Slab City is not a town in the usual sense. It is an off-grid desert settlement on the concrete remains of Camp Dunlap, a former Marine Corps base east of Niland and the Salton Sea. People live here without municipal water, power, sewers, or trash service, and visitors should understand that this is a real community, not a theme park.
The reason to come is the strange overlap of desert survival, outsider art, and stubborn independence. Salvation Mountain stands at the entrance like a painted sermon in adobe and latex paint. Farther in, East Jesus turns discarded material into a sprawling sculpture garden. The Range is a rough open-air stage that gives the place a social center on winter weekends.
Go in daylight, bring water, drive slowly, and stay out of camps unless invited. Summer heat is severe, and the lack of services is part of the point. Slab City is best as a sober half-day detour from the Salton Sea, Bombay Beach, or Joshua Tree rather than a casual wander.
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