Eastern Kern County Onyx Ranch SVRA
Eastern Kern County (near Hwy 14, western Mojave edge) · near Ridgecrest / Weldon · Sierra Nevada / Yosemite
Off-Road
At a glance
- Skill level
- intermediate
- Size
- 26,000+ acres · Scenic and challenging desert-to-mountain terrain
- Best season
- Fall–spring · Summer is hot (Mojave edge) · Higher elevations stay cooler
Permits and booking
- Permit
- State Vehicular Recreation Area (California State Parks) — one of the newest. Day-use fee. Green Sticker or street-legal registration. Helmets and spark arrestors required. Remote; carry water and supplies.
What is here
- Terrain
- desert-wash · mountain-4x4 · rock-crawling
Worth knowing
- Good for a first timer
- Yes
Off-Road detail
- Nickname
- The Newest, Wildest SVRA
- Vehicles
- atv-utv · dirt-bike · 4x4-jeep · any-ohv
- Signature routes
- The 26,000-acre range · The historic ranch terrain
- Intl tip
- Onyx Ranch is near Hwy 14 in eastern Kern County, gateway between the Mojave and the southern Sierra. It's near the Kern River Valley — combine with the Kern's whitewater (rivers guide), Cannell Plunge MTB (MTB guide), and the Alta Sierra ski hill (skiing guide) for a Kern County adventure spread. Ridgecrest is the nearest full-service town.
The guide
Onyx Ranch is California's newest and one of its largest State Vehicular Recreation Areas — over 26,000 acres of scenic, challe…
In the Guidebook
Everything above is yours for free. The written guide to Eastern Kern County Onyx Ranch SVRA — what it is actually like, and what we would tell a friend before they went — comes with the Guidebook.
Getting there
- Coordinates
- 35.687, -118.2