California City is located in the High Desert of Kern County, California. Also called the Antelope Valley, the area is the last of the five Los Angeles-area counties still available for growth. Located just north of Edwards Air Force Base, California City Airport was established in 1958.
One of the fly-in destinations worth your time and avgas is the Antelope Valley, approximately 60 miles north of Los Angeles. It is one of those incredible wonders on the Southern California landscape and not the arid wasteland that some imagine. Every spring, pilots delight in seeing from above golden California poppies spectacularly dotting this expansive terrain. But there is much more than wildflower spotting to do in the valley.Point your wings toward California City (pop. 9,000), located 120 miles north of Los Angeles in the High Desert near the foot of the majestic Sierra Nevada. The weather is the envy of easterners — low humidity and lots of sunshine provide a pleasant year-round climate that's great for flying.
Cal City Municipal
The California City Municipal Airport serves California City and Kern County. It is a nontowered field with a night-lighted runway that extends 6,025 feet. The facility is at an elevation of 2,437 feet. The terminal building houses a restaurant, a flight-planning room, and administrative offices.
Pilots flying to California City need to be aware of special-use airspace such as the Buckhorn MOA, the Isabella MOA, and the restricted Muroc Lake, near Edwards Air Force Base.
Be mindful of extensive daily glider traffic and skydiving activities. The airport is home to one of the largest skydiving clubs in the western United States and is the site of hot air ballooning and soaring activities that draw international visitors. The airport office can be reached at 760/373-4767.
Primo soaring
The location of California City Airport makes it a prime site for year-round soaring. There are various types of lift throughout the year. In the summer, fly the thermals up to 10,000 feet and beyond. In the winter, catch mountain wave lift. Since California City is favorably located downwind of the Sierra Nevada mountains, it is a starting point for cross-country flights ranging into the neighboring states of Nevada, Oregon, and as far as Idaho. Many local glider pilots can soar for five hours over distances up to 300 miles.
In the winter, the mountain wave allows for world-record-class soaring competition; California City is home to many sailplane records. The Region 12 Soaring Competition is held during Labor Day weekend. The staff at the Caracole Soaring FBO is knowledgeable and friendly, and they operate this facility with an easygoing style. You can contact Caracole at 760/373-1019.
Franco-fare at Le Bistro
Cal City airport's Le Bistro is a popular restaurant in this small community. The staff is friendly and there's a great view of the runway with aircraft and sailplanes overhead. The décor is simple; the large windows allow the sun to bathe the big split-level room. Omelets and flapjacks are standards on the Sunday midmorning brunch menu, and pseudo-French comfort food makes up the rest of the menu. The top-notch dinner entrées include pasta, seafood, and French specialties such as coq au vin. Last but not least is dessert — make room for the crème brulee. Beer and wine are available. This High Desert dining experience even saves your pocket — entrées average $8. For hours, call 760/277-2117.
Visiting the Old West
You can easily make half-day excursions from California City Municipal Airport to such places as the Randsberg Old West Town, Red Rock Canyon State Park, the Town of Boron, and the Antelope Valley Indian Museum. If following the rushing waters is your thing, the Kern River is a popular destination, too.
Boron
Within 15 minutes of the airport is the dusty town of Boron — site of the U.S. Borax open-pit mine and home of the Twenty-Mule Team Museum. Opened in 1984, museum exhibits represent the area's mining, railroad, cattle, and homesteading history. They also ~race the history of Edwards Air Force Base from its beginning as Muroc Army Airfield to its role as a NASA research center.
In the mid-1970s, the townsfolk (current pop. 3,500) bought and renovated a house that was part of U.S. Borax's first underground mine at Boron. The resulting museum is small, but it contains every aspect of history related to U.S. Borox's activities in the town. A main focus is the museum's namesake Twenty- Mule Team and the route along which it carted borax from Death Valley to the railroad at Mojave. The museum also showcases local luminaries, including aviatrix Pancho Barnes.
Outside, among artifacts such as the Cletrac tractor and hand cultivator, stands the old Santa Fe Railroad depot. The building was moved to Boron from the now-deserted town of Cramer in 1941. For more information, call 760/762-5810.
Red Rock Canyon State Park
You may want to overfly Red Rock Canyon State Park — one of the most scenic wonders the Golden State has to offer. The history of Red Rock Canyon is associated with those venturing West, such as the footsore survivors of the famous Death Valley trek in 1850. Forty years later, placer-gold activity began with hundreds of miners sifting the sands of the canyon.
More recently the canyon has been the location of movie shoots, videos, and commercials, providing a backdrop for Planet of the Apes and Bonanza. The canyon is also a living classroom for the study of geology, paleontology, and photography. Unique and colorful layers of white, pink, red, and brown cliffs grace both sides of Highway 14. The fluted folds are a result of wind and rain eroding softer materials beneath the dark caprocks, which were formed by a harder lava-flow layer.
Camping and hiking opportunities abound. Should you want to rough it, "Ricardo" campground is a 50-unit primitive site west of the ranger station. For information, contact the California State Parks — Mojave Desert Sector office at 661/942-0662.
Edwards Air Force Base
Edwards Air Force Base is just 15 miles from Cal City and is the home of the world's premier flight test facility with a base population of more than 7,000. The 301,000-acre base is steeped in history. It was here 50 years ago that the sound barrier was broken for the first time and that Dick Rutan started and ended his around-the-world Voyager flight.
Also on the base is the NASA Dryden Flight Research Center (DFRC), the agency's foremost installation for aeronautical flight research. Dryden also supports the space shuttle, which lands here when weather at Cape Canaveral is uncooperative. On rare occasions, window-rattling reentry sonic booms punctuate the basin skies to the delight of shuttle spotters. To inquire about tours, contact the DFRC Public Affairs office, 661/276-3446 or 661/276-3460.
Golden ghosts
The nearby ghost town of Randsberg may be especially fascinating for those who want to study California's gold-mining history. The town is surrounded by gold and silver mines. A museum is open on weekends. Visiting the old hotel, drug store, soda fountain, and antique shops is like stepping back to the Old West. Don't be surprised to see tumbleweeds somersault through the center of town, where there are some antique shops but no gas stations. Dilapidated structures, said to be haunted, attract photographers and tourists. Stop by the General Store to have an ice cream with the locals, including, some say, desert-rat ghosts.
Desert tortoise
A word of caution when traveling in this area — remember to protect the desert tortoise. The mountains between Cal City and Randsberg are a source of controversy. They constitute a critical part of the habitat of the desert tortoise, which is classified as threatened. By law, the local office of the Bureau of Land Management is charged with protecting this species. Authorities ask that visitors to these public lands respect the privacy and space of the tortoise. For tips to a trouble-free visit to this fragile landscape, contact the Bureau of Land Management, 760/384-5400.
Yvonne Guerra, AOPA 2436155, is a member of the Brackett Field Airport Association in La Verne, California, and can be contacted at [email protected].
Related Articles
