
The area also is worthy of a visit during less-visited months when temperatures are cool.

Lancaster, L.A.’s high desert home base, best known for its astonishing orange bloom blanket (in good years) at the Antelope Valley California Poppy Reserve, is the place.

Where can you find California’s most iconic desert species, most photographed spring flowers and most important aquatic engineering system? Take time to enjoy a sampler, but don’t miss exploring the beautiful 90-acre grounds, which house chickens, goats, horses and alpacas. Eventually, you connect with the PCT and then the Geology Trail, which deposits you back at the trailhead.Īfter, rock your palate at Agua Dulce Winery, which serves reds, whites and rosés straight from its local vineyard. There are plenty of single-track spur trails to further explore. Continue south to take in vistas of rolling hills with rocky outcroppings as well as the small Sierra Pelona mountain range. Whether you favor sci-fi or bandits, the rocks are truly an impressive sight. The 45-degree-leaning sedimentary behemoths were formed by roughly 25 million years of erosion. Soon, the real rock stars come into view, which were named after the notorious bandit Tiburcio Vásquez, who used to meet up with his gang and hide from the law here. You’ll pass a campground, various interpretive signs for local flora (like California juniper, yucca and sagebrush) and a Tataviam dwelling, grinding bowl and pictograph.

Check out the exhibits at the nature center and grab a map, following signs for the Nature Heritage Trail. The real reason to go is to see the remarkable tilted slabs and top-notch boulder scrambling sites at the 932-acre park. You’ll be walking amid film locales (think alien terrain in “Star Trek,” the 1960s TV series and subsequent movies) the ancient community of Tataviam and an outlaw’s hideout. Enter Agua Dulce, home to the one-of-a-kind Vasquez Rocks Natural Area and the Agua Dulce Winery.Įxplore the sandstone giants on a 3.75-mile loop, part of which overlaps with the Pacific Crest Trail. Imagine a place where movie buffs, history nerds, adventure seekers, geological geeks and wanderlusting wine lovers all find sacred refuge.
