ARRIVING BY AIR
The nearest airports are located in
Ontario, CA (120 miles), Los Angeles, CA (175 miles) and Las Vegas, NV (180
miles). If you arrive at one of the above airports, you will need to
make arrangements for transportation from the airport to Barstow.
The AG
Replacement Detachment will help soldiers with transportation upon arrival. You
can call the Replacement Detachment prior to your arrival to obtain detailed
information about the best mode of transportation between servicing airports and
Fort Irwin.
The only public transportation between Fort Irwin
and Barstow is the NTC Express which operates Monday-Friday during the early
morning and late afternoon hours.
You can call the AG Replacement
Detachment upon arrival. Collect calls are accepted from the three
servicing airports. If other transportation is not available, the Replacement
Detachment will dispatch a van (if available) to pick you up. (Be
prepared to wait a minimum of three hours at the airport, as the van must travel
from Fort Irwin to the airport.) Due to the distance from Fort Irwin
to the servicing airports, AG Replacement personnel will not dispatch a van
unless you are physically present at the airport.
If you plan to take a
bus from the airport to Barstow, Greyhound bus service is not available after
2100 in Ontario and is not available in Las Vegas or Los Angeles after
midnight.
If you are traveling with pets, Greyhound does not allow pets
on their buses.
The bus depots serving the three airports are not located
at the airport terminals. You must catch a taxi or shuttle from the
airport to the bus depots. DO NOT TAKE A TAXI FROM THE AIRPORT TO
FORT IRWIN OR BARSTOW, it will cost you $180.00 or more. You will be
reimbursed only $37.75. Combined taxi/shuttle fare and bus fare for
an individual should be approximately $50.00. Save your
receipts.
GREYHOUND BUS (Barstow) 1611 E. Main Street, Barstow,
CA 92311 (760) 256-8757
The bus station is located at the
Barstow Station with McDonalds. If possible, call the Replacement
Detachment at (760) 380-4195 for pick-up prior to arrival. No public
transportation is available at the station. Try not to arrive at
night.
AMTRAK 681 N. First Street, Barstow, CA 92311
800-872-7245
Access to a telephone after 11:00pm should be available
through the security guard on duty. If possible, call the Replacement
Detachment at (760) 380-4195 for pick-up prior to arrival. No public
transportation is available at the station and except for the night guard, the
station is deserted at night. Try not to arrive at
night.
ARRIVING BY AUTOMOBILE
Fort Irwin is accessible via
Interstate Highways 40 and 15 and State Highways 58 and 247. If
possible, you should plan your arrival during daylight hours especially if you
have reservations at the Landmark Inn on post. The desert can be very
dark at night and roads are not well lit. There are no gas stations between
Barstow and Fort Irwin.
If you do not have reservations at the Landmark
Inn, stop at the Outreach Center in Barstow, Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and
Friday 0800-1700. The Outreach Center [(760) 256-1735/1736] can assist you with
information on local accommodations. They are located at 512 Barstow Road in
Barstow.
To reach the Outreach Center from I-15, you should take the
Barstow Road exit. If you are traveling from the east (I-15 South),
you will turn right onto Barstow Road from the off ramp. If you are traveling
from the west (I-15 North), you will turn left. Continue down Barstow
Road until you pass the traffic light at Mountain View. The ACS
Outreach Center will now be to your left in Mission Plaza. Look for the
flagpole.
Arriving via highway 58: Recently completed construction (which
maps do not reflect) now feeds Highway 58 into I-15. Take I-15 North
towards Barstow/Las Vegas.
For those proceeding directly to Fort Irwin,
exit I-15 on Fort Irwin Road. Coming from the east (I-15 South), the
turn-off is prior to arriving in Barstow. Coming from the west (I-15
North), the turn-off is approximately 6 miles past Barstow. After
turning, the mileage marker will read 31 miles to Fort Irwin.
Because of
the distance between Fort Irwin and Barstow, families arriving without personal
transportation can expect some major inconveniences if they must live in
Barstow. Searching for housing, shopping, getting children to school, traveling
back and forth to work, obtaining medical care can become real hardships.
Consideration ought to be given to selecting an apartment near a shopping area,
a NTC Express pick-up point, and a school bus stop. There are
apartments in Barstow that meet these needs, ask the Housing Referral
Officer.
If you are PCSing from overseas, you may want to consider
shipping your vehicle early.