Cool and Unusual Things to Do in Barstow - Atlas Obscura

Unusual Attractions in Barstow

Barstow, California

Painted Rocks

The cluster of boulders near Fort Irwin is covered in military insignia.

Barstow, California

Vivos Underground Shelter Network for 4,000 Survivors

Nationwide network of co-ownership underground catastrophe shelters.

Are we missing something unusual in Barstow?

Yermo, California

Peggy Sue's '50s Diner & Diner-Saur Park

Like a kitschy mirage in the Mojave, this eatery serves up classic 50s-style diner meals and a dinosaur sculpture garden.

7 miles from Barstow

Yermo, California

Calico Ghost Town

A desert ghost town that was once home to over 500 silver mines, Calico lasted only 12 years of boom before it all went bust.

9 miles from Barstow

Daggett, California

Solar One and Solar Two

Decommissioned experimental solar facilities that pioneered solar energy technology.

9 miles from Barstow

Newberry Springs, California

Rock-A-Hoola Waterpark

The "Fun Spot of The Desert" is now a haunting ruin acting as a reminder that putting a water park in a desert is a bad idea.

19 miles from Barstow

Newberry Springs, California

Bagdad Cafe

The set location for a 1987 cult classic draws international film buffs to the middle of the Mojave Desert.

21 miles from Barstow

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Atlas Obscura Trips

Photographing Palm Springs: The Quirky & Surreal

Join National Geographic author, photographer, and Palm Springs resident Christopher P. Baker on this one-of-a-kind photography workshop exploring the most striking and photogenic sites in and around Greater Palm Springs.

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Voyage Without Carbon has been to Painted Rocks

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