Mojave Road — Barstow to Needles Full Historic Crossing

The Mojave Road is an actual historic route, not a repackaged fire road — it follows a corridor used by the Mojave and Chemehuevi peoples for thousands of years before Spanish missionaries, government surveyors, and Army camel experiments turned it into a wagon road in the 1850s. The full crossing runs from the I-15 at Barstow east to Needles and the Colorado River, passing Afton Canyon — the ‘Grand Canyon of the Mojave’ — across the Soda Dry Lake playa, through Government Holes (a reliable water stop for the old Army), over the lava fields at Hole-in-the-Wall, through Mid Hills, Piute Gorge, and out past the ruins of Fort Piute to the river. That sequence of terrain covers loose sand, basalt cobble, deep wash crossings, and exposed ledge in a single trip. Piute Gorge especially — a narrow volcanic slot with truck-width walls — is the kind of place that makes you understand why the Army abandoned wagons and tried camels.

The route rates Moderate overall but earns Difficult in sections after rain when Soda Lake becomes a tire-sucking clay trap and Afton Canyon washes run. A stock high-clearance 4WD handles the dry-season crossing comfortably; aired-down tires make the sand stretches far less theatrical. No permit required, but register with the BLM’s Needles Field Office if you can. Best season is October through April — summer Mojave will kill you, not slowly. Fuel at Barstow and Needles only; water at Government Holes is unreliable — carry your own. The Mojave Road Guide by Dennis Casebier is the definitive companion; the Friends of the Mojave Road maintain trail markers across the playa.