6 days by RV from Las Vegas: the Integratron, Joshua Tree, the Salton Sea, Slab City and London Bridge

In 1953, a former aircraft mechanic who ran a desert airport next to a seven-storey boulder said a visitor from Venus had landed by his bed at two in the morning. He spent the next eighteen years building a white wooden dome to rejuvenate the human body. The dome still stands, and you can lie inside it while someone plays crystal bowls. Three hours south, a sea that a flood made by accident in 1905 is slowly drying out, and on a hill near an old Marine camp a man painted a mountain with the words "God is Love".

This is a six-day RV loop from Las Vegas through the Mojave and Colorado deserts of southern California, and back through Arizona: Calico ghost town, the Integratron and Giant Rock, Joshua Tree National Park, the Salton Sea and Bombay Beach, Salvation Mountain, Slab City and East Jesus, and the London Bridge that was rebuilt in Lake Havasu City. It's a different trip from our national-park loop and from our Extraterrestrial Highway loop. Three rules: we tell the UFO and healing stories as the places tell them, and we label them; Slab City and Bombay Beach are places where people live, not film sets; and every price, opening day and RV rule below comes from the operator or a public agency, with the date we checked it. Anything we estimated is marked [A].

When to go

1. JanPlan BIntegratron shut to Feb 2
2. FebGoodfrom Feb 3, first flowers
3. MarBestwildflowers, mild
4. AprGoodwarm, book weekends
5. MayHot95 °F at the sea
6. JunDon't go100 °F+
7. JulDon't goIntegratron closed
8. AugDon't goIntegratron closed
9. SepDon't go100 °F+, closed early Sept
10. OctLate Octstill 90 °F at the sea
11. NovBestmild days, birds arrive
12. DecGoodshort days, cold nights

Our rating [A], built on the Integratron's closures (July 5 to September 9, 2026, and January 3 to February 2, 2027) [M1] and NOAA 1991–2020 normals: at Mecca, by the Salton Sea, average highs are 78 °F in November, 81 °F in March, 95 °F in May and 107 °F in July; at Twentynine Palms, near Joshua Tree, 62–74 °F from December to March; at Lake Havasu City 95 °F in May and 109 °F in July; at Barstow-Daggett, near Calico, January lows of 36 °F [M26]. Joshua Tree's busy season "runs from October to May" [M7], and its annual campfire ban runs from June 15 to October 1 [M7]. Cottonwood's wildflowers can bloom from early February to the end of March [M11]. Birds arrive at the Salton Sea from October [M15].

Route map

The 6 days at a glance

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Distances and drive times are our estimates for an RV at legal speeds without stops, from a road router, with 10–20% added to car times [A]. Add more for photo stops and the controlled lane on CA-111. A note on the length: early planning notes called this a 4- or 5-day trip. It isn't: a rental RV is normally ready between 1 and 4 pm and due back between 9 and 11 am [M27], the drive from Henderson to Landers alone is about 220 miles [A], and the way back from the Salton Sea is about 350 miles [A]. Six days is the honest minimum; seven is more relaxed (see alternatives).

Before you go: checklist

1. Book the Integratron first. Public sound baths: $62.89 per person including fees, groups up to 33, age 14 and up [M1]. Open Wednesday to Saturday; "We do not maintain a wait list for sold out days" [M1]. Closed January 3 to February 2, 2027; the February 2027 schedule opens on December 1 [M1]. Cancel at least 24 hours ahead for a refund (groups of 4 or fewer) [M2]. Session times are on the booking calendar: pick one for the early afternoon of day 2 [A].
2. Book Joshua Tree's two campgrounds for nights 2 and 3 on Recreation.gov, up to six months ahead [M7]. Black Rock and Cottonwood are $35 a night, with water, flush toilets and a dump station, and both need a reservation [M7]. There are no hookups and no showers in any park campground [M7][M10].
3. Check your RV's length against the site. At Black Rock the longest sites take 35 ft [M10]; Cottonwood has sites for 40 ft and more, up to 45 ft "COMBINED" [M11]. Use the vehicle-length filter on Recreation.gov [M7]. The Salton Sea state park takes campers and motorhomes up to 35 ft [M14].
4. Book the Salton Sea for night 4: Salton Sea State Recreation Area, Headquarters campground, on ReserveCalifornia; "Reservations are available October-May" [M14]. Full or partial hookup sites are $30 a night [M14]. Mecca Beach Campground is closed for repairs, with no reopening date, and Bombay Beach Campground is closed too [M14].
5. Book Lake Havasu State Park for night 5: online or 877-MY-PARKS, $50 a night plus a $3.60 reservation fee; every site has 50-amp power and water [M23]. Two-night minimum on Friday and Saturday from April 1 to October 31 [M23].
6. Book Calico for night 1 with San Bernardino County Regional Parks: weekday $35 (no hookup), $40 (partial) or $45 (full hookup); weekend $45, $50 or $55; plus a $10 non-refundable reservation fee [M13]. Special event weekends cost more [M13]: on Calico's calendar for late 2026 are a Ghost Haunt weekend (October 30–31) and November 28 [M13].
7. Leave the dog at home, or plan around it. Pets aren't allowed at the Integratron, and the Integratron says it isn't safe to leave a pet in your vehicle during the sound bath [M2]. Dogs aren't allowed on the beaches or trails at the Salton Sea state park [M14].
8. Ask your rental company about unpaved roads. Every stop on the plan is on pavement, but the Integratron's parking lot "is not paved" [M2], and parts of Slab City are on sand [A]. Many rental contracts restrict unpaved roads [A]; get the answer in writing.
9. Download maps before you go. Cell service is very limited in Joshua Tree [M7], and both the park and the Integratron warn that navigation apps can send you onto dirt roads [M2][M9].
10. Arizona's clocks. Arizona doesn't use daylight saving time; from early November to mid-March, its clocks are one hour ahead of California and Nevada [A]. Your Lake Havasu check-out (noon) is Arizona time; your RV return is Nevada time.

RV access, stop by stop

RV ok paved, parking for a typical campervan or Class C up to ~30 ft [A] · Caution possible, with a catch · No RV leave the RV and walk, take a car, or skip

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Not sure your rig fits? Our RV size guide explains length, height and what "unpaved" means in a rental contract.

Where you sleep: hookups and dump stations

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Water and tanks: Calico has hookups on night 1 [M13]. Nights 2 and 3 in Joshua Tree have no hookups, but both campgrounds have a water fill station and a dump station [M7]: fill up at Black Rock, dump and fill again at Cottonwood on the morning of day 4. Hookups again at the Salton Sea [M14] and at Lake Havasu [M23]. Slab City is not an overnight stop for a rental RV: Salvation Mountain says "Slab City is a free place" and you may camp around it, just not on the mountain [M18], but there are no campground services, and we don't recommend it for a first visit in a rented vehicle [A]. The Integratron has no camping [M2]. In Joshua Tree, sleeping in your vehicle outside a campground is illegal [M7].

Day by day

Day 1 — Las Vegas → I-15 → Calico (~145 mi)

Fly into LAS and do the RV walk-through slowly: photos of every scratch, tank levels, generator and heater test. Fleet pickups are normally between 1 and 4 pm [M27], so shop for groceries and water in Henderson and leave by about 3 pm [A]. Take I-15 south past Primm and over the state line into California, to Yermo, near Barstow: about 145 miles, 3 hours in an RV [A]. You'll arrive after Calico's town has closed at 5 pm [M13]; that's fine, because you're sleeping at its foot.

On the way: just south of Las Vegas, near I-15, stand the stacked, painted boulders of Seven Magic Mountains. Their future after 2026 is open: see our Extraterrestrial Highway loop before you plan a stop.

Sleep: Calico Ghost Town campground, partial or full hookups [M13]. Campers get free admission to the town [M13].

Day 2 — Calico → Barstow → Lucerne Valley → Integratron → Black Rock (~107 mi)

Walk up into Calico when it opens at 9 am [M13]: Main Street, the free Lucy Lane Museum and, for an extra fee, the Maggie Mine, a silver mine from the 1880s [M13]. The county warns that the old mines around Calico "are extremely hazardous and must not be approached for any reason" [M13]. Leave by about 11 am [A]. Fuel in Barstow, then CA-247 south across the empty Mojave to Lucerne Valley and on to Landers: about 87 miles, 2½ hours [A].

The Integratron is a white, two-storey wooden dome in the desert at Landers. Its builder, George Van Tassel, said its purpose was "the rejuvenation of the human body, similar to recharging a battery, and basic research in time travel" [M3]. It was built "entirely on donations", from 16 glued and laminated wooden ribs held together at the top by a ton of concrete [M3]. Since 2000 it has belonged to three sisters, who run the sound baths [M3]. It's listed on the National Register of Historic Places [M4].

After the sound bath, drive about 20 miles south to Black Rock Campground, on the northern edge of Joshua Tree National Park, among "one of the thickest Joshua tree forests" in the park [M10]. It's at 4,000 feet, so nights are cold in winter [M7][A].

Sleep: Black Rock Campground, no hookups, water and dump station [M7]; or Joshua Tree Lake RV & Campground with hookups and showers, about 16 miles from the Integratron [M12][A]. The Joshua Tree Lake site says "GPS not advised": use the directions on its travel page [M12].

Day 3 — Joshua Tree: West Entrance → Hidden Valley → Cholla Cactus Garden → Cottonwood (~66 mi)

Drive to Joshua Tree village and in at the West Entrance, 5 miles south of CA-62 [M9]. Pay $30 per vehicle, valid for 7 days; the entrance stations take cards only [M8]. The park road crosses the high Mojave Desert, with its Joshua trees and rock piles, then drops into the lower Colorado Desert in the south [A].

Stop at Hidden Valley for the short loop trail among the boulders, early, before the small lots fill [A]. If you have time, take the side road to Keys View for the view over the Coachella Valley [A]. Then drive south-east to the Cholla Cactus Garden, a dense field of teddy-bear cholla. Stay on the path and wear closed shoes: the spines detach at a touch [A].

Continue down to Cottonwood, near the South Entrance. It's at 3,000 feet, with little shade, far from town lights, and its campground listing calls it "one of the best places in Joshua Tree National Park for stargazing" [M11]. Walk to Cottonwood Spring, a small palm oasis, before sunset [A].

Sleep: Cottonwood Campground, no hookups, water and dump station [M7].

Day 4 — Cottonwood → Mecca → Salton Sea → Bombay Beach → Salvation Mountain → Slab City (~130 mi)

Dump and fill at Cottonwood [M7], leave the park by the South Entrance on I-10 [M9], and turn off onto Box Canyon Road down to Mecca, about 42 miles [A]. Then CA-111 south to the Salton Sea State Recreation Area visitor center, open 9 am to 4 pm [M14]. Check in to your campsite now if you can [A].

Drive south on CA-111 to Bombay Beach, about 17 miles, past the controlled single lane near Durmid [M22][A]. It's a small town below a levee on the east shore; along the old shoreline lie wrecked trailers, art pieces and the remains of the resort years [A]. Walk, don't drive, through its streets: people live here [A].

Continue south to Niland and turn east on Beal Road, "a paved road" [M17], to Salvation Mountain, 603 Beal Road: Leonard Knight's painted hillside, about 50 feet tall, with "God is Love" across it [M17][M19]. Park in the marked areas, keep at least 10 feet from anything painted or on display, drive at 5 mph, and give donations only at the box [M18]. Treat the painted surfaces gently; it's a work of art that volunteers keep alive [M18][A].

Walk on into Slab City and to East Jesus, less than a mile further [M17][M20]: a 30-acre art garden built from waste and reused material, which calls itself "the only registered art museum in Imperial County" [M20]. It's open sunrise to sunset, free, and runs on donations [M20]. People live at East Jesus and all over Slab City: stay on the open paths, don't walk into camps, and ask before you photograph anyone [A].

Leave Slab City by about 3:30 pm in winter, so you drive the 39 miles back to the state park in daylight [A].

Sleep: Salton Sea SRA, Headquarters campground, hookups, $30 [M14]. Or, if they'll take you for a night, the Fountain of Youth Spa RV Resort near Niland, full hookups and hot mineral pools, $75 [M21].

Day 5 — Salton Sea → Blythe → Quartzsite → Parker → Lake Havasu City (~215 mi)

The long day. Dump at the state park ($7) [M14], go back up CA-111 to Mecca and take I-10 east across the desert to Blythe, on the Colorado River: fuel up there. Cross into Arizona to Quartzsite, then north on AZ-95 along the river through Parker to Lake Havasu City: about 215 miles, 5 hours in an RV [A]. In winter, Arizona's clocks are one hour ahead [A].

Check in at Lake Havasu State Park from 2 pm [M23], then go and see the bridge at sunset.

Sleep: Lake Havasu State Park, 50-amp power and water at every site, dump station, showers [M23].

Day 6 — Lake Havasu City → Needles → Searchlight → Las Vegas (~140 mi)

Take AZ-95 north to I-40, west over the Colorado River to Needles, then US-95 north through the desert via Searchlight to Henderson: about 140 miles, 3¼ hours [A]. The US-95 closure is far to the south of I-40; this northern part wasn't listed [M22]. Fleet returns are normally between 9 and 11 am [M27], so leave by about 7:30 am Nevada time [A]. Return the RV: dump, refuel to the level in your contract, and leave at least 3 hours between the RV return and your flight [A].

Fact or folklore?

Every claim on this route, sorted. "Tourism marketing" means the claim comes from the operator itself; it may be true, but nobody independent has checked it.

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What we left out, and why

• Giant Rock by RV. It's a few miles of dirt tracks from the pavement [A]. In a high-clearance car, after asking locally, it's a short detour; in a rental RV, no.
• A night in Slab City. It's allowed [M18], but there are no services, and it's people's home. We visit by day.
• The CA-62 and US-95 shortcut home via Twentynine Palms and Vidal: closed on 2026-10-28 [M22].
• Driving onto the Salton Sea shore. Not allowed in the state park [M14], and the exposed lakebed can be soft [A].
• The Integratron in summer and January. It's closed [M1].
• Joshua Tree's backcountry roads. Ruts and soft sand [M9].
• Area 51 and the Extraterrestrial Highway. That's a different trip: our 5-day loop.

Alternatives: 7 days, one-way to Phoenix

Buffer day: if you can, add one spare day, ideally on the first night near the airport or right after the longest drive. It absorbs a late flight, a slow pickup, a closed road or bad weather without cancelling a booked campground. Our classic loops show where it fits.

• 7 days, relaxed. Add a second night in Joshua Tree: two nights at Black Rock or Cottonwood, with a day for hikes and the night sky [M7][A]. Everything else stays the same.
• One-way to Phoenix. Days 1 to 4 as above, then from the Salton Sea via I-10 to the Phoenix area, about 285 miles, 6 hours in an RV [A], and return the RV at the Mesa depot on day 6. A Las Vegas → Phoenix one-way costs about $500 extra [M27][A]. It doesn't save a day: day 5 is longer, and you miss London Bridge. It makes sense only if you want to fly home from Phoenix.
• Full hookups near Joshua Tree. Sleep at Joshua Tree Lake RV & Campground on night 2 instead of Black Rock [M12].
• A hot soak on night 4. The Fountain of Youth Spa RV Resort near Niland is closer to Slab City than the state park, with mineral pools; ask first, it's a 55-plus community [M21][A].

What it costs

Verified prices on this loop (checked 2026-10-28): Calico $45 a weekday night with full hookups plus a $10 reservation fee [M13]; Black Rock and Cottonwood $35 each [M7]; the Salton Sea state park $30 with hookups [M14]; Lake Havasu State Park $50 plus a $3.60 reservation fee [M23]. That's about $210 for five nights on weekdays [A]. Add Joshua Tree's $30 vehicle pass [M8], $5 per dump at Joshua Tree [M7] and the Integratron at $62.89 per person [M1]: for two people, about $370 before fuel and the RV [A]. Salvation Mountain and East Jesus are free; please leave a donation [M18][M20]. The America the Beautiful pass ($80 for US residents, $250 for non-residents) only pays off if you visit other national parks too [M8][A].

The big items are the RV and fuel. At about 800 miles, a Class C that does 8–10 miles per gallon burns roughly 80–100 gallons [A]. Put your own dates, vehicle and fuel price into the trip cost calculator (choose 6 days and about 800 miles).

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