Now is the time of year when I try not to brag too much about how great the weather is.
Soon enough, my friends back home in the South will start posting on social media about ice, snow and bitter wind. Meanwhile, here in L.A., our fall is Goldilocks weather — not too hot, not too cold, but just right.
In other words, this is the ideal season to explore, and as the weather cools, go on an epic desert hike. And you don’t need to drive all the way out to Joshua Tree to do it.
I love, for example, exploring the high desert of the Antelope Valley, a 3,000-square mile region in northern L.A. County and southern Kern County.
There’s lots to love about a fall desert hike: cool crisp air, solitude, fascinating, alien-like plants and an abundance of geological wonders to observe. Personally I find a lot of comfort and connection as a queer person in a desert ecosystem. Take the California juniper. Despite drought and harsh winters, it makes use of its resources, and can thrive even in the harshest of conditions.
The three hikes below are a bit of a drive from L.A. It can take an hour and half from downtown L.A. to reach the farthest hikes on this list. But they’re all still closer than Joshua Tree, and will probably never be as crowded. Make the day of it. If you get up early enough, you might even be able to cross out more than one hike on this list. Just make sure to pack plenty of water, and both sun and wind protection.
Prime Desert Woodland Preserve walking trail
Distance: 3 miles
Elevation gain: Minimal
Difficulty: Easy
The Prime Desert Woodland Preserve is a 120-acre open space in Lancaster, California, that’s open daily from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m., weather permitting. The preserve includes the Elyze Clifford Interpretive Center, named after the environmentalist who championed desert preservation. Its programming is managed by the Lancaster Museum of Art and History and features educational displays on native plants and animals as well as young artist workshops where kids can create art inspired by the desert environment. The center is open weekends from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. The museum also regularly hosts night hikes here.
Many animals call the preserve home, including the so-called desert wolf, also known as the coyote. Keep an eye out for a black-chinned hummingbird, cactus wren or California thrasher (of the feathered, not rock star, variety).
You’ll notice California juniper and Joshua trees as you meander through the preserve. Although creosote brush is usually plentiful in the desert, the preserve has only one. But, preserve staff believe it may be the largest in the Antelope Valley. You can spot it near the appropriately named Creosote Loop Trail.
The preserve has three miles of hiking trails, with short loops throughout. After your adventure, consider checking out a restaurant in Lancaster. I’m partial to Ogla’s.
PCT and Apwinga Loop Trail at Vasquez Rocks Natural Area
Distance: 3.4 miles
Elevation gain: 600 feet
Difficulty: Moderate
The first time I visited Vasquez Rocks Natural Area, I drove up, explored its famous rocks that jut from the ground like massive flying saucers, and then left. But this park has more to offer than spots to reenact Captain Kirk’s fight with the Gorn in the original “Star Trek.”
To begin the loop, you can start at the gate after parking near the nature center (which features fun movie memorabilia of films made at Vasquez).
Follow the Pacific Crest Trail clockwise, or westerly, and you’ll soon find yourself with your first great view of the park, including its iconic slabs of earth. You’ll follow the trail as it passes next to large rocks — including one that resembles a T. Rex — before entering an open area with a green picnic table beneath a pepper tree. Continue following the PCT.
Soon, you’ll notice trail signs noting that you’re on both the PCT and the Apwinga Loop Trail. The PCT will eventually jag southwest. You will continue following the Apwinga Loop. Here you’ll see so much more than those big famous rocks: sweeping vistas, purple red rocks to scramble along, native desert plants, like buckwheat and yucca and — depending on when you visit — plenty of solitude.
I enjoyed looking at the numerous rock formations and, like a high desert Rorschach test, deciding what I thought they looked like: a bolt screwed into the ground, stacks of vinyl records and pancakes. (Maybe I was getting hungry at that point.)
In terms of difficulty, this trail is firmly moderate. Parts of it are flat or gently sloping, but you will run into a few stretches where you will briefly huff your way up. You will walk near the 14 Freeway for a bit, but unlike the drivers, you’ll have a close-up view of these remarkable rocks, created over thousands of years by wind, rain and moving earth.
Vasquez Rocks has different hours depending on the season. From Nov. 1 to Feb. 28, it’s open from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Sunday. Its spring and summer hours, which run from March 1 to Oct. 31, are 8 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. Tuesday through Sunday.
The Devils Chair Trail
Distance: 7.4 miles
Elevation gain: About 1,500 feet
Difficulty: Moderately challenging
Arriving at the Devil’s Punchbowl Natural Area, you will soon spot the park’s namesake: massive tilted hunks of sandstone and other geological formations that look like they’d be a rock climber’s dream.
I didn’t actually know what the devil’s chair was when I started this hike. I assumed it was going to be another formation. I had an incredible surprise ahead.
The first mile of this hike is arguably the hardest part, as you gain 500 feet in a mile.
You will see several burned and dead trees. This area was burned by the 2020 Bobcat fire and is still recovering. Meaning you should avoid it on especially windy days so as not to be hit over the head, or worse, by a crispy trunk.
After the first mile, you’ll find a creek that, as of early November, was still flowing. As you hike along the trail, you’ll probably spot chipmunks and gray squirrels. I also heard and saw a variety of birds, including hawks, ravens, white-crowned sparrows and dark-eyed juncos (which are very cute).
There are patches of the trail where you will see what the region looked like before the fire. Occasionally, you might see the scant remains of pinyon pine. But despite the burn areas, this trail is still so worth it. There are so many different rock formations, orange, purple, green and gray, to see.
And you get incredible views of the desert below and mountains in the distance, including nearby Table Mountain in Angeles National Forest and Tehachapi Mountain in Kern County.
The end of the hike reminded me of a safer version of Angels Landing in Zion National Park. You will walk a narrow fenced path to a small boulder, surrounded by a short fence, that overlooks the valley below.
From your perch, you can listen to the whistling wind as you take in a panoramic view of massive rock formations below. If lucky, you might spot a bighorn sheep, which a staff member told me like to hang out in the cavern below. Watch where you step along this last part of the trail, as there are some holes in the bottom of the fence. Drop your cellphone here and it’s gone.
From here, you’ll gain about 300 feet as you return back from the devil’s chair. I was an in immense state of wonder at that point and didn’t mind the steep ascent after eating my lunch on one of the coolest lookout points in L.A. County.
