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Jawbone/Butterbredt Management Area, Mojave, California
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| Explore Your World! | Short Cuts | ||||
---Jawbone and Dove Springs OHV areas--------------
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by Len Wilcox
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| 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.
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| 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.
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| 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.
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| 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.
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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.
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