Please register or login . In 1994 the California Desert Protection Act altered the status of the area's approximately 1.4 million acres to Mojave National Preserve and designated slightly less than one half the land as Wilderness, the Wilderness portions being scattered throughout the preserve. Here is a meeting place for the Mojave, Sonoran and Great Basin Deserts, where you'll see strange volcanic features including cinder cones and dramatic lava beds, sawtoothed mountains rising in at least seven named ranges, flat-topped mesas, towering sand dunes, the beds of dry lakes and unique plant communities including the largest Joshua trees in the world growing on Cima Dome. In the Cinder Cones area at least 32 volcanic, now extinct, have been identified. Most of the wildlife sensibly remains hidden during the daylight hours, but you may see bighorn sheep, mule deer, bobcats and lions in the rugged mountains, and rabbits, coyotes, foxes, ground squirrels, packrats, desert tortoises, lizards and snakes in the washes and canyons.
Raptors soar throughout the park.
Much of this area is a desert wonderland, seldom visited by humans, and most of it is amenable to foot travel if you carry maps and plenty of water. You can hike and camp anywhere, and several hiking routes have been established with information available from the management. Interstate 15 forms much of the northern Wilderness boundary. From Ludlow, CA, west almost to Needles, CA, Interstate 40 forms much of the southern boundary. Early spring and late fall.