Amboy

Understand

Amboy is a ghost town located in south central San Bernardino County along Route 66 and the BNSF Railway line between Kingman, Arizona and Barstow, California. It has a population of five (2000); what remains of the town is owned by a private preservationist.

First settled in 1858, the town was established in 1883. It was founded by the Atlantic and Pacific Railroad as one of a so-called "alphabetical series" of railway outposts in the steam locomotive era – but trains no longer stop, not even to deliver water to this tiny desert point. Back in the day, railroad lines from several companies catered to mining interests – from gold and other ores in the nearby hills, to borax from Death Valley and Beatty, Nevada – carrying bulk product to Amboy and the long-distance lines of the (then) Santa Fe Railway.

Route 66 provided another boom-bust cycle. In the 1930s, the road supported the economies of the communities like Amboy through which it passed. During the 1940s, tourism declined but the remaining travelers' need for lodging, meals and gasoline kept the town going. The town largely remained this way until 1973 when Interstate 40 opened. The Interstate took a more direct route to the north through the Bristol Mountains, bypassing Amboy altogether.

Today, the old US Route 66 through Amboy is on a 70 mi segment of San Bernardino County Route 66, connecting with Interstate 40 on either segment end. It has a historic restaurant-motel (no services) and a Route 66 tourist shop (as of 2020).

Just to the west is the Amboy Crater, a 6,000-year-old cinder cone volcano making it one of the youngest volcanic fields in the United States. And as one of the few extinct volcanoes along Route 66, this was a popular sight for travelers. It is an example of a very symmetrical volcanic cinder cone and has a 24 mi2 lava field to the west. In 1973 it was designated the Amboy Crater National Natural Landmark.

Southeast of Amboy is Bristol Lake, a dry lake with salt evaporator operations. The lake is approximately 14 mi long and 12 mi at its widest point.

Get in

Most travelers will arrive by car on what was once Route 66, also known as National Old Trails Highway, now San Bernardino County Route 66, from direction of Barstow and Ludlow (west) or Needles and Arizona state line (east). Other travelers may arrive on Amboy Road from the south from Twentynine Palms and Joshua Tree National Park.

There is a private landing strip in the immediate area. A few cinema stars have flown in on private aircraft to reach the area, as the town's deserted and remote location has occasionally been used in movie location shooting.

Eat and drink

There is no restaurant in Amboy. Snacks and canned or bottled drinks are available at Roy's, but the cafe's kitchen is closed.

The nearest available restaurants are in Ludlow, just 30 mi west on Route 66. Additional restaurants are further along Route 66: in Barstow, 80 mi west, or in Needles, 80 mi east. Or in Twentynine Palms, 50 mi south.

Stay safe

Hiking

Hydrate! Drink water, take water with you. Inexperienced and unprepared hikers have died here (from Aug 2017).

Amboy Crater is bigger than it looks. The hike into the crater can be brutally hot and debilitating, crossing open desert with no shade as mid-day summer temperatures enter the 115°F range. Black volcanic rock radiates heat during the afternoon, making temperatures unbearable. Hiking in open desert mid-day, the hottest time, is dangerous in summer. One quart (one liter) of water per person per hour (or more) may be needed for survival; as soon as you've used 40% of your potable water, turn back lest you run dry during the return trip.

Go next

• West towards I-40 at Ludlow — Train watching and railroad ghost towns of Bagdad, Siberia and Klondike: once stops on the railroad, now mostly razed ghost towns.
• North towards Mojave National Preserve — Sand dunes, mountain ranges, and mesas with three types of deserts: the Mojave, Great Basin, and Sonoran.
• South to Twentynine Palms and Joshua Tree National Park — Nearest city with services. The park is home to the Joshua tree and two desert ecosystems, and is a favorite for campers, hikers, and rock-climbers.