The Desert Research Station (DRS) is a Center for Land Use Interpretation (CLUI) research and display facility located in the Mojave desert. If you happen to be in the Mojave desert or on your way to Las Vegas, Nevada from southern California, you should take a trip to visit CLUI’s Desert Research Station in Hinkley, CA.

The Desert Research Station contains information in a small trailer building about the land, wildlife, and geology around Hinkley. I had been familiar with CLUI and several of their sites for years before visiting the DRS. I have family in the Mojave desert so I pitched it as an informative art exhibition outside of Barstow to a few family members and they agreed to take me. Once we got off the freeway making our way toward Hinkley, it was pretty quiet. The town became known by many across the US in 2000 after the Oscar winning film Erin Brockovich starring Julia Roberts. The film is based on the real story of Erin Brockovich a Hinkley, California resident who helped build a case against Pacific Gas and Electric Company who were responsible for contaminating the groundwater in the area in the early 1990s. The town today looks like a ghost town with little to no people on the roads and abandoned houses throughout the area.

Like the CLUI site in Wendover, Utah, you will find a building painted beige and the formal looking CLUI logo out front. There is a padlock on the door and placard with instructions to call a phone number to retrieve the code to access the building. I wish I thought take down either number, but what’s the fun in that?! I did notice that the CLUI website states the DRS is open to the public by appointment so I would call the Center before making your way out there. Once you enter there is a knob on the inside that you turn to trigger the timed interior lights. The whole station is fairly self sustaining. Everything is a little dusty as most things are in the desert, but well maintained and full of valuable information.

In addition to the building, the station has an outdoor area with information about the area and land and large interactive sculptures. This is definitely a spot to visit for anyone with interest in land, environmentalism, desert wildlife, and or driving. There are also a number of other noteworthy sites in the area which CLUI recommends. Visit their website for more info: http://www.clui.org/section/desert-research-station-0

40083 Hinkley Road, Hinkley, CA 92347

Contact the Center: (310) 839-5722