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Kelso

Ghost town · San Bernardino County, California

Kelso quadrangle, USGS topographic map (1955, 1:62,500)
Kelso quadrangle, USGS topographic map (1955, 1:62,500) · U.S. Geological Survey, Historical Topographic Map Collection · Public domain

Kelso is a ghost town in San Bernardino County, California. It is one of 50 former communities in San Bernardino County on the federal names register. No county in California has more among the 58 California counties with a vanished settlement on record.

The U.S. Geological Survey lists Kelso as a historical populated place: the name is no longer in official use for a community, whether the settlement was abandoned, absorbed into a neighbouring town or renamed. The recorded location is 35.0125° N, 115.6536° W.

Key facts

Elevation2,123 ft
Nearest living townBaker, CA
Distance to it29.9 miles
Coordinates35.01250, -115.65361

Open the location on a map

What's there now

Kelso is no longer a community in its own right. The nearest living town is Baker, CA (population 482), about 29.9 miles away in a straight line, and the site sits at roughly 2,123 feet above sea level. Much of the land around former townsites is private; check access before you visit.

Images

The abandonded post office of Kelso, CA. In the Mojave National Preserve.
The abandonded post office of Kelso, CA. In the Mojave National Preserve. · Pierre Camateros / Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 3.0

Nearby places

Questions

Where is Kelso?

Kelso is in San Bernardino County, California, at 35.0125, -115.6536.

How many ghost towns are in San Bernardino County?

San Bernardino County, California has 50 ghost towns on record at Wayfarrow.

Sources and licences

Facts marked "approximately" carry an uncertain date in the source. Text on this page is generated from the sources above; no encyclopedia prose is copied. Last updated 2026-11-05.