Saving money on your Ridgecrest vacation

Situated among the Mojave Desert, Ridgecrest is a gorgeous landscape of sweeping sands, rocky canyons and historic landmarks waiting to be explored. During your stay, look to Thrifty Car Rental for Ridgecrest deals on a vehicle that can get you around to all the top sites of the area - most of the attractions of this city can be accessed with your Ridgecrest car rental via Highway 178. Check out these free yet fun sites while you're in town:

Maturango Museum

Visitors can use their Ridgecrest rental cars to get to the Maturango Museum located on East Las Flores Avenue. Admission is typically $5 for adults who are not members, but entry is free to all on the second Saturday of every month. The institution was established in 1962 and has continued to serve as a resource for cultural and historical education since. You can walk through the galleries to find exhibits that showcase the past and people of the Upper Mojave Desert, including works of art by locals such as Sylvia Winslow and artifacts by California's prehistoric natives. Visitors can also choose to pay $40 for a tour guide to take your group through the rocky landscape to explore the renowned Coso petroglyphs.

Fossil Falls

With a Ridgecrest car rental, you the gorgeous setting of Fossil Falls is only a short drive away. Formed from hundreds of thousands of years of volcanic activity, this natural feature is the effect of eruptions that spewed lava into the Owens River. Along with being able to explore the complex system of waterways at this site, you'll see these stunning polished rock features. Look to the north and you'll see a breathtaking red cinder cone created by trapped gases that escaped, shot into the air and cooled quickly to form scoria, a porous stone, the size of a large hill. Be sure to bring your camera along to snap some vacation photos in front of this beautiful geographic attraction.