24/7 Trauma and Biohazard Cleanup in Silver Lakes, CA

Silver Lakes is an unincorporated census-designated place in San Bernardino County, California — the Census Bureau's name for the community the Postal Service calls Helendale, in the Victor Valley of the Mojave Desert between Victorville and Barstow.

The modern town is primarily the Silver Lakes resort community, built around two man-made lakes, North Lake and South Lake, covering about 277 acres; construction began in 1969 and the resort opened in the early 1970s.

The community's lake water comes from the Mojave River, which runs dry at the surface here but flows underground.

The site began as Point of Rocks, a way station on the Mojave Trail along the Mojave River, where Franciscan priest Francisco Garcés passed through in 1776, followed by Jedediah Smith in 1826, Kit Carson in the 1840s and John C. Frémont in 1844.

The railroad renamed the station Helen on December 15, 1897, for Helen A. Wells, and the name became Helendale on September 22, 1918.

Historic Route 66 — the National Trails Highway — was paved through Helendale in 1926, and a historical marker commemorates the old road near Vista Road.

The 2020 census counted 6,317 residents in Silver Lakes, up 12.3 percent from 5,623 in 2010.

Silver Lakes had 2,478 households in 2020, averaging 2.55 people each, with 77.3 percent of occupied homes owner-occupied.

Water, sewer, parks and street lighting in the community are provided by the Helendale Community Services District, while the Silver Lakes Association manages the resort amenities.

Silver Lakes covers about 5.6 square miles at an elevation of roughly 2,464 feet, under ZIP code 92342.