Plaster City Launch Site
Plaster City
Plaster City is located about midway between San Diego CA and Yuma
AZ north of I-8. Plaster City is not a city, but is a drywall factory
operated by US Gypsum. There are no houses, stores, gas stations in
Plaster City.
This is Plaster City!
The area surrounding Plaster City is open desert.
The land is administered by the Bureau
of Land Management. The launch site is within a large off-road
vehicle area. Camping is permitted free of charge, however there are
no facilities. We do rent porta-potties for each of our launches.
This open desert, so come prepared. Bring shade, plenty
of water and sunscreen. WDuring October we expect daytime temperatures
near 90 degrees and nightime temperatures around 60 with clear skys.
The small town of Ocotillo is located 9 miles west
of the launch site and has a restaurant, and gas station with gas
and diesel fuel. El Centro 17 miles east has gas, groceries, Home
Depot, and numerous restaurants, hotels and motels. A State Prison
is conveniently located NE of the launch site.
Directions
Coming from the East: Drive west on I-8 from Yuma, after you
pass through El Centro watch for the Dunaway exit about 15 miles west
of El Centro. The exit sign will also say "State Prison".
Go 1.5 miles north on Dunaway Road and turn left(west) on S-80. Go
1.7 miles until you see a sign on your right that says "Plaster
City East Staging Area". There is a bridge just past this sign,
if you go over the bridge you've gone too far west. Turn right(north)
at the sign and go about 0.2 miles on a dirt road. Watch to your right
for a nondescript road which heads up a low hill to the northeast.
Follow that road to the top of the hill, you should see a group of
rocketeers on the flat area straight ahead of you. You're there!
Coming from the West: Drive east on I-8 from San Diego about
80 miles, after you drop down to the desert you will pass by Ocotillo.
Go about 8-9 miles and watch for the Dunaway exit, it's the first
exit past Ocotillo. The exit sign will also say "State Prison".
Go 1.5 miles north on Dunaway Road and turn left(west) on S-80. Go
1.7 miles until you see a sign on your right that says "Plaster
City East Staging Area". There is a bridge just past this sign,
if you go over the bridge you've gone too far west. Turn right(north)
at the sign and go about 0.2 miles on a dirt road. Watch to your right
for a nondescript road which heads up a low hill to the northeast.
Follow that road to the top of the hill, you should see a group of
rocketeers on the flat area straight ahead of you. You're there!
Plaster City East Staging Area Sign
Please note that you can take S-80 east from Ocotillo. However this
highway has a stretch of very rough pavement and may be hard on your
RV. If you're driving a car or pickup this road is fine. If you drive
this way watch for the launch site turn-off after you pass through
Plaster City(the factory).
Plaster City Launch Site Detail Map
Click
here to get a topographic map of launch area.
Click here for a
satellite photo showing roads and GPS coordinates of nearby road intersections.
Features
The launch area is in the middle of an expanse of open desert surrounded
by a larger area of lightly vegetated landscape. Rocket recovery is
generally easy due to the limited ground cover.
Launch Facilities
We normally have an ample number of launch pads for
rockets of all sizes. We have various sizes of launch rods and rails
available.
GPS Coordinates
GPS coordinates(UTM System) are:
11 S 06103493632244
GPS coordinates(lat-long) are:
N 32.82267 (32° 49' 22")
W 115.82112 (115° 45' 16")
Camping
RVs and Tents Welcome
Campfires OK
ATV use OK
Porta Potties Onsite
No Firearms or Fireworks
Trash Bins Onsite(During Plaster Blaster Only)
Weather at Plaster City in Early October
Expect daytime temperatures between 90-100 F. Skies should
be clear and humidity should be low. Bring lots of drinking water
and sunscreen.
Current
forcast for nearby Ocotillo, CA
