Home / Mojave Preserve and Desert bikepacking trips / 2007, Christmas: Mojave National Preserve Mountain-Bike Camping
I don't usually visit Mojave National Preserve during the winter due to cold wet weather, but Xmas week 2007 is forecast as dry, although still typically cold.
With only eight days, I'll pedal fewer miles (160) than on some of my trips and visit a few Mojave National Preserve destinations off Kelbaker Road that I've previously bypassed. I'll stay at lower elevations and avoid the Preserve's colder mountainous areas, as enticing as they are.
Baker, California again serves as the start and end of this Mojave National Preserve trip, with Amtrak train and bus transporting me to Baker from home in San José, CA. I'll spend Xmas Eve and New Year's Eve at a motel in Baker on the first and last days of the trip.
Low-elevation daytime temperatures in Mojave National Preserve will range from 45 to 60 degrees F, while overnight lows will vary from 27 to 35 degrees. Full moon happens on Xmas Eve, so there should be some good late-night moonlight during the trip.
Day 0: Baker, California, gateway to Mojave National Preserve, Xmas Eve
13 photosDay 1: Baker to Indian Springs, Mojave National Preserve
37 photosDay 2: Hike beyond Indian Springs toward Cane Spring, returning cross-country via Eyeball Rock in an unnamed wash, 7-8 miles
53 photosDay 3: Indian Springs to Devil's Playground via Jackass Canyon, Mojave National Preserve
32 photosDay 4: Mountain-bike ride across Devil's Playground to Sands, California and back, Mojave National Preserve
36 photosDay 5: Devil's Playground to Kelso Dunes via Jackass Canyon Road and Kelbaker Road, Mojave National Preserve
28 photosDay 6: Late-morning hike up Kelso Dunes, Mojave National Preserve
20 photosDay 6: Water in the Mojave Desert! Coyote Springs round trip bicycle ride from Kelso Dunes campsite, Mojave National Preserve
34 photosDay 7: New Year's Eve ride from Kelso Dunes to Baker via Kelbaker Road to conclude the trip (and 2007), Mojave National Preserve
36 photos