Mitchell Caverns, in the eastern Mojave Desert’s Providence Mountains State Recreation Area in Essex, is finally reopening. The caverns, which are the only limestone caves in the California State Parks system, will reopen to the public November 3 after being closed for more than six years. The 5,900-acre state recreation area, surrounded by Mojave National Preserve near the California/Nevada/Arizona border, has Cave formations believed to be 10 to 12 million years old, making them among the world’s oldest. State officials want to make sure visitors to the caverns are prepared to head out into the desert backcountry. That means extra gas, lots of water, food, and a real map. “This is not a Sunday-picnic park. It’s a rugged frontier experience here,” park interpreter Andy Fitzpatrick said. Only the park’s renovated historic core and a nature trail into adjacent Mitchell Caverns Natural Preserve, named for the Texas couple who led cave tours for Route 66 motorists from 1934 to 1954 and sold the land to the state, will be accessible to the public for now. The core contains the caverns and park headquarters, sitting in a compact compound where Jack and Ida Mitchell built a stone house that today serves as a visitor’s center at about 4,300 feet. The recreation area will be open all year, Friday through Sunday, and on Mondays that are holidays. The park has been closed since January 2011 mainly over water issues. The park’s roughly $1 million upgrade is its first major renovation in 40 years. In six or seven months, park officials expect to open a small campground for reservations through reservecalifornia.com and backcountry features including more trails and the highly technical Cave of the Winding Stair, available by permit only to experienced cavers.
