Things to do / Travel Guide
The remote, wide-open spaces and beautiful scenery of the California Desert provide a great deal of opportunities for adventure and excitement. Engaging in activities like rock climbing, skydiving, and hot air ballooning with rugged desert landscape or majestic mountain peaks as your surroundings will surely inspire you with a sense of adventure.
Rock Climbing in the California Desert
The best spot for rock climbing in the region, and indeed one of the best such sites in the country, is in Joshua Tree National Park. The multitude of boulders, cracks, and random cliff faces means that there are numerous spots, niches, and alcoves for rock climbers to explore. Most climbs aren't higher than 100 feet, but many require a great deal of technical climbing expertise to conquer. If you don't bring your own gear, the town of Joshua Tree has a couple of stores that sell climbing books, trail books, and climbing gear.
Clark Mountain, outside of Barstow, is considered to offer the best limestone climbing in California. The mountain is located at the highest point in the Mojave National Preserve and promises refreshing mountaintop views high above the desert below. Climbing equipment is rentable in Barstow.
In the northern area of the region, Kearsarge Peak outside of Independence, hugs the eastern edge of the Sierra Nevada Mountains and boasts several challenging climbing routes, all at a bracing 3,000-foot elevation in the mountain lowlands.
Skydiving in the California Desert
Clear air, desert winds, blue sky - the endless horizons of the desert make for amazing scenery as you coast to the ground at the end of your freefall. A day spent skydiving in the California Desert can be a truly amazing experience. High Desert Skydive, about 55 miles northeast of Palm Springs, offers this adventure. You can easily have the experience of a lifetime, and still make it back for dinner. Geronimo!
Near the Salton Sea and the San Bernardino Mountains, Skydive Ellsinore is another great spot to try your first or hundredth jump, surrounded by endless horizons of desert as you coast down to the ground. Located about an hour east of Los Angeles, the company's location makes skydiving there ideal for a weekend activity for LA locals, as well as for skydiving enthusiasts elsewhere in southern California.
Hot Air Ballooning in the California Desert
For a breathtaking birds-eye-view of the region without the rush of a skydiving freefall, take a hot air balloon ride in the California Desert skies. Float through the sky as you gaze down at vineyards, orchards, arid desert, and other picturesque landscapes. The pilot will act as a tour guide to explain what you are looking at, as well as take your picture at the end of your adventure. Balloon Above the Desert, a Palm Springs-area company offering this service, also includes champagne and cookies with every liftoff.
Off-road Jeep Tour Adventures in the California Desert
Guided off-road jeep tours are a great way to get an up-close look at the California Desert's landscapes. You'll be constantly surrounded by amazing desert scenery as you perfect the fine art of taking pictures while bouncing over 4x4 trails, while simultaneously listening to your guide describe little-known points in Native American history. Many companies offer Jeep tours through different areas of the region, including throughout the Indian canyons, Santa Rosa Mountains, and other hard-to-reach areas. A common favorite are day trips to Joshua Tree National Park, where the jeeps are put to the test challenging the rocky terrain of Joshua Tree's backcountry.
Palm Springs, Death Valley and the California Desert
Adventure-Travel
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