This is a good place to stop on the way to/from Vegas if you need to use the restroom and/or stretch your legs. They have both men/women's bathrooms but only 2 stalls were open when we visited. The views are pretty and make for some great pictures. They have a visitor center that has some snacks, dr
The actual center was closed, but the bathrooms are open. a self-guided tour is still possible and I will include some photos I took. great way to unwind along a long pleasant drive. you will need to bring your own picnic items at Kelso depot. if heading further Amboy has food and gas.
We visited during the first weekend in March and they were open. Google Maps said that they were close. It was an informative visitor center and the view outside was beautiful.
Nice place to stop by on your way thru the Mojave National Preserve.
A nice a refreshing place to see after endless miles miles of desert driving. Lots of cool history here, and the visitors center is free to go through; it’s basically a museum.
Good stop for a bathroom and leg stretch break! Worth checking out if passing through!
Beautiful oasis with a pleasant visitor's center as close to the middle of nowhere as one can get on pavement. I was really impressed with how pleasant this place was. Great interpretive exhibits to help you understand the area and the history of the area better and even some food and drink availabl
Incredible piece of history you don’t want to miss. Clean bathrooms! They transformed the bar into a gift shop (cash only, with no ATM in the town) on the ground floor. Check out the library and historical displays upstairs! Such a beautiful building with friendly staff. No cell service in this area
It has a small library! With comfy chairs! You can sit and read about all kinds of relevant stuff.
History display was decent. There is an elevator. There are some places to sit.
Ranger was helpful (always talk with rangers!). Cool building.
And did I mention the library?
Closed for repairs 😥was escorting my late husband's ashes to all his favorite places with family and sadly several stops were still closed from fire and storms.
I put off visiting Kelso way too long. With the edition a few years back of the visitor center in the old train depot this is a must see. The park system has done a wonderful job restoring to old build and making a working museum / information center out of it. The displays, information and art are
When I was stationed at 29 Palms, I stopped here on my way to Vegas. Now older, I took my time and explored. I didn't know it has such history. This is still an active train junction. I liked being able to walk up to the trains, and listening to the motors and seeing the big, open sky.
Nearby,
Should you be headed through the area, add this as, at the very least, a stop to stretch the legs. Should you want to delve further into history, this location won't disappoint. The grounds are historic, with a unique story about its name, the depo's function and the rise and fall of the town. The p
Kelso Depot is a great place to visit in the Mojave Desert. There are amazing cactus surrounding the area driving into the depot, there are mountains surrounding the Kelso Depot area. The Kelso Depot has a parking area and restrooms, which makes this stop convenient if you are visiting the desert.
A beautifully preserved UP station. There are rooms with various aspects of the local & preservation history. A nice little gift shop built around a counter service non-operational ‘restaurant’ within the depot.
The personnel are very helpful & knowledgeable about the park and the depot. The gif
Really cool little spot to explore, it wasn't open while we were there but still really neat to walk around and peek through windows. Highly reccomend a look around, we enjoyed it.
Historical train depot, 2 person jail cell, abandoned post office, and the remains of the original train depot.
You will need cash to buy stuff in the gift shop. Unfortunately they have not had a usable card processing system for quite a long time. The rangers are very nice though, and the museum is great. There are no ATMs at all in Kelso, so bring cash with you to the preserve if you want to shop here!
Kelso, California town from WW1
We stopped to use the restroom, then toured the prior train station now it's a museum. Awesome to see a piece of history we weren't aware of until 4/15/2018 today.
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