Mojave National Preserve
Mojave preserves a diverse mosaic of ecological habitats and a 10,000 year history of human connection with the desert. Offering extensive opportunities to experience desert landscapes, the preserve promotes understanding and appreciation for the increasingly threatened resources of the Mojave Desert. This remote preserve encourages a sense of discovery and a connection to wild places.
About 1 hours from Riverside and 2 hours from Las Vegas by car.
Alerts
- ClosureHart Mine Road Closed
Hart Mine Road Closed.
- ClosureKelso Depot Visitor Center closed
Kelso Depot Visitor Center is closed for rehabilitation of the heating and cooling system. We expect to reopen the depot in 2026. The restrooms beside the depot are open.
- CautionRoad Damage/Debris on Road
Use caution when driving through Mojave National Preserve. Widespread storms have flooded, damaged and deposited debris on roads throughout the preserve. 4WD vehicles only are recommended for Black Canyon Road.
- CautionDo not pick up hitchhikers
Do not pick up hitchhikers. Please report their locations to law enforcement by calling 911.
- CautionNPS ↗Fire restrictions in place
Fire restrictions are in place at Mojave National Preserve and Castle Mountains National Monument. Wood and charcoal fires are not permitted. Most camp stoves are. See fire restriction order for additional details.
- InformationNPS Visitor Wi-Fi
Visitor Wi-Fi and Wi-Fi calling is now available in the Kelso Depot parking lot for calls including emergencies. Go to the bulletin board at the Kelso Depot restrooms for instructions.
- InformationDelays up to 1 hour are possible at Kelbaker Road Railroad Crossing near Kelso Depot
In the event there are train siding operations at the crossing near Kelso Depot, delays may be up to one hour. Please plan accordingly for this possibility with extra fuel and drinking water. Union Pacific Contact: 1 800 848-8715
Fees & passes
Free. No entrance fee here.
Hours
| Park Operating Hours | Daily · All Day |
When to go
November draws the most visits here and August the fewest, averaged over 2021 to 2025.
Campgrounds
| Mid Hills Campground | 26 sites | |
| $20 a night · Mid-Hills Campground is open year-round. · 26 reservable | ||
| Hole-in-the-Wall Campground | 38 sites | |
| $25 a night · Hole-in-the-Wall Camground is open year round. Please check road conditions and other facility conditions at go.nps.gov/MojaveConditions for the latest up to… · 38 reservable | ||
| Black Canyon Group and Equestrian Campground | 2 sites | |
| $50 a night · Black Canyon Group and Equestrian Campground is open year-round. Reservations are required. · 2 reservable | ||
Every campground here has its own page on Campsite Atlas, with site counts, hookups, rig limits and booking windows. All of them on one page → How park camping works
Visitor centers
- Hole-in-the-Wall Visitor Center ↗Passport stamp
Information, park brochures, drinking water, and passport stamps are available. Limited maps, books, postcards and other items available for purchase with the Western National Parks Association. Public Wifi available for paying campground fees on Pay.Gov.
- Kelso Depot Visitor Center ↗
Originally opened in 1924 as a train station, Kelso Depot was renovated and reopened in 2005 as a Visitor Center for Mojave National Preserve. Exhibits include a baggage room; ticket office and two dormitory rooms have been furnished to illustrate depot life during the first half of the twentieth…
- Barstow Headquarters Information DeskPassport stamp
A small visitor center lobby is located in the front of our Barstow Headquarters.
Explore
Things to do
- Hike the Kelso Dunes30-180 Minutes
Hike the Kelso Dunes
Opens on the Park Service site - Hike the Rings Loop1-2 Hours
The Rings Loop Trail is a popular 1.5 mile hike that takes you past beautiful scenery and ancient petroglyphs, and up a series of metal rings. This is a moderately difficult hike, and generally flat until the rings climb.
Opens on the Park Service site - Visit Kelso Depot
Kelso Depot Visitor Center and Museum contains a wealth of information on the human and natural history of the area. Come learn about the plants, animals, and people who have called this area home at some point in history.
Opens on the Park Service site - Visit a Lava Tube0-30 Minutes
Come explore underground in a lava tube! Around 27,000 years ago, lava flowed across the surface here. As the red-hot liquid lava stream flowed, its top cooled in the air, blackening and solidifying like a freezing creek in wintertime.
Opens on the Park Service site - Teutonia Peak trail0-3 Hours
The Teutonia Peak Hike is a great way to examine the aftermath of the Dome Fire up close. The hike is three miles round-trip and takes between 2 and 3 hours for most people.
Opens on the Park Service site - Wander Through the Joshua Trees1-1 Hours
The densest concentration of Joshua trees lies along Cima Road. Although about 1/3 of the Preserve's Joshua Trees were burned during the August 2020 Dome Fire, many healthy individuals remain on Cima Road.
Opens on the Park Service site
Show all 8Hide
- Hike Desert Sand Dunes1-4 Hours
Take a day hike on the Kelso Dunes! Enjoy an approximately three mile round-trip trail to the top of cream-colored dunes, formed over millennia by wind and sand. If you're lucky, you might even hear the dunes sing.
Opens on the Park Service site - Behold the Granite Mountains0-1 Hours
A paved pullout about seven miles north of Highway 40 on Kelbaker Road allows visitors to park their cars and enjoy the view of the Granite Mountains. There is parking for five vehicles at a time.
Opens on the Park Service site
Films
National Park Service productions, public domain.
News
- Mojave National Preserve Welcomes New Superintendent ↗2026-09-30
The National Park Service has selected Kevin Schluckebier as the next superintendent of Mojave National Preserve. He will begin his new role Oct. 18, 2026.
Map
Interactive map by the National Park Service
On the National Register nearby
- 8 Mile CorralStructure · Cima · 2.9 mi
- Thomas Place CorralStructure · Cima · 4.6 mi
- Marl Springs CorralStructure · Kelso · 8 mi
- Government HolesStructure · Cima · 9 mi
Public land nearby
Distances are approximate. Wilderness Atlas publishes a center point and an acreage for each area rather than a boundary, so each area is treated here as a circle of the same size and the figure is the gap to that circle.
Guidebooks for Mojave National Preserve and California's national parks
We earn a small commission if you buy through these links. It does not change what we list.
Titles come from Open Library's catalog, matched by subject.
Reference
Wildlife
Seen this monthGreater Roadrunner 1×Research-grade observations within 25 km, last 30 days, via iNaturalist
Full checklist: 151 birds, 50 mammalsHide
Raptors & owlsAmerican Kestrel · Burrowing Owl · Cooper's Hawk · Flammulated Owl · Golden Eagle · Great Horned Owl · Harris's Hawk · Long-eared Owl · Prairie Falcon · Red-tailed Hawk · Rough-legged Hawk · Sharp-shinned Hawk · Swainson's Hawk · Turkey Vulture · Western Screech-Owl
Waterfowl & wadersBlack-crowned Night-Heron · Cinnamon Teal · Eared Grebe · Red-breasted Merganser
Shorebirds & seabirdsKilldeer · Ring-billed Gull · Solitary Sandpiper · Spotted Sandpiper
Gamebirds & dovesBand-tailed Pigeon · Gambel's quail · Mourning Dove · White-winged Dove
WoodpeckersGilded Flicker · Ladder-backed Woodpecker · Lewis's Woodpecker · Northern Flicker
Hummingbirds & swiftsAnna's Hummingbird · Broad-tailed Hummingbird · Costa's Hummingbird · Rufous Hummingbird · Vaux's Swift · White-throated Swift
Also on the checklistAmerican Pipit · American Robin · Ash-throated Flycatcher · Bank Swallow · Barn Swallow · Bell's Vireo · Bendire's Thrasher · Bewick's Wren · Black Phoebe · Black-and-White Warbler · Black-chinned Sparrow · Black-headed Grosbeak · Black-tailed Gnatcatcher · Black-throated Gray Warbler · Black-throated Sparrow · Bluy-gray Gnatcatcher · Brewer's Sparrow · Brown Creeper · Brown-crested Flycatcher · Brown-headed Cowbird · Bullock's Oriole · Bushtit · Cactus Wren · Canyon Wren · Cassin's Finch · Cassin's Kingbird · Cassin's Vireo · Cedar Waxwing · Chipping Sparrow · Chukar · Cliff Swallow · Common Poorwill · Common Raven · Common Yellowthroat · Cordilleran Flycatcher · Crissal Thrasher · Dark-eyed Junco · European Starling · Evening Grosbeak · Fox Sparrow · Golden-crowned Sparrow · Grace's Warbler · Gray Flycatcher · Gray Vireo · Greater Roadrunner · Green-tailed Towhee · Hammond's Flycatcher · Hepatic Tanager · Hermit Thrush · Hermit Warbler · Hooded Oriole · Horned Lark · House Finch · House Sparrow · House Wren · Juniper Titmouse · Lawrence's goldfinch · Lazuli Bunting · Le Conte's Thrasher · Lesser Goldfinch · Lesser Nighthawk · Lincoln's Sparrow · Loggerhead Shrike · Lucy's Warbler · MacGillivray's Warbler · Mexican Whip-poor-will · Mountain Bluebird · Mountain Chickadee · Nashville Warbler · Northern Mockingbird · Olive-sided Flycatcher · Orange-crowned Warbler · Ovenbird · Pacific-slope Flycatcher · Painted Redstart · Phainopepla · Pine Siskin · Pinyon Jay · Plumbeous Vireo · Red Crossbill · Red-breasted Nuthatch · Red-faced Warbler · Red-winged Blackbird · Rock Wren · Rose-breasted Grosbeak · Ruby-crowned Kinglet · Rufous-crowned Sparrow · Sage Sparrow · Sage Thrasher · Savannah Sparrow · Say's Phoebe · Scott's Oriole · Song Sparrow · Swainson's Thrush · Townsend's Solitaire · Townsend's warbler · Verdin · Violet-green Swallow · Virginia's Warbler · Warbling Vireo · Western Bluebird · Western Kingbird · Western Meadowlark · Western Scrub-Jay · Western Tanager · Western Wood-Pewee · White-crowned Sparrow · Willow Flycatcher · Wilson's Warbler · Yellow Warbler · Yellow-breasted Chat · Yellow-rumped Warbler · dusky flycatcher · spotted towhee
Small mammalsBotta's pocket gopher · Crawford's grey shrew · Desert Pocket Mouse · Merriam's kangaroo rat · North American deermouse · North American porcupine · Panamint chipmunk · Panamint kangaroo rat · San Diego pocket mouse · black-tailed jackrabbit · brush deermouse · cactus deermouse · canyon deermouse · chisel-toothed kangaroo rat · desert cottontail · desert kangaroo rat · desert woodrat · dusky-footed woodrat · little pocket mouse · long-tailed pocket mouse · piñon deermouse · rock squirrel · round-tailed ground squirrel · southern grasshopper mouse · spiny pocket mouse · western harvest mouse · white-tailed antelope squirrel
PredatorsAmerican badger · bobcat · coyote · gray fox · kit fox · ringtail · western spotted skunk
Hoofed mammalsbighorn sheep · feral burro · mule deer
BatsCalifornia myotis · Mexican free-tailed bat · Townsend's big-eared bat · big brown bat · dark-nosed small-footed myotis · fringed myotis · hoary bat · long-eared myotis · long-legged myotis · pallid bat · western pipistrelle
Also on the checklistcougar · domestic cattle
Activities
Activity guides for this park Birdwatching in the national parks · Camping in the national parks · Hiking in the national parks · Horseback riding in the national parks · Stargazing in the national parks · Wildlife watching in the national parks
Weather & climate
Mojave Desert experiences change with the seasons. In winter, freezing temperatures and strong winds can be expected, with rain and snow in the mountains. With enough moisture, spring wildflowers may carpet the desert floor with vivid colors. Summers are hot, and temperatures above 100 degrees Fahrenheit are typical. In summer, adventurers head for the higher elevations such as Mid-Hills and the New York Mountains. The cooler temperatures of fall mark hunting season.
Questions people ask
Does Mojave charge an entrance fee?
No. Mojave is free to enter.
Source: National Park Service
Is Mojave open year-round?
Yes. The grounds are open 24 hours a day, year-round.
Source: National Park Service
Can I camp in Mojave?
Yes. The Park Service lists 3 campgrounds in Mojave: Mid Hills, Hole-in-the-Wall, and Black Canyon Group and Equestrian. 3 take reservations through Recreation.gov.
Which Mojave campgrounds have showers, hookups, or a dump station?
Dump station: Hole-in-the-Wall.
Source: Campgrounds
Is anything closed at Mojave right now?
7 active alerts as of October 14, 2026: Road Damage/Debris on Road; NPS Visitor Wi-Fi; and more.
Source: Alerts
How busy is Mojave?
569,844 recreation visits in 2025, number 105 of 387 units that report visitation.
Source: Most visited parks
When was Mojave established?
1994. It covers about 2,483 square miles.
Source: Wikipedia
What is the weather like at Mojave?
Mojave Desert experiences change with the seasons. In winter, freezing temperatures and strong winds can be expected, with rain and snow in the mountains.
Source: Weather & climate
Follow this park
- Alerts feed (RSS)
- Every active Park Service alert for this unit, one item each, rebuilt with the nightly data refresh.
- Add dates to your calendar (.ics file)
- Fee-free entrance days that apply here and each published hours exception, as all-day events.
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