Phelan is an unincorporated community and census-designated place in San Bernardino County, California, in the Victor Valley of the Mojave Desert, north of the San Gabriel Mountains. The population was 14,304 in the 2010 census.

Situated south of State Route 18 and northeast of State Route 138, the town is 30 miles (48 km) east of Palmdale and 18 miles (29 km) west of Victorville. The Place around it is nearly flat desert country dotted subsequent to joshua trees and oppressive brush.

Southwestern areas of Phelan are in the foothills of the San Gabriel Mountains, reaching elevations of higher than 4,900 feet above sea level. The California Aqueduct runs through the northern half of the town, eleven miles (18 km) from State Route 18 and ten miles (16 km) from Phelan Road. Covering higher than 60 square miles, Phelan has an height that varies from 3,293 feet (1,004 m) to 4,910 feet (1,500 m) above sea level. The town middle is at the corner of Phelan and Sheep Creek roads. Most businesses are situated in strip malls dotted along the sides of Phelan Road.

In 2001, according to a feature in the Los Angeles Times, the town was a “wind-swept, tiny unincorporated town nestled in the shadow of a mountain ski resort, just above the enormous expanse that is the Mojave Desert. … There are no shopping malls here, and the closest movie theater is in Victorville, about 15 miles away.” Another Times feature said in 1990: