#154 Cholla Cactus Garden
The Cholla Cactus Garden in Joshua Tree National Park is a strikingly beautiful natural garden that wraps a quarter mile. Nicknamed the 'teddy-bear' cholla, these cacti look soft and fuzzy but are extremely sharp and pointy. Cholla grow between 1 and 5 feet tall and bloom in the late spring.
#153 Devil's Punchbowl Natural Area
Devil's Punchbowl Natural Area is a grand assortment of sandstone boulders and cliffs at the base of the San Gabriel Mountains National Monument. At 4,750 feet, the San Andreas Fault travels directly beneath the park helping to create its striking formations. A one mile trail takes you down into the heart of the punchbowl for an up-close look at this geological wonderland.
#149 Thousand Palms Oasis
Thousand Palms Oasis in the Coachella Valley Preserve is a fine example of a desert palm grove. With its towering California Fan Palms and glorious trails, it is the perfect escape into a wonderland. These palms are the only ones actually native to California and grow along springs in the colorado desert. It is a must to see the 'Palm' in Palm Springs.
#143 Kwaaymii Point
One of the most beautiful views in Southern California is Kwaaymii Point. Located on the Sunrise Highway in the Laguna Mountains, the point offers a jaw-dropping vista of the Colorado Desert from a mile high in Cleveland National Forest. The Pacific Crest Trail also passes this point and offers great hiking. A group of Kumeyaay Native Americans called the Kwaaymii have called this land home for thousands of years.
#140 Badwater Basin
Badwater Basin in Death Valley National Park is the hottest, driest place on Earth and the lowest point in North America at 282 feet below sea level. The basin is a great salt pan of 'bad' un-drinkable water that pools only during a rare rain. Average annual rainfall is only 1.9 inches per year while the evaporation rate is 150 inches!
#134 Borrego Badlands
The Borrego Badlands in Anza Borrego Desert State Park are a wonder. Miles and miles of desert vista await among rugged golden canyons. The water sculpted lands are a fossil paradise where sea turtles, sharks, bears, ground sloths and camels once lived.
#124 Granite Mountains
The wild rock formations of the Granite Mountains in the Mojave National Preserve are out of this world. Exotic eroded shapes are a wonderland for the imagination. The highest peak at 6,796 ft make it an area rich in biodiversity and lies within a transition zone for the Mojave Desert, Sonoran Desert, Great Basin Desert and Colorado Plateau.
#120 Santa Rosa and San Jacinto Mountains National Monument
Santa Rosa and San Jacinto Mountains National Monument preserves 280,000 acres in the peninsular mountain ranges. The Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians own and manage a large portion of the monument of which house many sacred sites. It is a land of extremes rising from the heat of the desert floor to the snow dusted peaks 10,000 feet high.
Palms to Pines National Scenic Byway winds through the encompassing mountains and is a great driving overview of the monument. The National Landscape Conservation System maintains the monument as a 'healthy, wild and open' space. Unlike many other parks and monuments, not many mapped trails or sites exist. It is a place for deep reflection and solitude. The beauty of nature awaits!
#115 Hidden Valley
Hidden Valley is in the heart of Joshua Tree National Park. It has beautiful Joshua Trees as well as the jumbo boulders which make the park famous. An easy 1 mile interpretive stroll takes you around the valley and makes a great first stop in the park.
#113 Father Crowley Vista Point
Father Crowley Vista Point provides sweeping views of Rainbow Canyon in Death Valley National Park. Located right off Highway 190 on the west side of the park, beautiful cinder cones and lava flows tumble into the canyon. The Point honors Father Crowley, the Padre of the Desert. He was an advocate for desert tourism and the rebirth of the Owens Valley after Los Angeles stole its water supply leaving nothing for the people to live off.
