Almanac note · History and culture
Zzyzx is more than the strange sign off I-15
Zzyzx near Baker went from a desert spring and health-resort scheme to an active Desert Studies Center inside Mojave National Preserve.
Zzyzx gets your attention before you know anything about it. The name shows up on an I-15 sign west of Baker, and it looks like somebody tried to win the alphabet.
The place itself has a deeper desert story. Soda Springs was a natural oasis used long before the freeway. Water held on here after older lakes dried away, which made the spot important in a very dry part of the Mojave.
In the 1940s, Curtis Springer turned the place into Zzyzx Mineral Springs and Health Resort. He promoted health products and ran a popular radio program, but the claims around the resort later drew serious trouble from federal agencies. The old spa story is colorful, but it should be read as history, not as advice.
Today, the twist is calmer and better. California State University operates the Desert Studies Center there, and the area is part of Mojave National Preserve. Public visitors can walk around Lake Tuendae and the picnic area, but the buildings across the lake are active educational spaces.
So Zzyzx is not an abandoned ghost town. It is a desert spring, a roadside mystery, a lesson in hype, and a working field station all in one short turn off the highway.
Where to see it
Zzyzx Road near Baker, Lake Tuendae, and the public areas identified by Mojave National Preserve.
Official sources
Official source trail
Reviewed July 1, 2026
California Porch explains the path. The official source is still the place to confirm the current rule, fee, form, map, deadline, or office decision.
Use the official page before you spend money, file paperwork, rely on a deadline, or change a property.
Connected places
Where it fits on the map
Open a place page for the county layer, nearby places, and other California entries tied to that local page.
Related notes
Keep following this thread.
These are picked from nearby places, shared tags, and the same California topic shelf.
Mojave National Preserve is the big desert trip in San Bernardino County
Mojave is a remote preserve with desert habitats, long human history, and road conditions that visitors should check before they go.
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