Cuddeback Dry Lake, X-15, CA

Also known as: Cuddeback Dry Lake or X-15 Emergency Airstrip

Location Overview
Cuddeback Dry Lake sits in the Mojave Desert, northeast of the LA Basin. The main lakebed stretches approximately 6.2 miles long and 2.5 miles wide at its widest, with an elongated shape reminiscent of South America, and two smaller dry lakes extending to the southeast. The area is surrounded by low desert hills to the northeast and southwest. High-clearance vehicles with 4x4 or AWD capability are highly recommended, as entry roads via Fremont Peak Road or Cuddeback Road can be rutted out after rain.

Camping & Recreation
Cuddeback Dry Lake is a popular destination for primitive, dispersed camping directly on or near the lakebed — no facilities, no fees, just raw desert solitude. Clear skies are the norm, and on especially dark nights the Milky Way is visible to the naked eye. The area also draws off-road enthusiasts, land speed hobbyists, and stargazers. When selecting a campsite, it's wise to stay closer to the edges of the lakebed — this reduces risk of collision with off-roaders and keeps you better oriented relative to the surrounding terrain.

Notes & Warnings
The lakebed's clay surface can accommodate aircraft landing in nearly any direction given its size, though the paved runway (located about 4 miles east of the lake bed) is primarily oriented for emergency use. Surface conditions vary significantly — pilots should verify the lakebed is dry and firm before attempting a landing, as rain turns the playa to deep mud. One pilot who landed in 2006 reported smooth conditions along the southwest portion near the edge. No navigation aids, lighting, fuel, or services of any kind are available. Remnants of old bombing target circles and ordnance burial pits from the military range era are present on and around the lakebed, so wandering off the open flat areas on foot is inadvisable. There is no published airport information or FAA identifier for this location — it is strictly an informal, uncontrolled use area.

History
Cuddeback Airfield was first established between 1932–33 as an auxiliary airfield on the dry lake, and by 1937 it was operating as both an auxiliary field and a small civil airport, with a clay landing area measuring an impressive 15,840 by 5,280 feet. The U.S. Army used it as an artillery range before the field was abandoned around 1940–41. In 1955, the U.S. Air Force reacquired the land, and beginning in 1959 the site was designated an emergency landing strip for the North American X-15 program, with NASA also naming an adjacent area the Cuddeback Dry Lake Drop Zone. By June 1963, it had been converted into the Cuddeback Lake Air Force Range — an active air-to-ground gunnery facility equipped with strafe lanes, dive bomb circles, and camera targets — operated by personnel from George AFB. Tragedy touched the site in November 1967 when X-15-3 entered a Mach 5 spin during a flight and crashed northwest of the lake, killing test pilot Mike Adams. The Air Force officially relinquished the land in April 1992, and it was eventually transferred to the Bureau of Land Management, opening the area to public use. In a quirky modern footnote, in 2015 the dry lakebed became the canvas for what was reportedly the world's largest work of illegal graffiti, when a group painted the words "This land was our land" across its surface.