IWV Overview
If your journey through the 178 CORRIDOR begins anywhere in
southern California... your journey begins in the Indian Wells Valley.
We are an oasis between the L. A. area and Mammoth, between
Death Valley National
Park and Bakersfield. We offer relaxing activities like rock hounding, museum visits
and star gazing...along with soft adventures like mountain biking, Off Highway Vehicle
(OHV) activities and rock climbing… Ridgecrest is the hub of the high desert. We
are a full service community with over 700 rooms, 60 places to dine and 100 places
to shop. Whether you’re looking for luxurious five star treatment or economical
accommodations,
Ridgecrest will fill the bill.
Our rich 60-year military history is displayed at the U. S.
Naval Museum of Armament
and Technology at China Lake, adjacent to Ridgecrest. If you like your history a
little older, you’ll love the
Maturango Museum in downtown Ridgecrest. Step centuries
back in time as Native Americans hunt
for food. Or set your watch back 100,000 years, when the desert was a series of
lakes with ancient flora and fauna, underwater volcanoes, and still... starry, starry
nights.
17 miles east of Ridgecrest, on the 178 CORRIDOR - on the way to Death Valley National
Park - are the
Trona Pinnacles, a breathtaking array of 500 tufa towers carved out
of the desert floor. The “Pinnacles” have also starred in dozens of movies and TV
shows. 22 miles south of Ridgecrest, off U. S. Route 395, is the Living Ghost Town
of
Randsburg. They’ve been mining gold out of those hills since 1895. Downtown Butte
Street has been preserved to reflect times past.
Just nine miles west of Ridgecrest, visit the historic buildings and sites of Inyokern,
settled in the early 1900’s. Don’t miss the 1913 School, the 1914 Town Hall and
the 1924 Telephone Building. Inyokern is also well known as the Sunshine Capital
of The World, with 322 sunny days each year. Kick off your 178 CORRIDOR vacation
in Ridgecrest: from rocks to rockets, gold mines to great museums, sunny days to
starry nights. Then… “Go west young man (or woman), Go west.”