Chocolate Mountain Aerial Gunnery Range, military exercise area in California
Chocolate Mountain Aerial Gunnery Range is a vast military training facility in southeastern California covering roughly 460,000 acres east of the Salton Sea. The terrain consists of desert landscape with rocky hills and flat open spaces where five target zones are designated for various training exercises involving aircraft and ground operations.
Military pilots have trained at this range since World War II, making it a longstanding facility for US armed forces preparation. Control of the area was transferred to the Navy in 2014 to continue supporting military training exercises in this remote location.
The facility is closed to the public and requires military authorization for any access to the grounds. Airspace is restricted to military aircraft during training operations, so visitors must respect all warning signs and maintain distance from the perimeter.
An old trading route called the Bradshaw Trail runs along the range's northern edge, formerly a stagecoach route that now serves as a four-wheel drive road. This historical pathway offers insight into how the desert region was used before becoming a military training area.
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