When visiting Death Valley National Park, a side trip to the China Ranch Date Farm & Bakery is…read morealways a must do for us. Nearby are hiking trails along the Amargosa River, exploring the Old Spanish Trail and historic railroad bed while enjoying the scenery of a lush, green oasis in the Mojave Desert with a rustic, welcoming feel. Even better, our dog is able to come on the hikes with us as long as he is on a leash. The wide variety of dates (Medjool, Black Beauty, etc.), date shakes, date nut bread, muffins, and cookies are available for purchase at their bakery/gift shop. Highly recommend the date shakes!

The shake!!! No one greeted and didn't speak until spoken…read moreto. I was the only person in the store and I was treated as if I was invisible. This shop has so many trinkets, snacks, gifts and dates. A back room with clothes was an added bonus. I didn't ask the price, which was reasonable, I just came with an expectation and it did not disappoint, The trail is an added bonus in season

This is located in Furnace Creek Death Valley california. It's definitely an understated…read morecomplimentary museum. A lot of detail and maintenance goes into the site. Parking is complimentary. It's definitely worth a stop. I mean if you've come that far to Death Valley after all, you can have a cold beverage on there large back patios / stage/ picnic area. And there's a huge locomotive for the children to take a look at Outback as well.

Fascinating history however briefly the company was using mules…read more Did you know the 30-mule team was actually 18 mules and two horses?

Enjoyed going thru this river and canyon on a side by side! We camp at Dumont Dunes and this is…read morelocated in that vicinity. This river is an underground river but when it rains hard there's so much water on the trails it looks so cool! Such a great experience seeing this canyon! Totally recommend!

I have been hiking in the area for over a decade and it's always been a very special…read moreplace--history, great geology, and a date shake--all are part of hiking here. The Amargosa Rover Canyon offers several trails in China Ranch and beyond. There are two ways to hike the canyon itself. The best way to enjoy most of the entire canyon is to spot cars. Leave one at China Ranch and drive the other to Tecopa, California and park where there's public parking behind the post office. From here, hike south following the trail. Mostly you'll hike on the railroad bed of the T&T Railroad (Tonopah and Tidewater) bed as it follows the Amargosa River through the canyon. At places, the trail leaves thew railroad bed and makes wide arcs on the east side of the trail. After 5 miles, you'll reach the turnoff for China Ranch and where the spur from the T&T was built to bring gypsum from the mines above the ranch from the Morrison Siding. Along the way through the canyon from Tecopa, you'll see areas with barbed wire. This is where horses and cattle were fenced in to keep them off the railroad tracks. You will see no track. The railroad stopped operating in 1940 and the rails were pulled up and used for World War II needs. About a mile and a half from the Ranch, there's a turnoff to the west (right) and this leads to a little waterfall on the river. Beyond this about 1/4 mile, there's another turnoff--again to the west--that leads to a slot canyon that is blocked by a huge chockstone. Both side trails have signs but they have faded a lot over the years. When you almost reach the 90º bend in the river, the trail goes up a hill and heads east (left) toward the ranch. Before going up the hill, take time to look at the wood left from when this was where the gypsum was loaded onto ore cars over 100 years ago. Follow the trail from here to China Ranch. On this last bit, you'll come to a building. My first photo of this building is from 2005. The building was called the Tuff Building and the sign that was there said it was first a bar and then an assay house. The building was supposed to have been repaired that years. 1w2 years later, another portion has fallen over including the concrete piece from the doorway with the 1903 construction date in the concrete. I'm sure when I hike here next year, the rest of the southerly wall will be down too! What a shame! There are several hikes. After this 6.5 mile hike, you'll want to have a date shake and perhaps some date cookies. You earned them. On another day(s), you can explore the other trails in China Ranch. After your shake, take the car you left at the ranch and ride back to Tecopa to get the one where you started your hike. This is the way to see almost the entire canyon.

A fun little local stop for anyone passing through Pahrump or here for a Ron Fellows Driving…read moreSchool. When I was there, they were in the process of repairing all of the outbuildings due to a recent rain storm, so I didn't get to see any of that, which was disappointing, however, the lady at the front desk was super nice and the exhibits inside the building where Very informative. Learned a lot about the Cotton industry in Nevada, who would've thought, as well as storage of nuclear used material in the local mountains and nuclear test sites nearby. Definitely recommended as a stop for anybody who happens to be in this quaint little town for whatever reason.

The Pahrump Valley Museum (Pahrump is derived from the Paiute word "Pah-Rimpi", meaning water rock,…read morereferring to the natural aquifer in the valley) does a great job of documenting the history of the colonizers that displaced the Native Americans that have lived in this valley for centuries. There are exhibits on the cotton industry (using the water in the aquifers to support agriculture) and the atomic bomb tests conducted nearby. There's a small native plant garden outside focusing on local plants, with lots of cool cactus. There is a lot of local history...but there is just one display with a few Native American artifacts. Admission and parking are free, although donations are accepted.

Fun displays for all ages and many interests! We went with…read moreour young kids and had a great time. The petroglyph exhibit is really detailed, and there are a lot of natural history exhibits, also. There's a small but lovely desert garden outside, and a lot even saw a rabbit enjoying the shade from the hot afternoon sun!

Packed full of interesting exhibits and extensive info on nearby petroglyphs, this small museum…read morerecently enlarged its gift shop. Other new additions include a garden area as well as a sculpture garden. During the Petroglyph festival this November, an arrowhead maker was on hand. The museum also sponsors docent led hikes on China Lake Naval base to see an extensive collection of ancient petroglyphs spread along Little petroglyph trail, 1.5 miles of non stop native American rock art down a dry creek bed. You need to be in pretty good shape to manage the rocky trail and go through a fairly extensive security check to gain access and early sign up is required, but we all agreed the hike was worth it. The docents at the museum are very helpful and run a movie on the petroglyphs on request.

Stop by 03/31/23 during the trip from Los Angeles to Death Valley. Ridgecrest is right in the…read moremiddle to take a break. Small museum , last yelp review posted about 3 years ago. Outdoor exhibition is free , has F-18A jet displayed with other aircrafts, Museum admission is $5,l The gift store did not honor the Yelp vouchers, so do not purchase that from the Yelp. I will deal with Yelp late to get my $15 back ( see last two pictures) Otherwise , fun place to visit.

If I'm not mistaken they're getting ready to build a museum outside of the base, near the Maturango…read moreMuseum, so it's easier for the public to visit. If that's the case, I hope it's more spacious and updated. The museum is pretty interesting, though it's more about the outside exhibits. The inside gets a bit redundant after a while. I mean, how many rooms filled with missiles can you really look at after a while? Designs on exhibits are pretty dated. Outside they have various jets and planes set up to walk around, and even some nuclear weaponry like the Polaris missile and the MKIV, modeled after Fat Man, the bomb dropped on Nagasaki. While walking around out there, a roadrunner came by to check out the jets with us and endless flocks of geese kept flying overhead. It was special.

Awesome place! This place is free to enter and has a lot of time capsule items. Prices are…read morereasonable and I would absolutely recommend checking this place out if you are in the area or passing through!

Great little museum. Right across the street from the Barstow Park. Really nice people in the…read morestore running the museum. I'm impressed as to the collection indoors and outdoors. Very educational. Really great little stop if you have young kids learning about Route 66.

This is a non profit museum. They have trains on the outside you can view 24/7. They are located in…read morean old Harvey House, next to a working train yard. Inside they have a variety of things relating to BNSF railways, along with a small gift shop. Manager Noah, is friendly & knowledgeable.

On a Sunday morning in November, this is where Huell Howser taped an episode on train depot. We…read moretook the bridge from Del Taco and recognize the train depot museum. We got there too early but able to look at different trains parked outside. So much history in this little town. This place is great for train enthusiasts and children.

Don't just make a Barstow stop on the way to Vegas to go to the restroom or to get fast food; check…read moreout the NASA Goldstone Visitor Center... 4 stars!!!! Learn all about the satellite ground station located in Fort Irwin, CA that tracks and communicates with interplanetary space missions at this visitor center. Located in the second floor of the historic Harvey House at the Barstow Amtrak Train Station, the visitor center offers interactive exhibits to learn how the Jet Propulsion Laboratory tracks and communicates with interplanetary spacecrafts. Not just kids, but also adults can find this center a worthwhile stop in Barstow. As a bonus, you can also learn about the historic Harvey House as well as visit the Western America Railroad Museum and the Route 66 "Mother Road" Museum, all during the same stop.

Wow I didn't think much of this place until I got home to read the brochures and went online…read more Goldstone is one of three complexes around the world known as the Deep Space Network (DSN) that provides the ability to communicate with spacecraft! This is on the top floor of the Amtrak train station in Barstow, Ca. There work is within the two-way robotic spacecraft communication and radio astronomy. The Goldstone Deep Space Network Visitor's Center is OPEN Mondays, Thursdays, and Fridays from 9am-3pm and Saturdays 10am-4pm with no cost to visit and no reservations required. They are closed on Federal Holidays. Historic Harvey House (Casa Del Desierto) 681 North First Avenue, Barstow, CA 92311 The main Harvey House entrance faces South toward the Railroad Tracks and this is located on the second floor. This is a road that is not traveled by much traffic.