Salvation Mountain
Calipatria, CA

A folk art site in the California Desert created by artist Leonard Knight

Out in the California desert, just east of the Salton Sea and south of Slab City, stands a colorful mound known as Salvation Mountain.

I went there in 2016 and spent an afternoon climbing the mound and exploring the painted and decorated vehicles and structures surrounding it.

At 150 feet wide by 50 feet tall, Salvation Mountain is really more of a painted folk art mound. The faux mountain was created by Leonard Knight after a lengthy attempt to build a hot air balloon painted with the message of God’s love failed to launch. Knight believed that God wanted him to continue spreading a message of love in this hostile desert environment and began work on what would become known as Salvation Mountain.
— Atlas Obscura
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