Highway 58, Barstow to Bakersfield
 

We will be driving from the Grand Canyon in the middle of May 08 and will overnight in Bakersfield. It would appear that taking Hwy 58 from I-15, pass Edwards AFB and on to Bakersfield would be a lot shorter and faster than going on south on I-15 to LA and then taking I-210 to I-5 north. However I have not driven in this area before and would appreciate any comments or recommendations on taking one route over the other.
Thanks

Have driven this road many times, for most of the trip it is four lanes. When you get to the town of Mojave they have a jet airplane junk yard there, so take the city route and drive past it. Enjoy your trip.

We always drive this route to get to central California. It's easy to do, and the drive from Tehachapi into Bakersfield is pretty scenic.

Lee Ann

this route has some great views, windmills, valleys pass caliente exit. can tell when getting close to sjv b/c of a gray haze.

Thanks for the information, we can anticipate this drive now, rather than be concerned about it. We look forward to our road trip. Thanks a million.

Is it all 4-lanes now?

Last time I went through was in 2003, and there were still long 2-lane sections. Lots of trucks traffic on that route, so you see a lot of passing on opposite lanes.

There's no alternative though, whether you like 58 or not. Way too long a detour to go any other route.

There is probably only about 15 or so 2 lane miles the rest is now mostly 4 lane, you will have no problems overall.

Whenever I want to see for my own eyes what something actually looks like I go to google maps, bring up the town, building, road whatever and then click on the satellite view. I get as close as I can by using the zoom function.

You will save hours by taking SR 58 rather than the interstates. There is about a 10-12 mile section starting just west of Barstow that is still two lane and then about another 10-12 mile stretch around the junction with US 395. The rest is 4 lane. If you call the Mojave Airport/Spaceport in advance the manage, Stu Witt, is usually willing to give tours. That is the home to Scaled Composites, they folks making the commerical spaceship. Big wind farms between Mojave and Techachapi along SR 58 as well.

We use that route all the time when we drive from AZ to San Francisco. It has always been a great way to go. A few years ago we were zipping along doing very well and then all of a sudden the traffic stopped. We sat there for over an hour and nobody knew what the problem was. When we finally started moving we got to the site of the problem. A huge truck had overturned and spilled its load all over the road - Green Peppers. You would never guess that they are as slippery as an oil spill - and the odor was something else again. I am not suggesting you would have a problem but this post brought back those memories. We can never travel that route without imagining the smell of green peppers when we get to that spot!!