Epic Travel → North America → The West Coast → Southern California → South Central Desert → Zzyzx

♦ Intrepid Top Pick!

Location: Northeast of Los Angeles

Time Required: 2 hours

Red Tape/Notes: Be respectful of the Desert Studies Center and its property. For more information on Zzyzx and its eccentric founder, Curtis Howe Springer, wikipedia provides a nice page.

What’s Nearby?: Calico Ghost Town, Ladder of Doom Canyon, Jubilee Mine, Pioneer Saloon

The former site of the rather fascinating Zzyzx Mineral Springs and Health Spa, which was founded in 1944, the area is something of a ghost town (ghost resort?) now, despite being the current home of the Desert Studies Center, and is an interesting stop on the way from SoCal to Vegas. The resort was based around Soda Spring, a naturally occurring spring, and the remains of an 1860 army post and a railway station of a now-defunct railroad, all of which is federal land. The resort’s founder obtained the rights to reside on and develop the property under false pretenses – he filed mining claims on 12,000 acres around the spring, and then proceeded to built a resort spa, bottling water from the spring and importing animals to attract more visitors. The government eventually realized he wasn’t mining anything, and reclaimed the property in 1974. Fortunately for those of us who enjoy exploring slightly creepy abandoned places, many remnants from the resort days exist, including the spa area and some housing units – just be aware that there’s a legitimate operation still being conducted at the site (the Desert Studies Center) and don’t trespass on any of their areas. The site is located within the boundaries of the Mojave National Preserve, and there’s a broad, classic Mojave desert expanse that backs onto the site which is also interesting to stroll around in.

Epic Travel → North America → The West Coast → Southern California → South Central Desert → Zzyzx