Contact Information
222 E. Main St., Suite 202
Barstow, CA 92311
760-255-8800
Some dismiss the desert as a wasteland - a waste of space where nothing and nobody can exist for long. Mojave National Preserve in southeastern California is not exempt from this perception. Its inclusion in the park system back in 1994 was strenuously opposed by groups convinced the area's empty tracts were better suited to 4-wheeling and mining than being set aside for quiet recreation.While stereotypes die hard, even the most cursory look behind the preserve's seemingly austere exterior reveals a land brimming with an incredible variety of flora and fauna. From creosote bush-dominated flats in Mojave's low lands to pinyon pine and juniper woodlands in the higher elevations, the preserve's plant community includes 70 percent of the vascular plants known to California deserts. More than 300 different species of animals and 200 species of birds have been spotted within its borders. Mojave's 1.6 million acres were set aside to protect one of the most diverse desert environments in the world - a meeting of the Mojave, Sonoran, and Great Basin deserts. Inside its borders you'll find everything from sand dunes and volcanic cinder cones to Joshua tree forests and seven mountain ranges. The Piute Range in the southeastern corner of the preserve contains the region's only year-round stream. Because of the perennial supply of water, there are numerous archeological remains found in this area. In fact, Aha Macav (Mojave) means the people who live along the water - the Mojave Indians inhabited the land running along the Colorado River, depending on the waterway to irrigate their crops. If you're looking to get away from it all, Mojave is the place. Almost half of the preserve (nearly 700,000 acres) is designated wilderness, and the preserve remains remarkably undeveloped. Other than Mojave's two established campgrounds, the only tourist amenity in the preserve is a visitors' center off Interstate 15 - no entrance booths, no new hotels, and no gift shops to spoil the desert solitude. Neither cars nor bikes are allowed in Mojave's designated wilderness acres, so the only tracks you'll see there should be human ones . . . unless they're from bighorn sheep, mule deer, coyote, desert tortoises, or rattlesnakes - among other critters native to the area.
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