Robbers Roost (unincorporated

Kern County Kern County is a county located in the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 909,235. Its county seat is Bakersfield. Kern County comprises the Bakersfield, California, Metropolitan statistical area. The county ...

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the ...

, also known as Robber's Roost and Bandit Rock) is a rock formation in the foothills of the

Scodie Mountains The Scodie Mountains are a sub-mountain range of the Southern Sierra Nevada rising from the Mojave Desert, and located in Kern County, California. Geography The range lies in an east–west direction directly west of the desert town of Ridgecrest ...

portion of the Southern

Sierra Nevada The Sierra Nevada () is a mountain range in the Western United States, between the Central Valley of California and the Great Basin. The vast majority of the range lies in the state of California, although the Carson Range spur lies primari ...

Mountain Range in the North

Mojave Desert The Mojave Desert ( ; mov, Hayikwiir Mat'aar; es, Desierto de Mojave) is a desert in the rain shadow of the Sierra Nevada mountains in the Southwestern United States. It is named for the indigenous Mojave people. It is located primarily i ...

. The formation overlooks the southern portion of the Indian Wells Valley. The nearest municipality is

Ridgecrest, California Ridgecrest is a city in Kern County, California, United States, along U.S. Route 395 in California, U.S. Route 395 in the Indian Wells Valley in northeastern Kern County, adjacent to the Naval Air Weapons Station China Lake (NAWS, or China Lak ...

. The

Los Angeles Aqueduct The Los Angeles Aqueduct system, comprising the Los Angeles Aqueduct (Owens Valley aqueduct) and the Second Los Angeles Aqueduct, is a water conveyance system, built and operated by the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power. The Owens Valle ...

is within several hundred yards of the formation. The area is managed by the Bureau of Land Management. Robbers Roost lies west of Freeman Junction, which is approximately at the intersection of California highways 178 and 14.

History

In the 19th century, outlaws were known to use Robbers Roost to spot

stagecoach A stagecoach is a four-wheeled public transport coach used to carry paying passengers and light packages on journeys long enough to need a change of horses. It is strongly sprung and generally drawn by four horses although some versions are draw ...

es moving south towards

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the wor ...

through the

Antelope Valley The Antelope Valley is located in northern Los Angeles County, California, and the southeast portion of Kern County, California, and constitutes the western tip of the Mojave Desert. It is situated between the Tehachapi, Sierra Pelona, and t ...

from the

Owens Valley Owens Valley (Numic: ''Payahǖǖnadǖ'', meaning "place of flowing water") is an arid valley of the Owens River in eastern California in the United States. It is located to the east of the Sierra Nevada, west of the White Mountains and Inyo Mo ...

or west through

Walker Pass Walker Pass (el. ) is a mountain pass by Lake Isabella in the southern Sierra Nevada. It is located in northeastern Kern County, approximately 53 mi (85 km) ENE of Bakersfield and 10 mi (16 km) WNW of Ridgecrest. The pass pro ...

towards the

San Joaquin Valley The San Joaquin Valley ( ; es, Valle de San Joaquín) is the area of the Central Valley of the U.S. state of California that lies south of the Sacramento–San Joaquin River Delta and is drained by the San Joaquin River. It comprises seven ...

. Modern-day

State Route 178 The following highways are numbered 178: Canada *Prince Edward Island Route 178 Japan * Japan National Route 178 United States * Interstate 178 (former proposal) * U.S. Route 178 * Alabama State Route 178 * Arkansas Highway 178 * California ...

. Stagecoaches in this area often carried gold and other valuable gems from the local mines. The jagged rocks were a hideout for Kern County's most notorious bandit gang, led by

Tiburcio Vásquez Tiburcio Vásquez (April 11, 1835 – March 19, 1875) was a Californio ''bandido'' who was active in California from 1854 to 1874. The Vasquez Rocks, north of Los Angeles, were one of his many hideouts and are named after him. Early life T ...

. Robbers Roost was listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artist ...

in 1975.

Accessibility

Robber's Roost is closed from February 1 through July 1 to allow solitude for bird of prey nesting.

References

External links

{{authority control Rock formations of California History of the Mojave Desert region History of the Sierra Nevada (United States) Landforms of Kern County, California Protected areas of Kern County, California Protected areas of the Mojave Desert Protected areas of the Sierra Nevada (United States) National Register of Historic Places in Kern County, California Bureau of Land Management areas in California

History

Accessibility

Further reading

See also

References

External links