Must-see attractions in The Deserts

You can spend an entire day or just a few hours driving around the free Mojave National Preserve, taking in natural sights such as giant 'singing' dunes,…

The largest state park in California, Anza-Borrego comprises a staggering 640,000 acres of land punctuated with hiking trails, canyons, palm groves and…

Emigrant Canyon Rd climbs steeply over Emigrant Pass for the turnoff to Wildrose Canyon Rd and a lineup of 10 large beehive-shaped charcoal kilns made of…

Jeff Hafler loves hair and everything to do with it, which is why his Steel Magnolias–type home salon brims with related vintage beauty paraphernalia he's…

This nonprofit outfit in a modernist glass-fronted bungalow in central Borrego Springs presents desert-themed paintings, sculpture and crafts created by…

Rail buffs make a beeline to the Casa del Desierto to marvel at a century’s worth of railroad artifacts, including old timetables, uniforms, china and the…

Adjacent to the airport, this museum has an exceptional collection of WWII aircraft and flight memorabilia, a movie theater and occasional flight…

Chester ‘Cactus Slim’ Moorten, one of the original Keystone Cops, and his wife Patricia channeled their passion for plants into this compact garden…

Rock hounds love the hulking caramel-colored formations in this northern corner of the park, while birders are drawn by feathered friends hiding out among…

Cottonwood Spring is an oasis with a natural spring that Cahuilla tribespeople depended on for centuries. Look for morteros – rounded depressions in the…

Go bananas at this endearing and bizarre collection of over 19,000 banana-related artefacts, from candles to cookie jars, hats to hangers. Dress in a…

East of Borrego Springs, a 4-mile dirt road, sometimes passable without 4WD, diverges south from County Rte S22 out to Fonts Point (1249ft). From up here…

Some 15 miles south of Furnace Creek, salt has piled up into saw-toothed miniature mountains in what was once a major lake that evaporated about 2000…

The house where gold-prospector Walter Scott (aka Scotty) actually lived can only be visited on ranger-led hikes that must be booked in advance via www…

This beloved old-fashioned 1952 diner and truck stop fell victim to wildfire in August 2016.

This port made history in 2003 with the launch of SpaceShipOne, the first privately funded human space flight, thus laying the groundwork for commercial…

On the grounds of the Ranch at Death Valley, this outdoor museum illustrates Death Valley's connection to borax mining, and presents pioneer-era mining…

Inside the old Red Rooster Cafe opposite the railroad tracks, this nostalgic collection features a kitchen sink's worth of yesteryear's treasures,…

Storied Edwards Air Force Base is a flight-test facility for the US Air Force, NASA and civilian aircraft, and a training school for test pilots with the …

This modest, volunteer-run museum recounts milestones in experimental flight testing in the surrounding desert, including the first breaking of the sound…