high desert CA 2 parcels of raw land looking to rent out

Hi I have 2 parcels of raw land that I am looking to rent out to someone who is interested in homesteading and/or permaculture.  One is 20 acres on higher elevation accessible by truck, and another is 10 acres.  Both are less than 10 min from route 66 via a dirt road in the Helendale CA area. Both are mostly isolated and with no noticeable neighbors.  There is currently not water or electricity on the land.  I had wanted to put in a well but the costs are really outrageous right now.
I was thinking rent would be about $300 or so. Has anyone here had experiences in renting their raw land in the CA area?  Do you think the rent is reasonable?  Please give me some advise or feedback this is all new to me.  I don't really want to sell the land as I would like to use it one day.  But what can I do in the meantime with it?

Hi,
Ive been thinking about what to do on some dryland. It can take time for dryland permaculture methods to take effect so the sooner one gets started the better. Water infiltration for example. I would consider digging swales, infiltration pits, levees in washes, hugelcultures, water catchment tanks, etc. Ive been thinking of building ferrocement water tanks that look like natural boulders because I don’t like the way artificial stuff sticks out in the desert. One can see it from 50 miles away. Yuk!  Also hollow ferrocement dwellings that look like boulders. And water pits in the rocks for animals to drink from. Are there any trees at all?
 I was thinking water infiltration pits surrounded by hugelcultures would act like a sponge to hold lots of water. Some woody debris might need to be trucked in initially to help jump start the hugelcultures.  
I’m thinking of buying a mini excavator and tractor and bringing it with me when I snowbird. Doing terraforming and earthworks would be a blast. The boulders would be partially buried so they stay at a stable temperature. And I could use the equipment on my property up north and on my mining claims then bring it to properties down south in Winter.
Do you have some pictures?

As far as renting is concerned I’m not sure what to suggest. I surfed the satellite view on Google of that area and see some residences out there with a few trees. And the usual scattered junk in the desert. I also saw a party spot in the desert up by Barstow with a bunch of bizarre people. One issue I’d be concerned with is people coming in and messing it up. Ive had this happen to me before on the Big Island when I was away for 8 months. I’m not sure you could charge someone anything if they are improving the land actively. How deep are wells around there? If you drilled an expensive well you could charge I think.

Jeremy Baker wrote:As far as renting is concerned I’m not sure what to suggest. I surfed the satellite view on Google of that area and see some residences out there with a few trees. And the usual scattered junk in the desert. I also saw a party spot in the desert up by Barstow with a bunch of bizarre people. One issue I’d be concerned with is people coming in and messing it up. Ive had this happen to me before on the Big Island when I was away for 8 months. I’m not sure you could charge someone anything if they are improving the land actively. How deep are wells around there? If you drilled an expensive well you could charge I think.

Unfortunately the cost for a water well have gone way way up do the the grows in the area driving up prices.  At one point it would cost probably 20k, now it looks like 40K or more. Based on the information I have investigated it looks like a well would be at a depth of 230 feet. I would like to live part time on one of the pieces of the property in a tiny home.  And while doing this work on building hedges and getting some trees planted and a small garden to experiment with. There is one neighbor close to that property that has a small family and seem to really watch over the area.  They seem to be living the off grid lifestyle.  And I worry less about vandalism here.  

The 20 acre piece is elevated a bit and has a lot of contours in the land.  There are a lot of washes, and is very scenic.  This property is very close to the underground mohave river, but is elevated, so am not sure about the well here.  But from what I have investigated it is possible.  There appears to be mines and some old wells in the area.  This land is isolated without neighbors but surprisingly close to a main road. I think because it is a little bit harder to get to there is less squatters and vandals.  But still it is a worry.  I work so can't realistically be there at all times.