NPS Photos
From top to bottom: Kelso Depot east; trains still rumble past the historic depot; visitors enjoying a bite to eat at the "The Beanery".
Kelso Depot Visitor Center
Information, exhibits, orientation film, art gallery, bookstore, restrooms, lunch counter, water, picnic area.
Click here (PDF, 273 KB) to view and/or print an informative brochure about Kelso Depot.
Hours of Operation
Open daily (except Christmas Day), 9 a.m.–5 p.m.
Entrance Fee
Free
Phone
760 252-6108
Location
From I-15: Exit Kelbaker Road at Baker, Calif. Continue 35 miles southeast on Kelbaker Road to Kelso, Calif.
From I-40: Exit Kelbaker Road (about 29 miles east of Ludlow Calif., or 28 miles west of Fenner, Calif.). Continue 22 miles north on Kelbaker Road to Kelso, Calif.
Ranger-led Programs
Kelso Dunes Walk offered Saturdays at 11 a.m. (November-April) Meet at the Dunes trailhead located 7 miles south of the Kelso Depot on the Kelbaker Road, then 3 miles west on the signed Kelso Dunes graded dirt road.
Kelso Depot Talks offered daily at 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. Meet in the Kelso Depot lobby.
Exhibits
The renovated Kelso Depot is now the primary Visitor Center for Mojave National Preserve. Former dormitory rooms contain exhibits describing the cultural and natural history of the surrounding desert. The baggage room, ticket office, and two dormitory rooms have been historically furnished to illustrate life in the depot in the first half of the twentieth century. A 12-minute orientation film is shown in the theater.
Basement gallery space features rotating fine art collections by local artists, focusing on the cultural history and natural splendors of Mojave national Preserve. Click here for information on the current exhibition.
"The Beanery" at Kelso
After a nearly two decade-long haitus, the Kelso Depot lunch counter—"The Beanery"—is back in business.
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