| Mojave National Preserve Area |
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| Mojave National Preserve   | 
| Page Type: Area Location: California, United States, North America Lat/Lon: 35.00750°N / 115.65033°W Season: Spring, Fall, Winter | Page By: Cedar Created/Edited: Jan 2, 2010 / Jan 2, 2010 Object ID: 274140 Hits: 366 Loading... Page Score: 88.36% - 6 Votes Loading... Vote: Log in to vote |
IntroductionMojave National Preserve is a massive area of land south of Las Vegas owned and administrated by the National Park Service. It is currently the third largest NPS administrated region in the contiguous 48 states after Death Valley and Yellowstone. Unlike Death Valley and Yellowstone however, few people outside the area have heard of this park and know what their missing out on.Places to Go  Clearing skies after some winter rain. Light rain is actually helpful as it keeps the dust down from any passing vehicles.
The Mojave Road is a good way to see everything but is LONG--about 60 miles within the park (looking at the map). I would recommend that this road be driven and to bike the side roads including into the cinder cones and to Pinto Valley in the New York Mountains. Note that many of these are meant to be driven as well to reach a portion of the park or the Mojave Road faster.
For a view at giant granite boulders (which you see from the main road as well) and mountains covered with them (appropriately Granite Mountains), a road from Granite Pass coming in from I-40 on Kelbaker Road heads right up to the base. Turn around as far back or as close as you wish.
Clark Mountain, north of I-15 at Mountain Pass, has many dirt roads open to biking. The west part of the mountain can be accessed from Excelsior Mine Road, southern part from Mountain Pass and the eastern region from Yates Well. The high point requires rock climbing although the roads get close.
There are over 1000 miles of dirt roads in the park. Many are rarely visited yet yield great surprises. Go find them!Getting ThereThere are numerous ways to enter the park. These entrances will be given from the I-15 and I-40 freeways to the north and south respectively from west to east (signed as south to north on I-15).
I-15
The first exit east of Barstow to enter the park is Rasor Road which, heading south from the freeway, will lead to Mojave Road.
The next exit, Zzyzx Road, won't have much biking opportunities but does lead to a now-closed resort that was very successful in its day along with a spring.
In the town of Baker, Kelbaker Road will pass by the cinder cones to Kelso Depot.
Cima Road will pass by Cima Dome and the Ivanpah Mountains before ending up in Cima with access to Providence and New York Mountains via Mojave Road (paved or unpaved 2WD in this area).
Exiting Nipton Road, then turning on Ivanpah Road, is another way to the New York Mountains.
I-40
There are 2 main entrances to the park from Interstate 40.
Twenty-eight miles east of Ludlow, Kelbaker Road heads north by the towering Granite Mountains through Granite Pass and by lots of large boulders. Kelso Dunes, to the left, just past the pass, is worth a visit though you can't bike on it (not that anyone would want to!). Kelbaker Road continues by smaller dunes in the Devil's Playground (no biking I'm aware of) to Kelso Depot.
Essex Road heads north into the Providence Mountains State Recreation area. A branch 10 miles into the park named Black Canyon Road to the Mojave Road passing through the Providence Mountains and a number of possible short trips (does not mean easy or 100% biking!).Weather  Sunset in the cinder cones area after a winter storm passed by.
Mojave National Preserve can be visited anytime of year.
Winter is the rainy season in the park. Snow may fall in places as low as 3000' at times. Mountain roads, although icy, should not be impassible except during a storm. When it falls, it generally melts away quickly except at the highest of elevations.
Spring sometimes brings a wildflower bloom if the winter before brought above-average rainfall to the region. For more information, visit the Wildflower Page of the park's website.
In summer, much of the park is over 100 degrees. This makes it a good time to be in the mountains where temperatures generally remain under 80 degrees at 6000'.
Autumn is wildfire season in southern California. While the fires don't directly affect the preserve, smoke may drift into the area and cause air quality issues. The same smoke may also create an unforgettably brilliant sunset.Red TapeBikes must be kept on roads open to automobiles. There are NO singletracks open to bikes, just dirt roads. There is no entrance fee.External LinksMojave National Preserve: National Park Service website
Wildflower observations: A page updated weekly in the spring about the condition of the wildflower bloom
DesertUSA Wildflower report Images |
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