Salvation Mountain – Salton Sea California

Salvation Mountain is one of the most famous landmarks in California’s Salton Sea area, so if you’re in the area, you’re probably going to want to see it. If you’re into road trippin’, you’ve no doubt seen the colorful pictures of this place – the rainbow of colors stands out against stark desert backdrop. So in this guide, I’ll tell you everything you need to know about visiting Salvation Mountain in Southern California.

Salvation Mountain – Location and Details

Location:
Beal Rd, Calipatria CA
92233

Salvation Mountain is located east of Niland, California, near Slab City. If you’re staying in Palm Springs, it’s about a 90 minute drive away. From San Diego, it’s about 100 miles away.

Cost: Free.

Hours: Sunrise to sunset, 365 days/year

Time commitment: 10-15 minutes

History of Salvation Mountain

Salvation Mountain is a colorful folk art installation located in the desert, created by Leonard Knight, a local resident. He created Salvation Mountain as an artistic testimony to his faith in God, and to share love and peace with the community. His vision was for this to be a place of peace for travelers from around the world to enjoy.

The actual mountain isn’t a natural mountain – Leonard Knight created it out of adobe and hay bales, and hand-painted his colorful message with gallons and gallons of latex paint. (It’s said that Mr. Knight used over 100,000 gallons of paint to create this piece of art!)

Mr. Knight passed away in 2014 at the age of 82. Since then, caretakers maintain the upkeep on Salvation Mountain, repainting when necessary. Before his death, visitors to Salvation Mountain could chat with him, as he typically hung out around the mountain most days.

Visiting Salvation Mountain

You are welcome to climb the mountain, as long as you stay on the yellow brick ‘road’ path. Throughout the mountain, you’ll find all kinds of bible versus. Salvation Mountain is only 50 feet tall, so it won’t take you long to reach the ‘summit.’

There are other nooks and crannies around the mountain to explore, so you’ll want to take some time to look around.

You can expect to spend about 10-15 minutes here exploring Mr. Knight’s creation before moving on.

Have you ever visited Salvation Mountain? What did you think?