Ludlow is an unincorporated community in the Mojave Desert on Interstate 40, located in San Bernardino County, California, United States.

[2] From 1906 to 1940 it was the southern railhead for the Tonopah and Tidewater Railroad, operated by the Pacific Coast Borax Company and bringing borax and other mining products from Death Valley and Beatty, Nevada, to long distance Santa Fe Railway lines.

By the 1940s, local mining and railway activity had ceased and the town survived supplying the needs of travellers on the National Old Trails Road, renamed to become the legendary Route 66 in California.

After Interstate 40 was built bypassing town there was little business and most residents departed, leaving ruins of empty buildings and Tamarisk trees that still stand flanking the old highway.

[4][5] In 1917, there was the Lee Yim Deposit near Ludlow that began mining production in 1918.

This area has a large amount of sunshine year round due to its stable descending air and high pressure.