This Less-Traveled California Road Boasts Desert Beauty, Hot Springs, and Miles of History

Highway 395, California

Most California road trips hug the coast, but Highway 395 takes the back door through the state’s wild side.

From Death Valley to Mammoth Lakes, it threads past the highest peak in the lower 48, old Western movie sets, and lakes that look like they belong on Mars.

Here’s more about this legendary drive.

This Highway Tried to Connect Three Countries

The ‘Three Flags Highway’ nickname came from a 1930s tourism campaign promising a route between Mexico, the US, and Canada.

Plot twist: it never actually reached Mexico, stopping in downtown San Diego instead. Back when it first appeared in 1926, Highway 395 only ran from Spokane to Canada.

You’re Basically Driving Through an Active Volcano Zone

Roll down your windows and you might just smell that volcanic goodness along Highway 395.

The Coso Volcanic Field near Ridgecrest has been erupting for 440,000 years, with its latest boom just 10,000 years ago.

Swing by Fossil Falls, 40 miles south of Lone Pine, to see what happens when ancient lava meets glacial meltwater – a 60-foot polished rock waterfall minus the water. You can’t miss Red Hill, a massive red cinder cone that sticks out like a sore thumb along the highway.

And heads up – this area isn’t done cooking. In July 2019, the Coso field unleashed more than 8,000 earthquakes in a week, including a magnitude 7.1 that rocked Ridgecrest.

You’re Driving Past the Largest Rock Art Gallery in the Western Hemisphere

Just off the highway near Ridgecrest sits a literal treasure trove of ancient art.

The Coso Rock Art District houses over 100,000 petroglyphs – the biggest collection in the Western Hemisphere.

The only catch? They’re inside Naval Air Weapons Station China Lake, so you’ll need to book a tour through the Maturango Museum to see Little Petroglyph Canyon.

The Road Follows Ghost Train Tracks

As you cruise Highway 395, you’re actually following abandoned railroad lines that once connected these remote towns.

Between Johannesburg and Lone Pine, you’re tracking a former Southern Pacific route that’s been abandoned north of Searles Station.

Up by Bishop, you’re following the old Carson and Colorado Railroad, which locals hilariously nicknamed the ‘Narrow, Crooked and Onery’ because it was such a pain.

This narrow-gauge line finished in 1883 earned another nickname – ‘Never on Time and Often Late Railroad’ – which tells you everything about its reliability.

North of Susanville, you’re driving along the old Nevada, California, and Oregon Railroad path, where you can still spot historic stations, water towers, and maintenance sheds that once kept these remote communities connected.

You Can Hot Spring-Hop Every 20 Miles Without Repeating Yourself

Highway 395 is basically a geothermal treasure hunt, with natural hot springs popping up every few miles from Lone Pine to Nevada.

Near Bridgeport, Travertine Hot Springs offers multiple pools between 90-110°F where mineral water flows down gorgeous rock formations.

For the brave, Crab Cooker Hot Spring near Mammoth Lakes lives up to its name with source temperatures over 150°F (don’t worry, there’s a valve to make it human-friendly).

These aren’t just random hot puddles – they exist because Highway 395 cuts through the Long Valley Caldera, where underground magma heats groundwater that bubbles up through cracks.

There’s a Ghost Town Where Everything Was Left Exactly As It Was

Just off Highway 395 near Bridgeport sits Bodie, possibly the most perfectly preserved ghost town in America.

After W.S. Bodey struck gold in 1859, this place exploded to 10,000 residents with a wild reputation – at one point sporting 65 saloons on its main drag.

When folks finally abandoned it in the 1940s, they literally just walked away, leaving everything behind.

Today, the state maintains about 100 original buildings in what they call ‘arrested decay,’ including the 1882 Methodist church, a working stamp mill, and the Miners Union Hall from 1878.

You’ll Cross California’s Highest Highway Pass Without Even Realizing It

When you cruise over Conway Summit north of Lee Vining, you’re hitting 8,134 feet – the highest point on the entire highway.

Named after John Andrew Conway, who built a roadside stop here in 1880, this mountain pass splits waters flowing to Mono Lake from those headed to the East Walker River.

From up here, you can see about 30 miles across the Mono Basin, which is a pretty sweet payoff for minimal effort. In winter, this stretch often shuts down under 20+ feet of snow.

What’s really wild is that within 100 miles, you can go from this high point down to Badwater Basin in Death Valley at 282 feet below sea level.

A Massive Secret Military Base Accidentally Preserved Ancient Treasures

Highway 395 runs along Naval Air Weapons Station China Lake, a military installation bigger than Rhode Island (seriously, it’s 1,200 square miles).

Set up in 1943 during WWII, it’s now the Navy’s top research center.

This restricted access has actually saved tens of thousands of ancient petroglyphs from vandalism and theft. The base contains 19 archaeological districts covering over 50,000 acres, including Big and Little Petroglyph Canyons, which became National Historic Landmarks in 1964.

If you want to see the petroglyphs, you can only visit during spring and fall with a background check and military escort – worth it for rock art that’s survived thousands of years.

People Have Been Trading Volcanic Glass From Here Since 12,000 BC

Long before Amazon, the Coso Range along Highway 395 was the Amazon of obsidian – super sharp volcanic glass that ancient peoples couldn’t get enough of.

Archaeological evidence shows quarrying started around 12,000 BCE at spots like South Sugarloaf, West Sugarloaf, Cactus Peak, and Joshua Ridge.

Coso obsidian was so prized that it’s been found in artifacts 500 miles away from its source.

One of the World’s Biggest Joshua Tree Forests Is Hiding in Plain Sight

Near Ridgecrest, you’ll drive past one of the world’s largest Joshua tree forests on Wild Horse Mesa, but most people zoom by without noticing.

Covering 22,000 acres with over 100,000 trees, some specimens are 300 years old in a species that can live five centuries.

Mormon settlers named these distinctive yuccas after the biblical Joshua, thinking their upraised branches looked like him praying.

You’ll only find them in the Mojave Desert between 2,000 and 6,000 feet elevation.

A Dark Chapter in American History Unfolded Right Along This Highway

Between Independence and Lone Pine stands Manzanar National Historic Site, one of ten concentration camps where the US government imprisoned 120,000 Japanese Americans during WWII.

Manzanar packed in 10,046 people at its peak, and two-thirds of them American citizens.

Despite brutal desert conditions ranging from 110°F summers to below-freezing winters, imprisoned residents created gardens, farms, and built a community. The government finally apologized in 1988, providing $20,000 in reparations to each surviving detainee.

Today, you can walk through the reconstructed camp entrance, explore the restored mess hall, and view over 800 historic photographs and artifacts in the interpretive center opened in 2004.

Driving Down Highway 395

Highway 395 runs 557 miles through California and stays open year-round except during major storms. Heads up for nighttime closures near Hesperia through April 2025 due to construction.

• Spring and fall are perfect with mild temps and fewer crowds
• Fill up in Bishop, Lone Pine, or Mammoth Lakes where services are plentiful
• Your phone will die in remote sections, so download maps
• Pack extra water and emergency supplies for the desert stretches

Check current conditions at roads.dot.ca.gov or call 1-800-427-7623 before hitting the road.