Christmas in Barstow / Calico Hills
Riding Out the California Christmas Storms in Barstow | Hiking & Camping in the Calico Hills | December 2025
We awoke at our dispersed camping spot near Red Mountain, CA at around 4:30am when we first started hearing rain drops hitting the roof of the van. We laid in bed listening to the rain fall for about 30 minutes before Curtis decided to get up and move the van so it was parallel to the pavement. We then continued to stay in bed, hoping we could wait until it was light out to start driving. However, the rain started to pick up and neither of us were able to sleep, wondering how soon the dirt roadside would turn into a quagmire that would make escape difficult. Finally, we decided to just get up and start driving just before 6.
We drove through the rain in the dark for about a half hour to Kramer Junction, where we stopped at a gas station that was packed with semis and other traffic waiting out the rain. I made tea, and Curtis went in and got us cinnamon rolls for breakfast. The rain continued for several hours until the first round of storms passed. We considered trying to find a museum or some activity to kill more time until we could check in to our hotel, but because of the holiday and the weather, we ultimately just decided to stay here a while longer and then moved to Barstow.
Our room was ready for us by noon, so we settled in to the comfort of the hotel for the rest of the day. The view from our hotel window was of a giant dirt lot, which we knew from our camping app was commonly used as an overnight camping area, and throughout the day we watched as it turned into a giant quagmire, and the trucks that did turn in there struggled to get back out.
However, even if we didn’t have that proof right in front of our eyes that we made the right decision using points to get a hotel for tonight, it was confirmed to us when we were able to get all our laundry done here for much cheaper than a laundromat would have been! We also enjoyed hot showers and other basic amenities that feel like luxuries compared to what we’re used to.
The next day was Christmas. Originally we had hoped that we could spend Christmas the same way we did last year — boondocking in an area by ourselves where we wouldn’t be a burden on anyone who deserved to spend the holiday with their family, but the storms had thwarted those plans. But we awoke to sunshine and clear skies, and hoped that meant the ground would dry up enough for us to resume camping tonight. After spending the morning in the hotel room, we checked out and moved back into the van.
Our plan for today was to check out the Calico Hills area East of Barstow. We knew there was a ghost town and several hikes and possible camping options there, and while the ghost town ended up being closed today, we were still able to go for the hike we came for, which was a slot canyon hike on the Doran Loop and Odessa Canyon trails. There were a few OHV riders out for the day, but we only saw them a couple times at the beginning and had the narrower parts of the trail all to ourselves. We enjoyed the colors in the canyon walls, and the mix of hiking in the sun and the shade as we got further back. While we could have made it a loop hike, we ended up returning the way we came, making it a 4.5 mile hike.
After that, we decided the ground felt firm enough for us to feel comfortable camping in this area tonight, so we went in search of a dispersed campsite. We found one a little further South from where we had hiked, and once we were settled in, Curtis went for another hike up a nearby peak.
Curtis: This was a hike up ‘Birthday of the Buddha Peak’. It wasn’t a very prominent peak, but the name stood out and it was the closest peak. I followed OHV trails and roads into the mountains, which eventually lead to a shooting pit with all of its requisite trash. A short scramble to the top and I had great views of the Calico hills. Lots of fun colors in the rocks and gulleys, and from up here you couldn’t see all the trash people leave.
During our entire time out in Oregon and California, I’ve made it a point to pick up beverage containers. One, because of the refund; two because I believe in recycling; and three because studies show that reducing the amount of trash in an area directly impacts the amount of future trash in the area. Over the past two months or so, I think I’ve redeemed close to $40 in recycling.
Jess: That evening, we enjoyed a beautiful sunset, and had a quiet and uneventful Christmas night back in the desert. We were thankful to be safely on the other side of the storms, which had caused flooding and other dangerous conditions across the state. I guess we can now say we got to be in California during both the fires and flooding in 2025, though thankfully never close to where the worst of it was.
