Escape LA: Red Rock Canyon State Park

With gas prices so low, now is the time to take an LA road trip. If you find yourself needing an escape from the craziness of La-La Land, hop in your car, drive a few hours and spend the day hiking in Red Rock Canyon. Afterwards, make your way to Trona Pinnacles before sunset. You’ll feel like you’ve been transported to two separate planets. Experience California nature in an intimate way!
Facebook can sometimes be a good thing. Recently after a California road trip with my dad, I wanted to escape into nature some more. A Facebook friend had posted some breathtaking photos of what looked like Bryce Canyon, and I was intrigued. But after chatting with him for an hour or so, I discovered this excursion to Red Rock could be done in an LA day. Can you even comprehend the majesty of an area that was underwater over five million years ago? Red Rock Canyon reminded me so much of Bryce Canyon, but without the crowds. The park is located where the southernmost tip of the Sierra Nevada converges with the El Paso Range. Just like in Bryce Canyon, there are red rocks of rich iron carved into numerous formations by weathering and erosion, often known as hoodoos. As you pass Joshua trees to your left, it’s hard to comprehend this vast landscape with its layers and layers of various vivid rock colors, dramatic buttes and desert cliffs. It was inspiring to have the outdoors pretty much all to myself. The park is just 120 miles north of Los Angeles, via Interstate 5 and Highway 14. Twenty-five miles northeast of Mojave on Highway 14, there’s a tiny dirt parking lot where you can access one of the trails, which is lined with small rocks. It won’t be long before you’re running all over the landscape and not keeping on the pathway because you simply won’t believe the diversity of the land. Try to find the camel or rock that reminds me of the sphynx in Egypt. As I climbed higher up, I found what looked like carved windows to the world where I could nestle in and gaze down at the land’s grandeur. As you meander around the giant columns, you come across another very different section where the dirt looks smooth like gray clay and is baked hard like a rock, barely able to carve. You can see what was once a massive river that divided and shifted the land (or perhaps the California drought has dried up this spot).This park is a treasure, a place you feel more connected to than some of the massive overcrowded national parks because you really do feel like the land is all your own.