Jawbone/Butterbredt recreation areas on Outdoorwire.com

---Jawbone and Dove Springs OHV areas--------------

Trail Rating: 4WD Easy to Moderate
New or Experienced Driver
Open OHV areas
Good area to learn 4-wheeling or to explore
Desert vistas

------------------------------------------------

by Len Wilcox

photos by Len Wilcox

These popular desert recreation areas are scenic, easily accessed, and fill the needs for riders and drivers of all experience levels. They are unique, as this is where the desert meets the mountains.

Where the Mojave and the Sierra meet

The westernmost edge of the Mojave crashes with the Sierra Nevada here. The open area for the OHV riders is near the highway, but if it is peace and serenity you're after, back-country trails take 4-wheelers far from the noise and crowds to the edge of the Sierra.

The Jawbone Canyon OHV open area is located north of the town of Mojave, along California Highway 14, south of Red Rock Canyon State Park. The Dove Springs OHV area is north of the state park, along 14. The Butterbredt area is behind and north of Dove Springs. These areas surround Red Rock State Park, with its beautiful rock formations and campgrounds.

trails back into the desert range from graded roads to moderate 4-wheel desert trails

With a myriad of trails and desert canyons to explore, and a large open area for unrestricted OHV use, these sites are very popular destinations for dirt bike and 4-wheel vehicle drivers. Open camping is allowed, and motels/restaurants are available in the town of Mojave (about 40 miles south).

With the many miles of trails, ranging around Red Rock, weeks of exploring isn't enough time to leave tracks on all of the trails that wander into the hills and valleys beyond highway 14. Very nice desert vistas await, at the tops of the hills, and the occasional mine (keep back from the shafts - they are unstable) can still be found. At the north end of the Dove Springs area is the road to Walker Pass. Near this road is a rock formation known as Robber's Roost.

Robber's Roost

Robber's Roost is called that because the formation makes an excellent hideout, from which an 1800's-era bandit could keep an eye out for silver and gold shipments coming from Bodie, Cerro Gordo, or the Kern River mines. The bandit Timoreo Vasquez worked this area, robbing travelers heading in or out of the gold fields.

The Robber's Roost rock formation is also a nesting ground for birds of prey. Access to the rocks is restricted from February 1 to July 1 to allow the peace and quiet needed by the hawks to raise their young.

With all the miles of trails, and the nearby El Paso mountains, Randsburg, and Red Rock State Park, a visit to the Jawbone/Butterbredt area is a must for any desert rat in central California. For more information see our related links.

Related Links

Last Chance Canyon

Red Rock State Park

BLM info - using Jawbone Canyon and Dove Springs OHV areas

BLM land use and access - general information

driving and survival tips

Trail Reports list

Please support 4x4Wire by visiting our featured sponsors

This site and all original materials contained herein are Copyright © 1999 - 2009 by OutdoorWire, Inc.™ -- All Rights Reserved.
The use of this website, OutdoorWire, or any of its publications or services is subject to the terms of use agreement.
You may link freely to this site, but no further use is allowed without the express written permission of the owner of this material.
All corporate trademarks are the property of their respective owners.
This publication and OutdoorWire, Inc. assume no liability for your use of the material contained within this site.
OutdoorWire, 4x4Wire, SUVWire, JeepWire, MUIRNet-News are all trademarks and publications of OutdoorWire, Inc.