The Mojave National Preserve is a 1.6 million acre park in California that rests between Los Angeles and Las Vegas. The park is framed by interstate 15 to the north and interstate 40 to the south. A four-wheel drive car is recommended for exploring the park, as many of the points of interest are only accessible by dirt roads.
I visited the park in late February with the intention of taking advantage of the dark desert skies to practice astrophotography. To access the park, I flew into Las Vegas and drove south on I-15 towards Los Angeles. After crossing the boarder into California and climbing a mountain pass through the Mescal Mountain range, I entered the park via Cima Road, which has a convenient gas station right off of I-15. The park stretches for miles, so tanking up and staying on top of your gas is key. Cell service is very unreliable, so you do not want to run out of gas. The park is large and largely empty of people and services, but there is a ranger station at the center of the park. Make sure to bring plenty of water and a paper map of the park in case of any emergencies.
What struck me first and foremost about the park and the desert in general was how much green there was. The desert was far from empty. Plant life stretched across the preserve and colored the landscape in muted greens and yellows. One of my first stops in the park was in a Joshua Tree forest off of Cima Road in the northern part of the park. The forest appeared to stretch most of the way to the Mescal Mountain Range and birds flitted between the trees. Further down Cima road, the forest broke up into an open valley, green and yellow with plant life, that rolled for miles.
In the geographic center of the park along Cima-Kelso Road, a freight trains run parallel to the road. The freight tracks were the only sign of industry I saw in the park. To the west, towards Baker, California, the park gains altitude and the landscape erupts into cones and cinder-washes across the landscape. The signs of dormant volcanism dominate the landscape. Lava tubules crack the surface, spiraling away from the vulcanic domes that dot the roadside. To the south of the park, close to I-40, a great expansive of white peaked sand dunes shimmer in the sun. Parking and trails to the dunes are accessible via a dirt road.
After sunset, I stopped pulled over at the Tuetonia Peal trail head which is right next to the Mojave Memorial Cross and near the foot of Kessler Peak. The skies of the Mojave are some of the darkest skies I have seen. The constellation Orion dominated the southern view of the sky. I was close enough to I-15 to see light pollution from the interstate lights to the north and very faint light pollution was visible in the southwestern sky in the direction of Los Angeles; however, the sky over the park was so dark that I was able to make out stars that I’ve never been able to see before. From an astrophotography perspective, the sky is dark enough for star pictures; however, the park is close enough to Los Angeles to pick up a lot of plane traffic going into LAX. Most of my star shots included plane trails, which are pretty put kind of annoying if you are going for true night sky photography. I was also able to execute my first star trails long exposure shot from the Mojave.
All in all, I wish I had delayed my Mojave trip to the end of March as the desert can bloom in spring. In 2017, the wet winter led to a particularly impressive wildflower ‘superbloom’ where the desert with painted and awash with color. Still, this park was definitely worth the trip – a truly unique landscape easily accessible from two large cities.
Pro Tips:
Use a four wheel drive car
Purchase a paper map and a compass – cell phones are not reliable in the park
Bring plenty of water – a gallon per person per day is recommended
Dress in layers – the temperature drops significantly at night