Mojave National Preserve
4-Wheel Drive Roads

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The Preserve has about 2,200 miles of road, enough to keep the busiest of desert explorers going for some time. The quality ranges from paved two-lane roads, to good maintained dirt roads, to extremely rough 4-wheel drive routes. Contact one of our Information Centers for questions on specific roads. Remember that a good dirt road can rapidly deteriorate after a storm. One of the most popular routes is the historic Mojave Road. The United States acquired California along with the rest of the Southwest after the Mexican/American War, and the Mojave Road was one of the early routes through what is now the Mojave National Preserve. It was part of a trail that connected the military barracks in Wilmington, California with the new town of Prescott, Arizona. The portion of the road crossing the Preserve enters on the east at Piute Springs and exits at Soda Lake on the west. Along the way you can see the remnants of historic army posts, and a wide variety of desert landscapes that make this land so beautiful. The Mojave Road Guide by Dennis Casebier is a valuable introduction to this incredible resource.