California’s Desert Parks

Arrive in Palm Springs and gather this evening for a welcome orientation and dinner. 

After breakfast, depart Palm Springs and drive to Borrego Springs, a small town lying within California’s largest state park, Anza-Borrego Desert State Park. Following lunch, stop at the park visitor center’s museum. After settling into our nearby lodging, consider an optional afternoon hike in a slot canyon where we see the dramatic effect flowing water can have on the desert landscape.

Rise early for an optional hike to a natural desert palm oasis. See the only palm native to the Golden State, the California fan palm, and hopefully spot the native desert bighorn sheep in its natural environment. See the roadside Sky Art sculptures of Galleta Meadows on our way to lunch. Afterward, drive along the scenic Box Canyon Road through what is now part of the recently created Chuckwalla National Monument to reach Joshua Tree National Park. We enter the park through the southern entrance, abounding with unusual rock formations, and experience the dramatic transition from the distinctive ocotillo of the Colorado Desert to the Mojave Desert with its Joshua Trees that give the park its name. Settle in to our special Airstream lodging, home for the next two nights.

Today, we have the option for another early morning hike before for breakfast. Rejoin the group, and spend the day in Joshua Tree, learning about this desert ecosystem with its surreal geologic features and scouting the various plants and animals that live in this wind-sculpted land.  Enjoy some down time this afternoon before a special dinner in the park followed by stargazing with a local astronomer.

This morning, we begin our journey to Death Valley, driving through the Mojave National Preserve and past Kelso Dunes. Stop at China Ranch Date Farm for a box lunch and a date shake before continuing to Death Valley Junction, home to the magical, mural-adorned Amargosa Opera House. Our next stop is Furnace Creek, where we’ll get an overview of the park at the visitor center before checking in to the historic Inn at Death Valley, home for the next three nights.

This morning’s optional early riser’s hike takes us through the multi-hued walls of Golden Canyon. After breakfast, we venture up to Dante’s View at 5,475 feet, marveling at panoramic views of the valley below where millions of years of constant erosion has formed the park’s famed alluvial fans. We journey on to Salt Creek, home to the hearty and playful pupfish that have adapted to live in this challenging environment. Continue north to the dramatic Ubehebe Crater where magma hit groundwater and blew open this crater. After lunch, stop at the Mesquite Flat Sand Dunes as the sun’s setting rays warm the landscape. Dinner tonight is on our own.

Before breakfast, head to Zabriskie Point for sunrise and watch the morning sunlight slowly illuminate the badlands and Panamint Mountains. After breakfast, explore the rugged salt formations at Devil’s Golf Course. Continue to the spring-fed Badwater Pool, home to unique plant and insect life, and the Badwater Basin. At 282 feet below sea level, this saltwater flat is the lowest place in North America and is set against the 11,000-foot Panamint Range. Later, take a special tour of Ryan, a former borax mining camp dating from 1914 and now part of a private, historic district stewarded by the Death Valley Conservancy. After an afternoon siesta or a dip in the hotel’s spring-fed pool, head to Artist’s Palette, a pastel collection of volcanic ash in the badlands, to view the sunset amidst the green, pink and purple hues of the minerals. We gather again this evening to toast our journey during a farewell dinner.

After a final breakfast at the inn, drive to Ash Meadows National Wildlife Refuge to learn about the unique desert springs, home to the endemic Devil’s Hole pupfish. Enjoy a final walk along the Crystal Springs boardwalk, then head to Las Vegas for return flights home.