Mojave National Preserve

"Fun with the Family"

The Mojave National Preserve is open-year round. The preserve is easily reached via Interstate 15 or Interstate 40 east of Barstow and west of Needles, California, and Las Vegas, Nevada. Six freeway exits provide visitor access. Road conditions vary from paved, two-lane highways to rugged four-wheel-drive roads; see a map for major routes. Maps showing all dirt roads are available at park information centers.
Many visitors to Southern California are surprised to learn how extensive the state’s desert lands really are. Some of the most prominent natural features in the preserve are the Kelso Dunes, situated in the southern section. Rising to 600 feet, the dunes are the third highest in the United States. Shifting sands on the steep side of the dunes create a unique rumbling sound that has given these mobile mounds the alias “the singing dunes.” The dunes are ringed by high mountain ranges, and the overall effect is one of a great, stark beauty. A red-tailed hawk soaring above may be the only reminder that this is Southern California, not Mars.
The Baker Desert Information Center (72157 Baker Boulevard, P.O. Box 241, Baker 92309; 760–733–4040) is open from 9:00 A.M. to 5:00 P.M. daily. Hole-in-the-Wall Ranger Station (760–928–2572) is open on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday from 9:00 A.M. to 4:00 P.M. The Office of the Superintendent, Mojave National Preserve, is located at 222 East Main Street, Suite 202, Barstow; (headquarters 760–255–8800; www.nps.gov/moja/).