Roadtrippers making the drive between Southern California and Las Vegas have probably caught notice of an awfully strange exit sign on Interstate 15.
What’s not unusual is the somewhat random exit sign pointing towards the empty desert with not a building in view. That’s a pretty normal occurrence on the long empty stretches of the Mojave Desert.
The highway exit sign is strange because of the spelling of the street name, Zzyzx Road. Nope, that’s not a typo. It’s the name of the street and just the start of this strange tourist tale from the Mojave Desert.
History of Soda Springs
There are few natural bodies of water that exist in the harsh environment of the Mojave Desert. One of these is the Soda Springs area, which was a source of water for Mohave and Chemehuevi people.
Later, it was a reliable source of water in the desert that was used to quench the thirst of not only explorers coming through the region, but also many officers of the United States Army when camped in and patrolling the desert.
But it was going to take an even more important role for tourists in the Mojave Desert in the 1940s.
Curtis Spranger’s Zzyzx Resort
In the 1940s, Curtis Spranger struck it big in the area with a mining claim and decided to build his own health resort to attract Mojave travelers to stop in the area. He named the resort Zzyzx Mineral Springs and Health Resort.
He then hit the airwaves proclaiming the health benefits of a vacation getaway to Zzyzx Mineral Springs, self-proclaiming himself as a doctor.
Hundreds of visitors made the pilgrimage to the health resort and many more had “health related” items sent to them, such as herbal teas and Hollywood Pep Cocktail, instead.
According to the Mojave National Preserve, the nearby interstate road trip town of Baker had to build a post office just to accommodate all of the resort’s mail.
By the late 1960s, tourists were on to his story and the complaints mounted against Spranger and his Zzyzx health resort. He was accused by the Food and Drug Administration for false claims and advertising. He was also in the crosshairs of the Internal Revenue Service for tax evasion.
He ended up spending some time in jail and then ended up living his final years in nearby Las Vegas.
Zzyzx Today
The past glory of Zzyzx health resort has long gone. But today, it may be interesting for travelers on Interstate 15 between Southern California and Las Vegas to take a quick side trip and explore what remains today.
In 1976, California State University Fullerton started a desert research center at the site, which is now part of the Mojave National Preserve under the control of the National Park Service.
While visitors are welcome to walk and explore Lake Tuendae, the old Zzyzx resort buildings and grounds across the lake are still part of private property and are off limit to tourists. However, it is a popular spot for birding.
Tips for Travelers
Located about 100 miles southwest of Las Vegas, off of the Interstate 15 highway corridor between Southern California and Las Vegas, the former site of the Zzyzx health resort can be a curious place to explore, although not much actually is accessible to tourists.
Travelers can check out Lake Tuendae and peer at the health resort located across the lake. However, because the resort and nearby desert research center are off limits for visitors to access and explore, the highway exit sign leading to the 4.5-mile roadway may just be sufficient for curious Instagram tourists.