Helendale, California

Helendale Silver Lakes
Unincorporated community & census-designated place
Aerial view of Helendale, California
Helendale Location within the state of California
Coordinates: 34°44′38″N 117°19′28″W / 34.74389°N 117.32444°W / 34.74389; -117.32444Coordinates: 34°44′38″N 117°19′28″W / 34.74389°N 117.32444°W / 34.74389; -117.32444
Country	United States
State	California
County	San Bernardino
Elevation	2,430 ft (740 m)
Population (2010)
• Total	5,623
Time zone	Pacific (PST) (UTC-8)
• Summer (DST)	PDT (UTC-7)
ZIP codes	92342
Area code	760

Helendale or Silver Lakes is an unincorporated community and census-designated place located in the Victor Valley of the Mojave Desert, within San Bernardino County, California.

It is on historic Route 66, west of the Mojave Freeway (I-15), between Barstow and Victorville. The name Helendale is used by the USPS, while Silver Lakes is used by the US Census. The 2010 United States census reported Silver Lakes's population was 5,623.

Several Native American tribes lived in the area, namely the Mojave and Serrano. It is believed that the first White man to travel through was the Franciscan priest Francisco Garcés in 1776. He was exploring a route to the missions on the Coast following the Mojave River.

The original name for Helendale was Point of Rocks. There were several early trails and roadways through this area of the Mojave Desert, including the Mojave Trail, which was used by the Indians and Father Garcés, the Spanish Trail, the Santa Fe Trail, the Mormon Trail, et cetera.

After Father Garcés, Jedediah Smith traveled through the Point of Rocks area in 1826 on a fur trapping expedition. In 1844, John C. Frémont and his guide, Kit Carson, traveled through heading east via the Cajon Pass. During the Mexican–American War, in late 1846 or early 1847, the Mormon Battalion camped at Point of Rocks on their way to Los Angeles. They were released from the military shortly afterward and part of the battalion returned to Salt Lake City through Point of Rocks.