Must-see attractions in The Deserts

This endearingly hokey Old West attraction consists of a cluster of pioneer-era buildings amid the ruins of a 1881 silver-mining town, reconstructed…

Named as one of California’s important birding areas by the Audubon Society, this preserve encloses a natural spring-fed desert oasis that’s a native…

Salvation Mountain is a mighty strange sight indeed: a 100ft-high hill of hand-mixed adobe and straw slathered in paint and decorated with flowers,…

The far-northwestern reaches of Death Valley cradle these spectacular dunes that, at up to 680ft high, are the tallest in California. It’s a tough slog to…

Touch a Tomahawk missile or mug with a 'Fat Man' (atomic bomb, that is) at this museum on a classified US Navy base. The weapons collection will likely…

Inside the beautifully restored Casa del Desierto, a 1911 Harvey House (architecturally significant railway inns named for their originator Fred Harvey),…

Past the northern end of Hwy 190, it's slow going for 27 miles on a tire-shredding dirt road (high-clearance and 4WD usually required) to the eerie…

What do the movies Battlestar Galactica, Star Trek V: the Final Frontier and Planet of the Apes have in common? They were all filmed at Trona Pinnacles,…

Driving along the I-10, about 20 miles west of Palm Springs, you may do a double take when glimpsing 'Dinny the Dinosaur' and 'Mr Rex' on the north side…

Fed by the mostly belowground Armagosa River and at the end of a narrow canyon, this family-run, organic date farm is a lush oasis in the middle of the…

Just outside the Death Valley eastern park boundary (about 35 miles from Furnace Creek), Rhyolite epitomizes the hurly-burly, boom-and-bust story of…

Elvis and Priscilla Presley had stayed at the iconic 1960 Alexander Estate in 1966 and liked it so much that Elvis carried his new bride over the…

Colorful as a box of crayons, this roadside folk-art collection is a forest of over 200 ‘bottle trees’ made from recycled soda and beer containers,…

The golden poppy is California's state flower and in this park it's given centerstage, especially from mid-March through April when the hills are…

This grizzled cafe was the main filming location of Percy Adlon's eponymous 1987 classic cult flick starring CCH Pounder and Jack Palance. The interior is…

In the ghost town of Amboy, this beautifully kept landmark was for decades a popular watering hole for Route 66 travelers. If you believe the lore, Roy…

Near the ghost town of Rhyolite, just east of Death Valley National Park, this outdoor sculpture park was begun in 1984 by the late Belgian artist Albert…

Hwy 190 ends at 600ft-deep Ubehebe Crater, formed some 300 years ago by the meeting of fiery magma and cool groundwater. As the water turned into steam,…

Rising to 700ft, these beautiful dunes are the country’s third-tallest sand dunes. Under the right conditions they emanate low humming sounds that are…

On a hilltop on the grounds of the Rio Tinto Boron Mine, California's largest open pit mine, this museum reeks 'corporate promo' but actually has some…