• Needles
• Goffs
• Fenner
• Essex
• Chambless
• Amboy
• Ludlow
• Newberry Springs
• Barstow

• Helendale
• Oro Grande
• Victorville
• Cajon Pass
• San Bernardino
• Rancho Cucamonga
• Glendora
• Arcadia
• Pasadena
• Santa Monica

Historic Route 66 California Gateway Site

Click to read more about Route 66 in Needles

Located approximately two miles west of the Colorado River off Interstate 40, this day use and picnic area memorializes the entryway of Historic Route 66 into California.

The site contains covered picnic tables, an information kiosk, visitor log book, desert plants and trees, and a wind gauge. It is operated by the the Bureau of Land Management.

Needles El Garces Train Station in Needles

The building was formerly a grand Harvey House Hotel, restaurant and Santa Fe train station. The hotel and restaurant were open from 1908 to 1949. The train station closed in 1988.

Goffs, California

Goffs, an unincorporated community about 40 miles west of Needles in San Bernardino County, is a nearly empty one-time railroad town at the route's high point in the Mojave Desert. Goffs was a stop on Historic U.S. Route 66, and jogged around the White Cottage Restaurant. In 1931 a more direct Route 66 alignment opened between Needles and Essex.

A historic schoolhouse, built in 1914 and almost totally deteriorated by the early 1980s, has since been renovated to its original plans by the Mojave Desert Heritage and Cultural Association (MDHCA). The Goffs Schoolhouse is a one-room mission style desert school built by the County of San Bernardino to serve the growing population of the area. Through many of the 23 years it served as a school, dances were held in the building and it functioned as a branch of the county library and community center. The schoolhouse and grounds now house a museum primarily specializing in the area's mining history. Remnants of Goffs's mining days still dot the town.

The Dennis G. Casebier Library houses the Mojave Desert Archives. It is a replica of the historic Goffs Santa Fe Railway Depot (1902-1956).

Goffs today is accessible off Interstate 40 at U.S. Highway 95 north. A left turn onto Goffs Road, the pre-1931 alignment of US 66, becomes a desolate forty-mile stretch that served as home to several towns that have mostly vanished, including Bannock, Ibis, and Homer. Continuing west on Goffs Road brings motorists back to I-40 northeast of the town of Essex. It is located adjacent to the Mojave National Preserve.

Website of the Mojave Desert Heritage and Cultural Association and MDHCA on Facebook

Mojave National Preserve

The Mojave Preserve features a diverse mosaic of ecological habitats and a 10,000 year history of human connection with the desert. The park features a variety of wildlife, including mountain lions, coyotes, snakes and bats. Found in the park are Joshua Trees, lava beds, and sand dunes. The National Park Service (NPS) operates the Kelso Visitor Center and the Hole-in-the-Wall Visitor Center.

For more information, visit the website of the Mojave National Preserve at NPS

Earlier days in Siberia, California ... seen here is a Texaco service station and post office between Ludlow and Bagdad

Barstow, California

Barstow is located in the high western Mojave Desert. Several major highways including Interstate 15, Interstate 40, California State Route 58, and U.S. Route 66 converge in the city.

Route 66 Mother Road Museum

For those interested in the history of the old road, we recommend a visit to the Route 66 Mother Road Museum at 681 N. First Street in Barstow.

Barstow Route 66 Mother Road Museum website