but beyond that one can pick a point in the distance and walk towards it. That's what I tend to do here: roam until I want to take a break, then find a spot with bare sand (that's in the shade or out of the wind, depending on the weather) and sit & soak in all the wonder. 

This place is ideal if you want solitude and you're confident in your ability to get back to where you started. I've camped out here a few times, and it's magical. 

Regarding a recent trip report, I see nothing on the BLM's website about this only being open to the public March-June and only for day use. That was the rules for the north entrance at the end of Joy Road. That was private land. You'll need a permit for an overnight stay, but that can be secured through the BLM. 

Trail is only open to hiking from March to June, and only during the day.

Spent the day doing a solo off-trail hike in the Dunes. I parked near the BLM sign with my Forester with no issue, though honestly I could have probably made it all the way to the Wilderness Gate (just a little scared of the narrow side roads). The weather was utterly beautiful, only a few OHV out there, and no other hikers. Saw some white-tailed deer running across the grasses at a distance, and a bunch of ravens. Plenty of evidence of everything else that comes out at night / early in the morning as well. Those dunes are no joke. If you are planning on hiking any length of significance, the game trails are your friends. I learned that after going up and down maybe 15 dunes. Who knows what the combined elevation gain ended up being!

Started my hike near the end of Juniper Dunes access road. This was my first time visiting the dunes and noticed that this portion of the wilderness area was heavily used with off roading traffic. My plan is to try finding another trailhead to access the dunes however I’ve been learning that there really isn’t a trail once you reach the end of the access road. Wildflowers are still currently visible in many areas especially in the sand.

As luck would have it we were near Juniper Dunes today. As I recall it is a long way from anywhere so we jumped at the chance to visit again.

The ‘trail’ isn’t so hard to navigate so much as there really isn’t a trail. A handful of game tracks and common paths are here and there. Pick what looks good to you and be conscious not to trample the desert terrain too much.

Animal tracks seemingly go very which way and burrows are everywhere. Flowers are plentiful though subdued. We made for a three mile loop with lunch though in sand it feels like more.