TheProvidence Mountains State Recreation Area is located in theProvidence Mountains, within theMojave National Preserve inSan Bernardino County, California. It is also home to theMitchell Caverns Natural Preserve.[1]

The Recreation Area is located on the east side of the Providence Mountain range and has dramatic views of the surroundingMojave Desert.
On approaching the Providence Mountains State Recreation Area one can see layers of tilted grey rock that are ancientlimestone formed during thePaleozoic Era.[2] The base elevation of the park is 4,300 feet with the Providence Mountains reaching 7,162 feet onEdgar Peak.[3]
Vegetation on the lower parts of the mountains isxeric shrublands scrub habitat, composed ofcreosote bush (Larrea tridentata),California barrel cactus (Ferocactus cylindraceus), andMojave yucca (Yucca schidigera).
Thehabitat dramatically shifts with elevations above 4000 feet to asky island where numerous animals and plants flourish in the added moisture caught by the mountains. The plant habitat includes forests ofsingle-leaf pinyon (Pinus monophylla) andCalifornia juniper (Juniperus californica), and remnantchaparral and woodlands withoaks (Quercus turbinella) andmanzanita in these higher parts of the mountains.
Mitchell Caverns is home to twoendemic species of insects found nowhere else.
The Providence Mountains State Recreation Area is located at the north-western end of Essex Road, off ofInterstate 40 (the Needles Freeway). The visitor center is located in a historic 1934 stone dwelling. The campground is currently closed.[1]
Providence Mountain Recreation Area was one of the 48 California State Parks proposed for closure in January 2008 by California's GovernorArnold Schwarzenegger as part of a deficit reduction program.[4] It closed temporarily in January 2011.
Providence Mountains State Recreation Area and Mitchell Caverns reopened on November 3, 2017, after being closed for nearly seven years due to major infrastructure upgrades.[5]
34°56′50″N115°30′29″W / 34.94722°N 115.50806°W /34.94722; -115.50806