National Parks
The land America had the wisdom to protect from itself — four parks, four arguments for why wilderness matters.
"The national park system is America's best idea — the proposition that some land is too important to be owned, too beautiful to be improved, and too essential to be compromised for any price. Standing in any of these places, the idea feels obviously right."
— Personal notes, various parksJoshua Tree National Park
Where the Mojave and Colorado Deserts meet, and the trees look like they were drawn by a child who had never seen a tree.
The desert that dreams in silhouette
Joshua Tree is two deserts in one park — the higher Mojave with its iconic Joshua trees (which are not trees but tree-like yuccas, which makes them more interesting), and the lower Colorado Desert of creosote bush and ocotillo. The junction between them is visible as a distinct transition in the landscape, which is the kind of thing you do not notice until you notice it and then cannot unsee.
The park is two hours from Riverside, which means I have been here multiple times in different seasons and lights. The best experience is arriving before sunrise, setting up somewhere near the boulder formations, and watching the light come up over the Mojave. The Joshua trees turn from silhouettes into three-dimensional objects over the course of twenty minutes, and the stars that were visible before dawn give way to a blue that is a specific shade that I have only seen in desert skies.
Best visited: October through April (avoid summer heat above 100°F). Stargazing is exceptional — Dark Sky certified. The Cholla Cactus Garden at sunset is not to be missed.
Pinnacles National Park
Ancient volcanic rock, talus caves, and the sky above them patrolled by the California Condor — the largest flying bird in North America, brought back from the edge of extinction.
The park that almost wasn't
Pinnacles became a national park only in 2013, upgraded from a monument designation, and it remains one of the least visited parks in California — which means the trails are quieter and the experience of standing among the rock formations without fifty other people in the frame is genuinely possible. The High Peaks Trail circuit (around eight miles) takes you through the most dramatic of the spire formations and, if you are lucky, above the roosting sites of the California Condor.
The talus caves, formed when giant boulders collapsed into gorges, are navigated in near-darkness with a headlamp. The Balconies Cave is the more accessible of the two; the Bear Gulch Cave requires a permit and is seasonally closed to protect nesting condors. The combination of geological drama, wildlife recovery story, and accessible hiking makes Pinnacles one of the most underrated parks in the system.
Best visited: Spring (wildflowers in April) or fall. Avoid summer — temperatures exceed 100°F. Evening is condor watch time; bring binoculars.
Yosemite National Park
The valley that made John Muir weep and Ansel Adams return forty times — and that still manages to be, despite everything, exactly as advertised.
The valley that was worth protecting
Yosemite is the park that started the whole idea. Abraham Lincoln signed the Yosemite Grant in 1864 — the first time any government in the world had set aside land in perpetuity for public use and preservation. Standing in Yosemite Valley, looking at El Capitan on one side and Half Dome on the other and Yosemite Falls straight ahead, you understand exactly why Lincoln's secretary was willing to interrupt the Civil War to have that document signed.
The valley is crowded, particularly in summer, and the crowds are understandable. Tunnel View — the first sight of the valley as you emerge from the tunnel — produces gasps from people who have seen the photograph a hundred times before arriving. The photograph does not prepare you. Nothing prepares you. The scale is different in person in a way that is very difficult to explain to someone who has not been there, so I will simply say: go.
Best visited: Late spring (May–June, waterfalls full from snowmelt) or fall (September–October, fewer crowds, golden light). Requires a timed entry permit in peak season. Glacier Point at sunset is extraordinary.
Red Rock Canyon NCA
Seventeen miles from the Las Vegas Strip — sandstone cathedrals, petroglyphs, and the Mojave Desert reminding you what Nevada looked like before the neon.
The desert outside the casino lights
Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area is technically not a national park but a BLM conservation area, which means the entrance fee is lower and the crowds are thinner. What it offers is the Mojave Desert in its most dramatic expression — the Calico Hills escarpment, a 3,000-foot-high wall of red and cream Aztec Sandstone, carved by wind and water into formations that the afternoon light turns from pink to deep ochre to almost-purple in the space of an hour.
The 13-mile one-way scenic drive is the easiest access. The hiking trails — Calico Hills, Turtlehead Peak, Pine Creek Canyon — offer longer immersion in the landscape. The Visitor Center has a good geological explanation of how the Jurassic-era sandstone dunes became the formations you see, which makes everything you subsequently look at more interesting.
Best visited: October through April. Sunrise is exceptional — the eastern light hits the west-facing escarpment at the perfect angle. Carry water regardless of temperature; the desert desiccates faster than you think.