Frommer's National Parks of the American West - Don Laine [146]
The only organized attraction is Mitchell Caverns, in a state recreation area within the national preserve. Rangers lead regular tours of these rock rooms, where you'll see marvelous stalactites, stalagmites, and other limestone formations, plus archaeological artifacts from the area's early human inhabitants. The caves, where the temperature is an almost constant 65°F (18°C), provide a welcome respite during hot weather. Tours run daily between Labor Day and Memorial Day, weekdays at 1:30pm and weekends at 10am, 1:30pm, and 3pm. In summer, tours are daily at 1:30pm. Cost is $4 for adults, $2 for kids 6 to 16, and free for children under 6. Tours are limited to 25 people and fill quickly, so arrive early to ensure a spot. For information, call ☎ 661/942-0662. Note: Tours are often added without notice during periods of high demand. To check last-minute schedules or find out whether a particular tour is sold out, call the visitor center (☎ 760/928-2586).
HISTORIC & MAN-MADE ATTRACTIONS
In the days of steam trains, the town of Kelso was a critical watering spot for locomotives. Built in 1924, the elegant Kelso Depot is Spanish Revival style, with the requisite red-tile roof and graceful arches. At its peak, during World War II, the town supported 2,000 residents, and the depot's diner, the Beanery, served customers 24 hours a day. Once slated for demolition, the depot has been refurbished by the National Park Service for use as the preserve's visitor center. At press time, the long-delayed dedication was slated for early 2006, after which it will be open daily.
Skirting the preserve's northern boundary is the charming whistle-stop town of Nipton. Founded in 1885, Nipton was a true ghost town nearly a century later, when Los Angeles transplants Jerry and Roxanne Freeman began restoring its dilapidated buildings. At its height, Nipton was at the center of Mojave industry, providing railroad access for miners and ranchers, and silent film star Clara Bow was a frequent visitor. Call ☎ 760/856-2335 for additional information on Nipton.
At the preserve's western boundary, on the shores of the stark white Soda Dry Lake, is Soda Springs/Zzyzx (a cryptic name, pronounced zeye -zix, that's puzzled generations of motorists). Reached by taking the Zzyzx Road exit from I-15 and carefully negotiating a 4-mile rocky dirt road, the springs have a colorful history. In addition to being an important watering hole for those crossing the desert, the site was an American Indian camp, a military outpost, a wagon station, the headquarters of a Hollywood radio evangelist, and a trendy health resort (with the fanciful name of Zzyzx Mineral Springs). The springs are still active, feeding the elegant pools left over from the resort's heyday and supporting an entire ecosystem of wildlife at the lake bed's edge. You can stroll among the buildings, now used by California State University's Desert Studies Center, and learn more about the area's history at an unstaffed visitor center.
Throughout the preserve are remnants of the historic Mojave Road, a popular 19th-century wagon route to the West Coast. Check with preserve rangers for tips on where to find sections of the old road.
DAY HIKES
In addition to the preserve's marked and maintained hiking trails, many hikers create their own routes using the numerous dirt roads that crisscross the area. Some are so poor that they're passable only by high-clearance off-road vehicles, so there's little or no traffic.
There are several good hiking areas along New York Mountains Road, west of Ivanpah Road (which is itself unpaved and rough), an area of mine ruins, ranch structures, and cool, pine-studded canyons. Several sections of the historic Mojave Road are also great for hiking but accessible only by four-wheel-drive vehicles; remains of a wagon route stretch from Piute Wash beyond the eastern boundary of the preserve, through Cedar Canyon and past the lava beds, all the way to Zzyzx Springs