A Guide to the Best of Southern California : TREKS : The Open Road
A backcountry byway is just what the name implies: the road less traveled. In 1989, the U.S. Bureau of Land Management dedicated the nation’s first scenic byway, Wild Horse Canyon Road, in the East Mojave National Scenic Area. About 100 miles east of Barstow, the horseshoe-shaped gravel road winds 11 miles through the heart of the desert wonderland, crossing wide-open country dotted with cholla and, in April and May, delicate purple, yellow, white and red wildflowers. Dramatic volcanic slopes and mesas tower above. A juniper woodland, a creosote bush community and a “Devil’s Garden”--a grouping of several types of cacti interspersed with rocks--are among botanical highlights. Motorists might spot deer or bighorn sheep on the rocky slopes.
Information: U.S. Bureau of Land Management/Needles Resource Area; (619) 326-3896.
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