Skip to content
California City

Nearby · Kern County, California

Places to visit near California City

Most of what draws people to this corner of the Mojave is outside the city limits: a state park of red cliffs, open riding areas, protected tortoise habitat, a wilderness, a gold-rush town and a spaceport. Each is run by someone different, under different rules.

Last reviewed · 24 sources

How far is each place from California City?

Road distances and times are from City Hall, measured with the same router as the rest of this guide. Where no route has been measured, the table gives the managing agency’s own directions.

Places near California City: what each is and how far it is from the city
PlaceWhat it isFrom California City
Jawbone Canyon OHV AreaBLM open riding area and free primitive camping, with the Jawbone Station visitor center on Highway 14215.9 miles, about 28 min to Jawbone Station10
Red Rock Canyon State ParkState park of banded cliffs and fossil beds, with short trails and one first-come campground119.6 miles, about 35 min to the visitor center11
Dove Springs OHV AreaBLM open riding area of more than 5,000 acres, just north of Red Rock Canyon3Off Highway 14 about 30 miles north of its junction with Highway 58 in Mojave, by BLM’s directions3
Rand Mountains and the Desert Tortoise Research Natural AreaBLM-managed desert tortoise habitat with signed routes, and a fenced natural area where visitors walk47The natural area’s interpretive center is about four miles northeast of town7
El Paso MountainsA BLM wilderness closed to all vehicles, Last Chance Canyon and Burro Schmidt’s Tunnel5Wikipedia puts the range 16 miles north-northeast of the city9
RandsburgThe town that grew around the Yellow Aster gold strike of 1895; 45 residents at the 2020 census141561.1 miles, about 1 h 17 min by Highway 58 and US 39513
Mojave Air and Space PortA working airport and spaceport with airliner storage and three small public areas171815.7 miles, about 23 min to Mojave,12 and the airport is about a mile east of the town16
View from a desert ridge of dry scrub in the foreground and a broad, flat, hazy desert valley stretching away to low mountains on the horizon, with a wash winding down out of the hills below.
From the ridge above the south end of Last Chance Canyon in the El Paso Mountains, looking out over the desert floor the canyon drains toward, October 2007. “South end of Last Chance Canyon” by Kurtis Clark, via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0; resized.

Getting to each place, and where to find fuel and food on the way, are covered in getting to California City and food and fuel.

Who manages each place?

The land around California City is a patchwork, and the first thing to know about any place on it is who manages it, because that decides what you may do there.

Which riding routes are closed in 2026?

Since 24 March 2026 a federal court order has closed every BLM route in desert tortoise critical habitat in the western Mojave to off-highway recreation, including recreational driving in street-legal vehicles. BLM lists Jawbone Canyon and Dove Springs among the riding areas that remain accessible.19 The Rand Mountains Management Area is critical habitat.4 The federal government has appealed.20 If you are planning to ride or drive on public land, read BLM’s current notice before you set out.19

What to know before you drive out

The forecast, wind and fire restrictions for the area are on the California City weather and desert conditions page.

Sources

Every fee, rule, distance and date above traces to one of these, checked on the review date. Rules, closures and fees change: where it matters, confirm with the managing agency before you go. If something here is wrong, tell us and it will be fixed.

  1. 1.Red Rock Canyon State Park. California State Parks.The park's official page: directions, hours, fees, camping, dogs, vehicles, drones, closures and contacts. Its current-restrictions panel was empty when checked.
  2. 2.Jawbone Canyon OHV Area. Bureau of Land Management.
  3. 3.Dove Springs OHV Area. Bureau of Land Management.
  4. 4.Rand Mountains Management Area permit and map. Bureau of Land Management, 23 March 2026.The free permit itself, with the area's rules, history, tortoise information and the 2026 closure notice.
  5. 5.El Paso Mountains Wilderness. Bureau of Land Management.
  6. 6.Ridgecrest Field Office. Bureau of Land Management.The office's address and phone, the areas it manages, and the Jawbone Canyon visitor center's address, hours and phone.
  7. 7.Overview & Location: Desert Tortoise Research Natural Area. Desert Tortoise Preserve Committee.
  8. 8.News & Press. Desert Tortoise Preserve Committee.
  9. 9.El Paso Mountains. Wikipedia.
  10. 10.Route from California City City Hall to Jawbone Station. OSRM routing on OpenStreetMap data, routed 17 September 2026.Free-flowing traffic; the link re-runs the route.
  11. 11.Route from California City City Hall to the Red Rock Canyon State Park visitor center. OSRM routing on OpenStreetMap data, routed 17 September 2026.Free-flowing traffic; the link re-runs the route.
  12. 12.Route from California City City Hall to Mojave. OSRM routing on OpenStreetMap data, routed 17 September 2026.Free-flowing traffic; the link re-runs the route.
  13. 13.Route from California City City Hall to Randsburg, by Highway 58 and US 395. OSRM routing on OpenStreetMap data, routed 17 September 2026.Free-flowing traffic; the link re-runs the route.
  14. 14.Rand Mining District (California Historical Landmark No. 938). California Office of Historic Preservation.
  15. 15.2020 Census, Table C1: Kern County summary (redistricting file). California Department of Finance, via Kern Council of Governments, August 2021.
  16. 16.KMHV: Mojave Air & Space Port/Rutan Field. AirNav, from FAA records effective 3 September 2026.
  17. 17.Frequently Asked Questions. Mojave Air & Space Port.Public areas, the boneyard, and the monthly open ramp.
  18. 18.Self-guided tour, interest point 4. Mojave Air & Space Port.Undated, and partly out of date on tenants; used only for what is stored and why.
  19. 19.West Mojave Plan route network. Bureau of Land Management.BLM's notice of the court-ordered closure of routes in desert tortoise critical habitat to OHV recreation from 24 March 2026, the areas that remain open, and the Rand Mountains permit.
  20. 20.BRC files intervention in Ninth Circuit appeal of WEMO closures. BlueRibbon Coalition (an off-highway access advocacy group), 6 May 2026.Reports the federal government's notice of appeal. An advocacy source, used only for the fact of the appeal.
  21. 21.Expect a limited wildflower bloom this spring in Southern California's state parks. California State Parks, 24 February 2025.Includes the department's safety advice for desert parks: cell coverage, GPS routing onto four-wheel-drive roads, food, fuel and water.
  22. 22.Safety. Friends of Jawbone.
  23. 23.California fire information and restrictions. Bureau of Land Management.Current restrictions by field office, including Stage I rules for Ridgecrest and the free California Campfire Permit.
  24. 24.BLM announces seasonal fire restrictions for southern California. Bureau of Land Management, 14 April 2026.