The Desert

The Jawbone-Butterbredt area northwest of California City is Kern County's real, BLM-managed off-highway vehicle destination in the Mojave Desert.

Where to photograph Kern County's most striking rock formations, from the banded cliffs of Red Rock Canyon to the mining-era terrain of the El Paso Mountains.

A working desert airport that stores retired airliners and, in 2004, became the first FAA-licensed spaceport: launch site of the first private spaceflight.

Ridgecrest's Petroglyph Park displays replicas of nearby ancient carvings: the real collection sits on restricted land and needs a guided tour to see.

A gold strike in 1895 turned empty Mojave Desert into a boomtown of thousands within a few years. Unlike most mining camps, Randsburg was never fully abandoned.

With at least 175 documented films and pilots shot there since 1921, Red Rock Canyon is one of the most-filmed landscapes in Hollywood history.

A 27,000-acre Mojave Desert park of banded red sandstone cliffs, a real Western-movie backdrop, and a primitive campground, about 80 miles from Bakersfield.

Red Rock Canyon's desert skies and Mount Pinos' high-elevation viewing are genuinely dark-sky destinations within reach of Southern California.