Location
Our journey takes place in the Panamint Valley near Death Valley National Park, a remote California desert approximately 200 miles northeast of Los Angeles (about 4 hour drive) and 500 miles southeast of the San Francisco Bay Area (about 8 hour drive). Please arrive before dark on Thursday, April 21st in order to have time to settle in and set up in the daylight hours.
Getting There
The site is near the ghost town of Ballarat. If you are considering flying, the site is about four hours from Los Angeles’ Ontario airport.
In order to reduce our travel impact, we will set up a community spreadsheet online so festival participants can coordinate carpools. Look for this once registration closes (March 18th)
Cars should be in good working order with some dirt roads, and drivers should have a valid license and insurance.
Driving Directions:
Download the Printable Directions and Info Sheet here.
from the Bay Area:
Take I-580 E toward Hayward go approx. 60 mi
Merge onto I-5 S go 188 mi
Take exit 257 for CA-58 toward Bakersfield go 0.3 mi
Turn left at Blue Star Memorial Hwy/CA-58 E/Rosedale Hwy go 8.4 mi
Turn right at CA-43 S/CA-58 E/Enos Ln go 1.0 mi
Turn left at Blue Star Memorial Hwy/CA-58 E/Rosedale Hwy
Continue to follow Rosedale Hwy go 12.1 mi Rosedale Hwy turns slightly left and becomes 24th St go 0.6 mi
Continue onto 23rd St/CA-178 E, continue to follow CA-178 E go 85.4 mi
Turn left at CA-14 N/CA-178 E/Midland Trail go 2.8 mi
Slight right at CA-178 E/W Inyokern Rd go 12.2 mi
Turn right at N China Lake Blvd (signs for State Route 178/Trona) go 2 mi
Turn left at CA-178 E/E Ridgecrest Blvd go 16.7 mi
Continue onto Trona Rd go 9.6 mi Continue onto Trona Wildrose Rd go 19.1 mi
Turn right at Ballarat Rd go 3.6 mi From the ghost town of Ballarat (no services):
Turn Left at Indian Ranch Road. Drive 1.9 miles
Turn Right on to Surprise Canyon Road at the white rock marked with a red S7 on it.
We will set up our camp .4 miles from Indian Ranch Road.
From the Los Angeles Area:
Take I-5 N toward Sacramento
Take the State Route 14 N exit toward Palmdale/Lancaster 0.6 mi
Merge onto CA-14 N 69.0 mi
Turn right at CA-14 N/Midland Trail Continue to follow CA-14 N 44.4 mi
Slight right at CA-178 E/W Inyokern Rd 12.2 mi
Turn right at N China Lake Blvd (signs for State Route 178/Trona) 2.0 mi
Turn left at CA-178 E/E Ridgecrest Blvd Continue to follow CA-178 E 16.7 mi
Continue onto Trona Rd 9.6 mi
Continue onto Trona Wildrose Rd 19.1 mi
Turn right at Ballarat Rd 3.6 mi
From the ghost town of Ballarat (no services):
Turn Left at Indian Ranch Road. Drive 1.9 miles.
Turn Right on to Surprise Canyon Road at the white rock marked with a red S7 on it. We will set up our camp .4 miles from Indian Ranch Road.
*Ridgecrest is a good place to buy last minute stuff
If you are coming from another location, map your location to this intersection in Ballarat and follow these directions from Ballarat:
Turn Left at Indian Ranch Road. Drive 1.9 miles.
Turn Right on to Surprise Canyon Road at the white rock marked with a red S7 on it. We will set up our camp .4 miles from Indian Ranch Road.
