Location

Rocky Top Ranch is located in the far Western Mojave Desert, near where the desert dramatically transitions to the Sierra Nevada, the tallest mountain range in the United States. It is a 2 ½ hour drive from Los Angeles and 3 ½ hours from Las Vegas, via CA-14 and US-395.

At an elevation of 3,500 feet, Rocky Top has spectacular views of the Indian Wells Valley (1,000 feet below) and the town of Ridgecrest, California. Ridgecrest is adjacent to the Naval Air Weapons Station China Lake, a high-tech research facility. If you are lucky, while sitting on one of RTR’s many verandas you may catch sight of Navy pilots running maneuvers and testing experimental aircraft, often at eye-level. In fact, scenes from Top Gun: Maverick were filmed nearby.

RTR has breath-taking night-time views of the twinkling lights below. Light pollution is not a barrier to viewing millions of stars on most nights. And in the morning, you can push off on your mountain bike from RTR’s driveway and coast nearly the entire way to Starbuck’s.

With dramatic views of four mountain ranges in the distance (the Sierra Nevada, El Pasos, Coso and Argus, as well as Death Valley’s Panamint Range) and 350 days of sunshine a year, the sunrises and sunsets are nearly guaranteed and unmatched.

The Inyo National Forest, which comprises most of the lower Sierra Nevada, is only 15 miles away and fully visible from the ranch. The Inyo contains Mt. Whitney, the tallest peak in the Lower 48 States. With more than a dozen peaks over 14,000 feet on both sides, the nearby Owens Valley is the deepest valley in the U.S. There is close range access to Lake Isabella and Kennedy Meadows via the historic Walker Pass, which is clearly visible from RTR.

Beyond the Inyo, but within a day’s drive, are three separate National Parks: Sequoia, Kings Canyon and Yosemite. And, the entrance to Death Valley National Park is one hour to the east. Telescope Peak, the tallest mountain in the Death Valley can be seen from the ranch.