Randsburg Isn’t What it Used to Be

It’s not a ghost town--but it’s not a boom town, either.

While gold miners are back, only a few insist a boom is developing in this desolate part of the Mojave Desert.

The fact is, visitors to the turn-of-the-century mining hamlet notice little change. Randsburg seems as quiet and ramshackle as it appeared a few years ago. That’s when a Canadian company reopened the 1890s Yellow Aster mine to recover gold by modern methods.

Of course, when hungry miners come to town, you may have to wait for a seat at the General Store--the only place in Randsburg serving food daily, with just three small tables and a marble-top soda fountain featuring 10 stools.

Down the street the corrugated tin facade of an old auto garage has a new coat of paint, compliments of a Hollywood production crew that filmed a beer commercial here last November. But much of the town remains a hodgepodge of broken-down buildings, mine tailings and rusted equipment.

With about 100 residents, Randsburg is far from its boisterous mining heydays when 4,000 people lived here. Things liven up on the weekends when tourists come to stroll the main street.

That’s also when half a dozen antique and collectible shops open their weathered doors, as does the tiny Randsburg Desert Museum and the White House Saloon, which dates from 1897.

The saloon’s new owners, Karen and Jim Veach of Manhattan Beach, have even refurbished a spacious room for visitors who want to spend the night. Rates for one or two in the Floozy House are $59.50 on Friday or Saturday nights with breakfast, $10 less on other days and without breakfast.

A package offers both weekend nights and breakfast for $99.50. Sundays through Thursdays you can stay any two nights for $79.50. Call (619) 374-2464 or (619) 374-2106 for reservations.

In addition to a 12-stool bar, the family saloon has oilcloth-covered tables and serves homemade Texas-style chili and deli sandwiches. Breakfast is available Saturdays and Sundays, when the open hours are 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. The saloon also is open Fridays and Mondays from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m.

Across the street the vintage General Store is open from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. daily, except Sundays when it’s open from 9:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.

Shelves are crowded with groceries and even ore samples, but visitors mostly sit at the old-time soda fountain to devour banana splits and other ice cream treats.

The owners of the 1896 store, Jan and Mike Hillenbrand, have converted an adjoining building into the Randsburg Boarding House, which sleeps two to four persons.

Rates are $60 on Friday or Saturday nights or $100 for both nights, including continental breakfast. Weeknights are $50. Call (619) 374-2418 for reservations. Down the street, The Hotel is being renovated as another bed and breakfast inn.

Find out more about the history of the area by visiting the Randsburg Desert Museum. It’s crammed with relics from the Rand Mining District, which was named after the famed gold-mining region of South Africa. The museum is open weekends and holidays from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Admission costs $1 for adults, 50 cents for children.

Randsburg is just one of the three “Rs” to learn about on a trip to the Mojave Desert. The other two are Red Rock Canyon and Ridgecrest. Make your first stop to see spectacular rock formations in the colorful canyon, now a state park.

Get there from Los Angeles by driving north on Interstate 5 to join California 14, the Antelope Valley Freeway. Continue 25 miles past Mojave along the Sierra Nevada foothills to Red Rock Canyon State Park, which flanks the highway.

Just after the four-lane road divides, slow down and turn right to Red Cliffs Nature Preserve to view the most dramatic rock face. Its colonnaded cliffs of red sandstone were carved by water erosion over thousands of years.

Return to the highway and look left for a loop road that leads to the Ricardo Ranger Station, with exhibits about the park’s geology and history. It’s open weekends, except in summer.

Beyond the ranger station, a one-way unpaved road circles through an extensive campground and takes you to the Desert View Nature Trail near campsite No. 50. A short walk reveals much of the desert terrain, including Joshua trees.

Campsites with water, restrooms, picnic tables and fire rings are available for $6 a night--first-come, first-served. Star-gazing charts are posted around the campground, along with a schedule of weekend nature walks and campfire programs.

Drive back south on California 14 about four miles to the Red Rock-Randsburg Road junction and turn east to the old mining town. After your visit to Randsburg, follow the curve from the top of Butte Avenue onto the short road to U.S. 395.

Head north toward Inyokern, then bear right at the Ridgecrest cut-off and follow China Lake Boulevard into town. It leads to the Maturango Museum in Kern Desert Regional Park at Las Flores Avenue. Hours are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily, except Mondays and holidays. Admission $1, children 50 cents.

The new museum traces the area’s cultural and natural histories with photos and exhibits. You’ll see pre-1915 bottles and other glass articles manufactured with manganese that the desert sun has turned purple.

Reproductions of mysterious Indian petroglyphs are on view, as well as pressed wildflowers and plants of the Mojave. Also look for fossilized bones and a solidified mass of lava called a volcanic bomb. A Sidewinder missile is featured in a display from the neighboring China Lake Naval Weapons Center.

Ridgecrest has lodgings and restaurants to serve visitors to the military base and travelers en route to the ski slopes at Mammoth and Lake Tahoe.

Along the main street, China Lake Boulevard, is the 163-room Carriage Inn, with a special weekend room rate of $39 for one to four persons. Weekday rates are from $78, double occupancy. Call (619) 446-7910 for reservations.

The inn’s Sandpipers restaurant and lounge has fresh seafood daily. Or you can dine at its informal Cafe Potpourri. You can also have dinner at Farris’ in the Heritage Inn on Norma Street, where the rate for a double room is $64. Call (619) 446-6543.

Return to Los Angeles by driving west on California 178 via Inyokern to join California 14 and then Interstate 5 south.

Round trip from Los Angeles to Randsburg and the upper Mojave Desert is 318 miles.