At the beginning of March, 2025 I took off for a 1 week, 1,200 mile road trip around the desert of Southern California. I exclusively camped out in my truck camper at various campsites and public land areas along the way. These are some of my favorite photos from the trip.
Day 1 mostly consisted of driving from Fresno, CA to a campground near Barstow called Owl Canyon. Which is a public campground maintained by the BLM. On Day 2 we went and explored an area nearby called Rainbow Canyon.
The view from our campsite near Owl Canyon
Shaver exploring during Sunset
Rainbow Basin
The next part of my trip was into the Mojave Preserve (which is probably one of if not my favorite areas in the California Desert. My first stop in the Mojave Preserve was to explore an abandoned mining town/camp called The Death Valley Mine (not sure why it was named that because it’s not in Death Valley. This place was so cool and there is so much history out there to see. Also the road leading there was awesome and the scenery surrounding the town was so beautiful. I enjoyed this area a lot.
The Road to the Death Valley Mine in the Mojave Preserve.
There are so many fun roads to take in the Mojave Preserve.
After exploring the Death Valley Mine we headed to the Kelso Dunes where we spent a couple of days exploring and just hangin’ out. The wind was quite strong all day the first day. I had initially planned to hike up to the top of the dunes the first day I was there, but I ended up waiting until the next day after the winds died down a bit. The sunsets were amazing both days and it was just really beautiful and serene out there.
Our boondocking spot for a couple of days.
Sunset on the Dunes
Hiking up to the top of the Dunes
Enjoying a beer at the top!
After the Kelso Dunes I hit the road and ended up in Sheephole Valley Wilderness. Being wilderness area there wasn’t many options for off road camping, but I ended up finding a decent spot after driving back on the dirt road for a few miles. Nobody else was around so I had the whole area to myself. I camped for the night and explored around the next morning.
There were a lot of fun rocks to scramble on here.
After exploring for a while in Sheephole valley and some areas nearby I ended up heading back north a ways and stopped to camp for a few days at a BLM campground called Sawtooth Canyon. I spent a lot of time just hangin’ around and doing small walks around camp.
After a nice few days at Sawtooth Canyon to wrap up my trip I started the trek back to the Central Valley. But I didn’t want to just take the highway back. I wanted to take a scenic route. I ended up finding some really cool areas and landscapes through a section of California that I have never been to. Places like Bright Star Wilderness and Sageland were some of my favorite places and I really fell in love with the landscape.
Where the scenic route begins.
The End.. I hope you enjoyed the photos.
