Kelso Depot Visitor Center

Originally opened in 1924 as a train station, Kelso Depot is an old two-story Union Pacific train station built in the 1920s in the Spanish style. The depot narrowly escaped demolition in the 1980s before being taken over by the National Park Service, renovated, and reopened in 2005 as the visitor center for Mojave National Preserve. Former dormitory rooms contain exhibits describing the cultural and natural history of the surrounding desert. The baggage room, ticket office, and two dormitory rooms have been historically furnished to illustrate life in the depot in the first half of the twentieth century. A 20-minute orientation film is shown in the theater. Downstairs. the Desert Light Gallery features rotating fine art collections by local artists, focusing on the cultural history and natural splendors of Mojave national Preserve.