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The Salton Sea is an inland saline lake in the
Sonoran Desert of extreme southeastern California. It
is California's largest lake
and occupies the Salton Basin, a remnant of prehistoric Lake Cahuilla. It is
borderded on the south by the rich agricultural areas of the Imperial Valley and
on the west, by Anza-Borrego Desert State Park. Both the Salton Sea State
Recreation Area and the Salton Sea National Wildlife Refuge are located on its
shores. Huge, almost deserted, with sunken trailers and abandoned docks being dissolved by the salt. the Salton Sea lies 227 feet (69 meters) below sea level . As neighbors you have Booming Coachella Valley has 124 golf courses, and counting. To the south, the Imperial Valley's half million acres (202,000 hectares) of fruits and vegetables. The sea, is a haven for migratory birds.
Leonard Knight's Salvation Mountain Niland, along the Salton Sea, is the gateway to Salvation Mountain. Salvation Mountain's monumental religious art is still a work in progress. Salvation Mountain continues to thrive and grow. Steps carved into the mountain allow visitors to ascend to the upper terraces. You can pretty much climb anywhere you like for a photo opportunity. Just bring some paint.
Salvation Mountain:
East Beal Road, Niland, CA
Directions: North of I-8, south of I-10, 5 miles east of Hwy. 111 at Niland. Admission: Free, donation suggested. Hours: Daylight hours. Phone: None
Bombay Beach In the 70s a century tropical storm flooded a trailer park in Bombay Beach leaving a post-apocalyptic sight: a half-submerged wasteland of derelict buses and vehicles.
Slab City Slab city received its name from the concrete slabs which remain from the former WWII-era US Navy’s long-abandoned Camp Dunlap where the Seal Base and the US Military occasionally let off Bombs and heavy Mortars. . While there are no RV services at Slab City, you don’t have to pay anything to park there. There are no public services. Very little out of the ordinary happens here at Slab City, in southern California’s Sonoran Desert, because the “out of the ordinary” happens all the time. A wintertime community of some 3000 unconventional snowbirds and other restless souls, where squatters and seasonal snowbirds live in RVs and vehicles among the concrete remnants, a "great place to spend the winter." Slab city also has a Hot Bathing pool heated by Geothermal Energy, (maybe too hot for most people) and a shower which is actually the outflow from the Hot pool just mentioned, accessed by climbing down a hole in the ground. Delightful!! What Slab City does not boast is any electricity, water, or sewage facilities. Electricity has to be provided by individual RVers, either by Solar Panels on the RV, or by running the Generator, or from batteries that are charged up when driving, water is collected from around the back of the Gas Station in Niland, and sewage can be dumped at the rest stop just outside Calipatria, or Grey Water wherever one happens to park. On a clear day – and most of them are clear – you can see the Chocolate Mountains. Slab City:It
is located about four miles east of Niland, eight miles east of Salton Sea,
immediately west of Coachella Canal, south of Sidewinder Cove and north of
Outback Country.
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Campgrounds:
Dedicated in 1955, the Salton Sea State Recreation Area is the largest recreation provider on the Salton Sea. Operated by the California State Park Service, it is located in the northeastern shores of the Sea. This large recreation area extends from the town of North Shore to Bombay Beach. It has 1,400 campsites, hundreds of day-use and picnic sites, trails, a Visitor Center, playground, boat ramp and boat wash areas.
Los Frijoles is developed with flush toilets and showers.
Bombay Beach: Is located at the extreme southern end of the recreation area, next to the small town of Bombay Beach. It offers beach camping with chemical toilets and water. This is a popular campground for fishermen. Some services are available in the adjacent town.
Salt Creek Beach: Another primitive campground, has on the beach camping, chemical toilets. It is popular with fishermen and bird watchers.
Corvina Beach: Is also primitive, with water and chemical toilets, it is popular with groups. While this campground is on the shores of the Sea, it has a drop off to the beach and access can be difficult.
Mecca Beach Campground: Is a large developed campground with good beach access. Mecca Beach has flush toilets and showers and a limited number of partial hook-up sites. Good fishing is found off of Mecca Beach and many swimmers and boaters enjoy the easy access to the water. Mecca Beach Campground is one of the more active areas in the recreation area.
