Castle Mountains National Monument

A roughly 21,000-acre desert monument in the eastern Mojave with Joshua tree forests, open grasslands, and a quiet setting.

Near Barstow, CA

About Castle Mountains National Monument

This National Park Service monument in northeastern San Bernardino County protects a remote stretch of the eastern Mojave Desert. Its terrain includes Joshua tree stands, large areas with little human development, scarce desert grassland, and a long record of human history. The monument sits between the Nevada border and Mojave National Preserve, and visitors can see the Castle Peaks from Walking Box Ranch road. Access is by unpaved routes, so a high-clearance four-wheel-drive vehicle is needed, and there are no developed campgrounds. Facilities are minimal, and the area suits visitors who want solitude.

#desert
#Mojave Desert
#Joshua trees
#national monument
#dirt roads

What's around here?

The closest stops to Castle Mountains National Monument, ordered by straight-line distance. A few more like it, plus some different kinds of fun so you can build a full day.

Sports & Outdoors
Outdoor Adventure
Mojave National Preserve
No admission fee
Climb the singing sand of the Kelso Dunes, explore a lava tube and drive through Joshua tree country between I-15 and I-40.
35 mi awayMore like this
Tours
Outdoor Adventure
Skydive Las Vegas
$50+
Tandem skydives from 12,500 feet at Jean Airport south of Las Vegas, with views of the Strip and the Mojave Desert.
38 mi awaySwitch it up: Tours
Attractions
Quirky Fun
Dig This
$50+
A heavy-equipment playground where you drive real excavators, bulldozers and skid steers under an instructor's guidance.
48 mi awaySwitch it up: Attractions
Nightlife
Date Night
M Resort Spa Casino
No admission fee
Play slots and tables at Henderson's southernmost casino, eight miles south of the Las Vegas Strip, now with a second hotel tower.
Transit: reachable by public transit
50 mi awaySwitch it up: Nightlife
Sports & Outdoors
Quirky Fun
Seven Magic Mountains
No admission fee
Ugo Rondinone's stacked, neon-painted boulder towers rise from the desert just south of the Strip.
51 mi awayMore like this
Sports & Outdoors
Outdoor Adventure
Las Vegas Boat Harbor
$50+
Marina on Lake Mead renting powerboats, pontoons, and personal watercraft for a day on the water near Las Vegas.
Transit: reachable by public transit
53 mi awayMore like this