Mojave National Preserve

Mojave National Preserve could well be considered the step-​child of California’s parks and preserves. Everyone has heard of Death Valley, Yosemite and Sequoia. And most Angelenos could tell you where the Mojave Desert is, kind of: on the way to Vegas or the Sierras, depending on the person. But few people (and this included me, until this weekend) know that this Preserve protects 1.6 million acres of the most gorgeous and interesting acres of wilderness in our state and the country, including the Cima Dome which is home to the highest concentration of Joshua trees on the planet.
Highlights of our trip included:
Lava tube: you are able to crawl down into an actual lava tube created in the ancient geologic past of this area. Make sure you have a Jeep or the like: the road out there is five miles and unpaved in a very challenging way.
Kelso Dunes: gorgeous sand dunes which are home to several species of plants and animals native to the area.
Kelso Depot Visitor Center: A former train depot that has been converted to a nice visitor center with friendly rangers, a gift shop and displays about the history of the area (including a clay pot thousands of years old made by the Mojave residents of the area)
Hole-​in-​the-​Wall: The fascinating rock formations in the area were created by a volcanic explosion millions of years ago. As the volcanic ash settled, it trapped gas bubbles which then creating the Swiss-​cheese-​like formations you will find here. Wonderful trails.
We saw lots of wildlife (maybe because it was cooler than normal for our trip) including a roadrunner, a mule deer. a coyote, tons of rabbits and birds, gazillions of lizards and lots of the Mojave ground squirrel. There are flashing red lights at some of the entrances warning you to watch out for tortoises.
Pictures and words cannot capture the feeling of vast expanse that will envelop you as you drive through the Preserve. Make sure that your car is in excellent shape, full of gas and don’t try roads that might be challenging for your vehicle. Take lots of water and snacks in case you get stranded
No fee. But then peace and tranquility are priceless.

It’s probably a safe bet Mojave National Preserve is the most visited national park. However, all but a sliver are headed to Las Vegas and never enter the park. The I-​15 freeway is the northern border of the park from Zzyzx to almost the Nevada stateline.
In all the years of driving through the desert terrain, I would’ve never imagined that in this park you can find beautiful towering sand dunes, lava tubes that you can walk through, and beautiful scenic hikes where you see wild horses grazing nearby and indian hieroglyphics. Yes, all of this can be experienced in Mojave National Preserve.
The park is home to abundant wildlife, including bobcats, mountain lion, mule deer, big horn sheep, great horn and barn owls, and the desert tortoise. There are many volcanic sites including cinder cones and lava tubes, from activities 18 million years ago. At night, the sky lights up spectacularly with a zillion stars and the milky way is clearly visible.
SUVs are the best for criscrossing the park as some of the roads are gravel and rough but passenger cars with good clearance will work too. The park facilities are well maintained. We camped at the Hole-​In-​The-​Wall campground which had a great covered picnic table area.
Mojave National Preserve may be less known than Death Valley and Joshua Tree National Parks but has unique attractions that are definitely worth visiting.

Mojave National Preserve was a surprise favourite on our American Road Trip. We visited in September and camped at Hole in the Wall Campground which has stunning views all around you but is also very exposed to the sun. It was by far one of our favourite campsites of all the ones visited on our 3 week trip as it was so peaceful, at night you could here the Coyotes and there was another Mouse like rodent paying us a visit during Dinner. Also there is a great walk that starts by the visitor centre that takes you through the hole in the wall, called the Rings. It is a pretty short hike but it takes you right into the canyon where you then use these rings to climb up in a few sections which is fairly physically demanding but the view is gorgeous. We also started the Kelso Sand Dunes hike but the rest of my party stopped cause they were getting too hot, we also made a bird friend who then subsequently followed us and flew across our car almost the whole way out on the dirt road (weirdest bird behaviour I’ve ever seen). Also at the North of the park is the Joshua Tree forests which apparently are more dense then the ones in its National Park. Overall, this is a beautiful slice of paradise that’s free to enter.
Just remember to bring all the water and food you need as its a fair way out to any services, and fill up with gas. Also a lot of the park is dirt road where conditions change regularly cause of the shifting sand and monsoon rains (which literally attacked us just as we got out of the park) so high clearance or 4×4 depending on the road is recommended.

So we started in Afton Canyon and followed as much of the Mojave trail as possible until we got lost. We ended up in Kelso but the trip was fun. I have several things to still find but for now I will post a few pics if the buried box cars we found along the way.

This Visitor’s Center doesn’t seem to get many visitors. And, given the approximately 600 sq. foot space designated as the Visitor’s Center, I can see why. The staff was nevertheless friendly and glad to see that someone had come in to check out its offerings.
On this visit, I picked up a National Parks patch. The have very few other items for purchase. At the time of my transaction, I was informed by the attendant that the register wasn’t working and that they had no change to give. Having only a $ 20, the attendant went into her purse to break my $ 20. That was nice.
The restroom facility, should you need to use it, is very clean. Although, you can hear the toilet flush, quite loudly I must add, all the way outside.

A great visitor’s center surrounded by miles and miles of desert.

We camped at Hole in the Wall and it was FREEZING (March 2012). But near this campground there is a GREAT little hike, where you can appreciate bizarre rock formations that have registered different volcanic activity. Incredible to walk before sunset.
Next day we passed through a forest of joshua trees, more of these than in the NP with the same name. That same day we went to conquer Kelso dunes. Worth the try, but better take off your shoes when climbing up. On a clear day you get to see some snowy mountains (no clue which one we saw).

We drove an hour, and it’s all the same — lots of Joshua Trees, more joshua trees, rocks, and more rocks… It’s a desert!
We didn’t make it to the visitor center

So — first, my review for the visitor center, since that’s what this listing represents… the Barstow Visitor Center.
We dropped in, obviously on our way to the Preserve. We were sadly but not surprisingly the only people in the Center. The ranger/​attendant was extremely cheerful, helpful and pleasant. She confirmed a good hike for us to do and encouraged us to drive through the park after our hike, rather than go back the the highway and go around. My only complaint is that she told us to check out the Kelso Dunes which we thought were a little meh.
Small but full of souvenirs too. Nice Visitor Center!
Second — the Preserve itself. Nice, quiet and barely anyone else out there. We did the Teutonia Peak Trail because we wanted to see Joshua Trees. It was great, not only was the hike full of JTs but so was the drive TO the trail. We didn’t really check out any other trails but I highly recommend Teutonia Peak… 4 miles total and includes a nice, but reasonable incline with nice views of the park.

This was the first stop on our grand Road Trip of Thanksgiving, 2007, so this is not really a current review, but still relevant. The preserve is a newer addition to the NPS roster and is a very large piece of land. It is essentially all of the desert east of Barstow between I-​15 and I-​40. There are a lot of interesting things to see and you will find that it is basically deserted compared to the more popular national parks. You can access the preserve from either freeway and there is an info center in Barstow but it was closed on Thanksgiving day. We were running short on daylight being that it was November so our main goal was to see the new visitors center located in the Kelso train depot. (Kelso is an abandoned town located about equidistant from the two freeways and south of Baker. We had actually been to the depot two times before when it was still abandoned because we are just the type of people who will drive down a road to see where it goes.) The Kelso Depot has been beautifully restored and will provide you with some great photo ops. Trains still come through here but don’t stop. Mainly the stop in Kelso was to fill up with water and and switch to diesel from steam engines pretty much eliminated the need. This is why the town of Kelso is no longer the «booming metropolis» it once was. In the gift shop here we picked up a really interesting DVD by Huell Howser (yeah, we are PBS nerds too) about the history and restoration of the depot in which he interviews quite a few people who lived in Kelso during its heyday. A good purchase and highly recommended. There are many other places to see the beauty of the desert within this preserve and you will find something educational at all of them. On they way home from Utah at the tail end of our trip we ended up taking another side trip down into the Preserve by exiting the 15 at Zzyzx Rd (yeah, you have wondered about that exit every time you’ve driven to Vegas, just admit it!) It was late in the day so the colors of the mountains were stunning. There is a big flat dry lake along the road, and you are not supposed to go off-​roading there but a bunch of a-​holes do, they go out and do doughnuts without even realizing that they are driving through a really cool and unique ecosystem. The road is unpaved but we had no problem driving it in our Vue with only front wheel drive but I would rethink that if it was wet weather. Down at the end of the road is a university research station (Cal State Fullerton Desert Studies Center) and a spring-​fed lake that serves as a stopover for migratory birds. Apparently it also used to be some sort of resort town. There is also a parking area and vault toilets. So there! Now you know! Next time you drive to Vegas you can wow your traveling companions with that little tidbit of knowledge! I am rating MNP 5 stars because I can’t imagine rating a National Park less than that… yep, I’m a National Park nerd too… and while the desert may seem boring and empty to most people it is actually a really interesting place. Plus it is just cool that all of this land is protected. Plus something about the out-​of-​the-​way-​ness just amazes me and the quiet here is like a quiet you won’t find too many places.
One other tidbit — there is a state park located within the preserve boundaries also — Providence Mountains State Rec Area — we did not make it here but they have cave tours. I think it would be worth checking out.