Mojave National Preserve
Eastern Mojave Desert · near Baker / Nipton · California Desert
Wildlife Watching
At a glance
- Best season
- Spring & fall; tortoises most active spring; avoid summer heat
- Open year round
- Yes
What is here
- Wildlife
- land-mammals · birds
- Species
- Desert tortoise, desert bighorn, kit fox, coyote, golden eagle, desert birds
- Amenities
- Threatened desert tortoise · Desert bighorn & kit fox · Joshua-tree forests & dunes · Immense solitude & dark skies
- Best for
- Wild, solitary desert wildlife
- Features
- Desert tortoise habitat · Bighorn & kit fox · Vast empty wilderness · Spectacular dark skies
Worth knowing
- Hazards
- Vast & remote — no services · Extreme heat, carry all water · Never handle tortoises · Rough backroads, come prepared
- Good for a first timer
- No
Wildlife Watching detail
- Viewing
- drive
- Effort
- remote
- Habitat
- plains
- Sighting
- 2
- Viewing notes
- A vast, empty desert wilderness harboring threatened desert tortoises, desert bighorn, kit foxes, and desert birds among Joshua-tree forests, dunes, and cinder cones
- Intl tip
- A vast, empty eastern-Mojave wilderness (1.6 million acres) of Joshua-tree forest, dunes, and cinder cones — sparse but special wildlife and total solitude. Prime habitat for the threatened desert tortoise (active in spring; admire from a distance, never handle), plus desert bighorn, kit foxes, coyotes, golden eagles, and famous dark skies. Expedition-grade desert: essentially no services, deadly summer heat, huge distances, rough backroads — come fully self-sufficient with all water/fuel, visit cool seasons. Sightings take luck.
The guide
Between Interstates 15 and 40, the Mojave National Preserve protects a vast, gloriously empty swath of the eastern Mojave — 1.6…
In the Guidebook
Everything above is yours for free. The written guide to Mojave National Preserve — what it is actually like, and what we would tell a friend before they went — comes with the Guidebook.
Getting there
- Coordinates
- 35.1, -115.5