Salvation Mountain is a great work of folk art by the late Leonard Knight. The artwork is made from adobe, straw, and thousands of gallons of lead-free paint. It’s quite a beautiful spectacle, vibrant and colorful against the desert landscape. Leonard had a message to give the world, “God is Love.” While I’m not a religious person myself, I find that Leonard’s spirit of love and harmony in the world is a truly inspiring.

Getting there

Salvation Mountain is located in Niland, CA by the Salton Sea. You can drive about 3.5 hours from Los Angles, or you can fly into Palm Springs and rent a car if you’re coming from further away.

It’s free to visit from sunrise to sunset and you can drive right up to the location. There aren’t any formal parking lots yet.

The History

After a few failed attempts to send his message of love with a hot air balloon, Leonard decided to forego that idea and instead focused on building a mountain. After 4 years of piling cement and sand, the mountain collapsed and he was back to square one.

In 1989 Leonard started his second build. Learning from his first mistakes, he decided to create the mountain from clay and straw instead of the heavier materials. Over the years thousands of people donated paint to Leonard’s site so he could continue to create.

Leonard lived on the site until his death in 2014.

Location: Beal Rd, Niland, CA 92257