Trip Destinations In The Desert
Road trips are one of the great pastimes of outdoor adventuring.
But what about the cool deserts, they deserve our attention, too. So we’re highlighting five must-visit desert locales out West.
Trip destinations in the desert
Utah
Moab’s landscape, combined with its breadth of Native American art, history, and culture, is simply incredible.
Heck, you can even see dinosaur tracks there. Moab has world-class mountain biking, rafting, climbing, and hiking. Basically everything!
But just 20-ish miles south of town is the Hole N” The Rock, a 5,000-square-foot former home, and current “trading post”.
Arizona
Few folks would know that President Hoover authorized Canyon de Chelly as a national monument in 1931. Despite being a lesser-known monument, it’s one of the most visited in the U.S., and one of the most stunning areas in the Four Corners region.
Colorado
Rye is maybe a bit less deserty than other locales on this list, but this is too good to pass up.
Call it Colorado high-desert, where Jim Bishop has been constructing an awesome oddity since 1969: a huge stone and iron castle. Yes, a real-deal castle. It is enormous (three stories tall), has a maze of rooms (including a grand ballroom), complete with towers and bridges.
California
Next time you’re on your way to Joshua Tree, make a stop at the “out of this world” Integratron, where art, science, and magic swirl together in a tornado of lovable weirdness.
Just 20 miles north of J-Tree, the Integratron was created by George Van Tassel, who claimed the structure was based on a combination of the design of Moses’s tabernacle, the writings of Nikola Tesla, and the telepathic instructions of aliens.
Arizona and Utah
Tse Bii’ Ndzisgaii, or Monument Valley Navajo Tribal Park, is a breathtaking area of the Colorado Plateau on the border between Arizona and Utah in the Navajo Nation. It’s home to gigantic buttes, mesas, and spires, as well as soul-inspiring sunrises, sunsets, and starry nights.
Tse Bii’ Ndzisgaii is quite possibly one of the most photographed places on the planet. It makes sense: The red rock and sandstone features explode out of the valley and into the sky, set against a far-as-the-eye-can-see desert wonder. Plus, it’s 92,000 acres big, which, for reference, is larger than Arches National Park. That’s a whole lot of awesome. It’s truly a geological wonder and is home to thousands of years of indigenous culture.
