Mojave Road — Rock Springs Lake to Afton Canyon via Government Holes and Soda Dry Lake (East-to-West Return)

The Old Government Road — the Mojave Road — was a supply and mail route connecting Fort Mojave to Camp Cady as far back as the 1860s, and the desert has kept it largely as the Army left it. Starting at Rock Springs, a reliable waterhole that saved more than a few parched cavalrymen, the track drops west across the broad Mojave flats, threads the Kelso Dunes approach, cuts across the Soda Dry Lake playa — dead flat and blinding white at midday — then punches through the basalt formations at Government Holes before the final canyon drop into Afton. The playa section alone is worth the drive: when it’s dry, you run for miles in any direction with nothing overhead but blue sky.

A stock 4WD with a skid plate handles this on a good day, but the deep sand sections near Kelso and the rock-strewn wash crossings at Government Holes reward lockers. Carry two spare tires minimum — flats are common on the basalt sections. The BLM requires no permit, but register your trip at the Fort Piute area kiosk. Best run October through April; summer temps routinely hit 115°F and shade doesn’t exist. Dispersed camping is permitted throughout, and the star visibility here ranks among the best on the continent. This is the desert on its own terms — bring water for three days minimum.