Barstow
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Barstow

Barstow

Mojave Desert crossroads town shaped by railroads, mines, and the restored Casa del Desierto.

Barstow sits at the crossroads of Interstates 15 and 40 in the heart of the Mojave Desert — most people blow through on their way to Las Vegas, but the town rewards a stop. It grew up around the railroad and the mines, and the beautifully restored Casa del Desierto (a 1911 Harvey House) at the train station is worth seeing for its architecture alone.

The real draw is the surrounding desert. Rainbow Basin, about 8 miles north, has striking multi-coloured rock formations and fossil beds. Calico Ghost Town, a restored 1880s silver-mining camp to the east, is touristy but fun. And Barstow is one of the closest gateway towns to the Mojave National Preserve, a vast expanse of Joshua trees, volcanic cinder cones, and sand dunes. The Mojave River Valley Museum in town does a good job of covering the area's natural and human history.

Guide

Getting There

Barstow sits at the junction of Interstate 15 and Interstate 40 in the Mojave Desert, about 140 miles northeast of Los Angeles and 160 miles south of Las Vegas. It is primarily a drive-through destination, though Amtrak's Southwest Chief stops here three times a week (eastbound and westbound) at the restored Casa del Desierto depot. Most visitors arrive by car — the location makes it a logical stop on the I-15 corridor between Southern California and Las Vegas.

Guide

Things to Do

Barstow's main draws are outside the city limits — the painted rock formations of Rainbow Basin, the fossil beds, and the vast expanse of Mojave National Preserve to the east. In town, the Casa del Desierto railroad depot is the architectural highlight, and the Mojave River Valley Museum gives solid context for the region's natural and human history.