Mitchell Caverns - Oasis in the Desert
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Mitchell Caverns, located in the Providence Mountains State Recreation Area of the Mojave National Preserve, about 118 miles from Barstow, California maintain a fairly constant temperature inside of 65 degrees. This makes them a great place to visit and escape the heat of the Mojave Desert during the Summer as well as the cold winds that come down off the mountains in the Winter.
Closed!
Mitchell Caverns and Providence Mountains State Recreation Area are currently closed until further notice - due to budget cuts.
The underground climate is of course just a side attraction. The real attractions are the cave formations and the stories about the caves.
Mitchell Caverns is composed of El Pakiva Cavern and Tecopa Cavern. These two caverns are connected by a tunnel. The first people to use these caverns were the Chemehuevi Indians who considered it a sacred place. They called it the "eyes of the mountain", and you can see why...
The
name of the caverns comes from Jack
and Ida Mitchell, who gave cave
tours here, from 1934 to 1954. They even had rooms and meals available
for a small fee. In 1956, the caverns were purchased by the State of
California, who runs the tour operations today. The
Mitchell's former
home is now used as the tour center.
The tour schedule is subject to change, so call
760-928-2586 before going.
The caverns are currently closed until further notice.
Tour groups are limited to 25 people, so
you need to make reservations at least 3 weeks in advance if you have a
large group that wants to visit. Reservations can be made by calling
the tour center at
760-928-2586.
Tour fees
are $6.00 for adults,
$3.00 for children 6 to 16 and free for children 5 and under. Although
the tour is not strenuous, be aware that there is a 1/2 mile hike to
and from the caverns.
There are no hotels or
restaurants nearby. Food is
not available at the caverns, so bring your own supplies. The nearest
gas station is 24 miles
away in Fenner.
There are 6 campsites
available for $25 per night. The price is a
little high but they have a fantastic view...
There are two
other campgrounds in the area, Hole-in-the-Wall
and Black Canyon.
There
is a sign on Essex Rd
(the road you take to the caverns) pointing the
way to both of these. They are about 10 miles from Essex
Rd.
Near
Mitchell Caverns is a 3rd cave called Winding Stair. This
is a
technical cave that is not open to the public but caving trips to it
can be arranged by a caving
club.
Here's a map of the area. To get to the caverns, take Essex Road off of
Interstate 40
and follow it all the way to the end. The road is bad in
spots and there are cattle around, so watch your speed. I
hope you
enjoy your visit!
How Did You Like Mitchell Caverns?
Have you been to Mitchell Caverns? Tell us about your experience there. Would you go again? We'd love to hear all about it!
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