Barstow is situated in the high desert between Los Angeles and Las Vegas. It offers a California Welcome Center where tourists can get maps, visitor guides and lots of great information for their road trips. Set inside an outlet mall, spend time to shop at this discount outlet center, and a nearby mall across the street.
Barstow Events include Route 66 Car Show, Mojave Trail Days, Bluegrass Hootenanny, Mardi Gras Parade on Main, and annual Cinco de Mayo.
Part of the historic and famous Route 66, Barstow has a museum honoring that US highway. You'll find lots of great souvenir gifts at the museum, and you'll enjoy cruising around town looking at the shops, dining and roads that all capture another era when highways such as Route 66 were king, and cities like Barstow were recipients of the traffic passing through.
Barstow's attractions include one unique themed ghost town, Calico Ghost Town in Yermo. The town was built to honor California's past, and many of its buildings are authentic, dating back to the 19th century.
There's nearly always something going on out at the Calico Ghost Town, including concerts with known acts.
Barstow is an easy drive from Los Angeles and you can go for the outlet shopping, then return back to the beaches of L.A.
Barstow Museums worth a stop and look include:
Daggett Museum
mojavedesert.net/daggett
Early American collectibles, Railroad
China, Navajo Indian Code-talkers from
WWII, Barbed wire, Lapidary and a model of the nearby Solar I Generating
Plan are among more than 40 exhibits.
Desert Discovery Center
831 Barstow Rd.
discoverytrails.org
Home to the Old Woman Springs
Meteorite, the second largest space rock
ever found in the United States, the
center has exhibits and a desert trail
to explore.
Mojave River Valley Museum
mojaverivervalleymuseum.org
The museum contains displays and
exhibits that portray the history of the
Mojave River Valley from the arrival of
Father Garces in 1776 on through
pathfinders, pioneers, miners, railroads
and the present space program. News
archives dates back to 1911 and contain more than 20,000 photos.
Route 66 Museum
route66museum.org
Route 66 "Mother Road" Museum in the
historic Casa del Desierto, Harvey
House, displays historic
photographs and artifacts related to
Route 66 and the Mojave Desert
Communities, including development of
the U.S. Route 66.
Western America Railroad Museum
barstowrailmuseum.org
Located in historic Harvey House, the
Western America Railroad Museum houses
railroad memorabilia from the West. Old
locomotives, photos and archives and two
cabooses are open for tours.