Kelbaker Road is a

paved road A road surface (British English), or pavement (American English), is the durable surface material laid down on an area intended to sustain vehicular or foot traffic, such as a road or walkway. In the past, gravel road surfaces, hoggin, cob ...

in San Bernardino County, California, that serves as the primary and busiest route through the Mojave National Preserve. It also connects the communities of Kelso and

Baker A baker is a tradesperson who bakes and sometimes sells breads and other products made of flour by using an oven or other concentrated heat source. The place where a baker works is called a bakery. History Ancient history Since grains ha ...

. Its southern terminus is at County Route 66 between

Amboy Amboy may refer to: Places * Amboy, Córdoba, village in Calamuchita Department, Córdoba province, Argentina United States * Amboy Crater, feature in Mojave National Preserve, California Settled U.S. places * Amboy, California * Amboy, Ge ...

and Chambless. Kelbaker Road's northern terminus is at Interstate 15 in Baker. The road then continues as

California State Route 127 State Route 127 (SR 127) is a state highway in the U.S. state of California that connects Interstate 15 in Baker to Nevada State Route 373 at the Nevada state line, passing near the eastern boundary of Death Valley National Park. The entire lengt ...

northward to

Nevada Nevada ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, Western region of the United States. It is bordered by Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. N ...

, connecting to

Nevada State Route 373 State Route 373 (SR 373) is a state highway in Nye County, Nevada, United States. It is a highway connecting California State Route 127 to U.S. Route 95, providing southern Nye County access to the eastern areas of Death Valley National Park. ...

, passing near

Death Valley National Park Death Valley National Park is an American national park that straddles the California–Nevada border, east of the Sierra Nevada. The park boundaries include Death Valley, the northern section of Panamint Valley, the southern section of Eureka ...

Route description

Kelbaker Road begins at County Route 66, part of the

National Trails Highway National Old Trails Road, also known as the Ocean-to-Ocean Highway, was established in 1912, and became part of the National Auto Trail system in the United States. It was long and stretched from Baltimore, Maryland (some old maps indicate Ne ...

(Historic

Route 66 U.S. Route 66 or U.S. Highway 66 (US 66 or Route 66) was one of the original highways in the United States Numbered Highway System. It was established on November 11, 1926, with road signs erected the following year. The h ...

) between

and Chambless. It then travels north between the Bristol Mountains on the west and the Marble Mountains to the east to its junction at Interstate 40, north of Brown Buttes. From there, Kelbaker Road continues northeast between the Granite Mountains on the west and

Providence Mountains The Providence Mountains are found in the eastern Mojave Desert of San Bernardino County, California, U.S. The range reaches an elevation of at Edgar Peak and is home to the Mitchell Caverns Natural Preserve in the Providence Mountains State Re ...

to the east, over the Granite Pass, and then north past the eastern edge of the Kelso Dunes to the community of Kelso. From Kelso, Kelbaker Road continues north running near the foot of the Kelso Mountains. Reaching near the foot of Kelso Peak, the road then runs northwest between the Kelso Mountains to the west and the

Marl Mountains The Marl Mountains are located in the Mojave National Preserve in eastern California in the United States, northeast of the Kelso Mountains. The Marl Mountains lie just east of Kelbaker Road, which connects the town of Baker with the small communit ...

on the east. Southeast of

Seventeen Mile Point Seventeen Mile Point is a mountain at the north end of the Old Dad Mountains in San Bernardino County, California. Its summit is at an altitude of . History Seventeen Mile Point acquired its name because the northernmost ridge of the mountain was ...

, the road travels parallel to Willow Wash for a few miles. Willow Wash along this section was a part of the

Mojave Road The Mojave Road, also known as Old Government Road (formerly the Mohave Trail), is a historic route and present day dirt road across what is now the Mojave National Preserve in the Mojave Desert in the United States. This rough road stretched f ...

or Old Government Road to Fort Mohave. The road then continues north after crossing the wash, then turns west approximately to

. The total distance along Kelbaker Road from CR 66 to Baker is , ACME Mapper
from map information found on mapper.acme.com, accessed April 19, 2016 while the distance from I-40 to Baker is .

Points of interest

Kelbaker Road is the primary route through Kelso and the Mojave National Preserve, and thus passes by or connects to points of interest such as: * Cinder Cone National Natural Landmark * Granite Mountains * Kelso Depot * Kelso Dunes

References

{{reflist Roads in San Bernardino County, California