Western Railroad Discussion > Nipton Cima Goffs Help Please

Are the roads paved in this area? Don't want to upset the rental people. All advice appreciated. thanks
tom

Yes, the roads are paved to Nipton, Cima and Goffs. If you've never been there you can stay quite busy and stay on pavement. One word, the road from Goffs over to the UP at Ivanpah is not paved. To stay on pavement you would access the UP (Cima-Nipton) from I-15 and Goffs is on US 66 off I-40. The Kel-Baker Road that goes from Baker-Kelso to I-40 is paved. Get a map and review it. The AAA San Bernardino map will do the job.

Dave Burton

Last time i drove from Cima to Kelso [2002] the road was a bit potholed and was like a roller coaster up and down ..up and down lots of dips......i stayed at 50 mph for a decent ride.....not many cars on that road.....

The Searchlight to Nipton road was quite a pleasant drive......i stayed at Nipton Hotel by the UPRR and went up to Searchlight Casino for dinner each night.......was a very pleasurable drive back at night thru the Joshua forests by the road......

The Searchlight casino a small one had very good meals and lots of slots to play......

I Recommended these places to see the majestic and silent sometimes breezy desert and mountains in April and May......and all that clean air to fill the lungs.....

The lights of Vegas at night driving down the Ivanpah Valley from about 60 miles are a sight to behold on a moonless night.

L W.

The road from Kelso to Cima can see quite a lot of traffic from time to time. It is the most direct route from Palm Springs to Vegas (via 29 Palms and Amboy). It has not been much improved since it had heavy oil applied to ground cleared by a road grader twenty five years ago, and so is getting pretty beat up. I've even seen a few trucks on it, taking the shortcut from I-15 south, bypassing Barstow. If San Berdoo County doesn't do a proper job of paving it sometime in the next few years, you can count on it getting really rough. It is amazing what a lot of trucks can do to a soft oiled surface - big ruts in the curves, giant potholes anywhere the drainage is anything less than perfect.

Be that as it may, it is good rental-car material for sure.

And the road from Goffs to Ivanpaugh, while dirt, is pretty good dirt (hard surface, graded once in a while, may have some washboard), and shouldn't beat up your car overmuch if driven sanely.

- Kit

Tom,

Here's a link to some info on the sub...

http://www.trainweb.org/brettrw/maps/cimasub/cimasubmap.html

Brett

I have driven many a time from Cima to Kelso then down to I-40 When "Blood Alley" is closed north of Yermo
Good road, no cell or pager coverage, no pay phones at Kelso or Cima
Bring plenty of water, food and top off the gas.

And if you bring a scanner add CHP 42.560 and 42.720 and SB County fire
154.070 its on all the time next to my RR receiver thats on
UP 160.515, Yermo Yard 160.740, Mobile Tel 160.290, 160.605
BNSF 160.935, 161.085, PBX 160.335, 160.245, 160.260, and
Barstow Yard 160.590

Here is the web site for Nipton Bed and Breakfast.

http://www.nipton.com/hotel.html


They now have some camping cabins for those who prefer.

Its cold at night in the Winter and mid Summer can be real hot,in the daytime.

Neat spot with the General Store. The resturant has reported been inproved, but last December still enjoyed it.

Traveled the Road to Ivanpah from Nipton, and its a good dirt road. Nothing left to see however of the former town and railroad facilites.

At Searchlight, I was never able to locate the former AT&SF branch that went into town, which including a through sleeper three days a week to/from Los Angeles.

Thank you for the great help!
tom