A Variety of Vistas From High Above Yucca Valley

Black Rock Canyon and its environs are close to the mushrooming developments in the Yucca Valley but match the allure of far more remote areas of Joshua Tree National Park. Two nature trails offer nearly everything a Joshua Tree hike should have: pin~on-dotted peaks, a sandy wash, plenty of yuccas and Joshua trees, plus grand vistas.

High View Trail

If one word could sum up the view from High View, it might be “transitions.” A naturalist can contemplate two transitions--one between the Mojave and Colorado deserts and another between the deserts and the San Bernardino Mountains.

A less subtle and far more abrupt transition is also obvious from High View: the desert communities of Joshua Tree, Yucca Valley and Twentynine Palms sprawling along the northern border of Joshua Tree National Park.

An interpretive brochure, keyed to two dozen numbered sites along the nature trail, explains the region’s ecology and geography. Pick up a copy of the leaflet (more lyrical and engaging than the usual nature trail guide) at the Black Rock Canyon Ranger Station.

Begin with a meander past tall yuccas, then embark on a mellow ascent up and around pin~on-dotted slopes. Strategically placed benches offer hikers rest and viewpoints from which to regard the surrounding desert. The trail passes both Joshua trees and their close cousin the nolina, distinguished by its long, flexible leaves.

Reach the summit at the 0.5-mile mark and enjoy clear-day views of the San Gabriel and San Bernardino mountains. The path descends through a grove of manzanita to a wash as it circles back to the trail head.

South Park Peak Trail

The name “South Park Peak” often baffles hikers. Why would a summit on the far northern boundary of Joshua Tree National Park be called South Park?

Actually, the peak lies just north of the national park in South Park, a little preserve administered by the Yucca Valley Parks District. South Park and the peak are south of Yucca Valley; hence the name South Park Peak.

A gentle nature trail leads to the 4,395-foot summit, which offers hikers great views of the national park’s northern wilderness areas, Mt. San Gorgonio and the sprawling residential and commercial developments filling Yucca Valley. The view from South Park Peak is even more expansive than the one from the high point of High View Trail.

Begin with a modest ascent, and you’ll soon be accompanied by huge interpretive signs. You won’t need reading glasses to learn about buckwheat, rabbit brush, Mormon tea and a dozen more desert plants and trees.

A veteran juniper, scarcely 12 feet high but believed to be more than 200 years old, clings to life near the summit. High winds and extreme dryness have slowed the growth of this tree and the shrubs that surround it.

The old juniper might have shaded Serrano Indians, who gathered juniper berries for food. Its remote location may have spared it from the miners who chopped down many junipers and pin~ons and burned them for charcoal to fuel the steam engines used for early mining operations.

Atop the peak grows something even older than the oldest juniper: lichen, which may be thousands of years old. Contemplate the lichen and eternal desert as you open South Park Peak’s massive summit register, inside a box perched on a concrete pedestal. Read the comments of other hikers as you formulate your own thoughts about this walk on the edge of the natural world and civilization, such as it is.

The path descends to a Joshua tree-dotted wash and loops back to the trail head.

Directions to trail heads: From California 62 in Yucca Valley, drive five miles south on Joshua Lane toward Black Rock Campground. Just before reaching the campground entrance, turn right on an unsigned dirt access road for South Park and drive 0.75 mile to the road’s end at the trail head parking lot.

The unsigned trail to South Park Peak begins on the opposite side of the parking lot from the signed High View Trail.

John McKinney is coauthor with Cheri Rae of “Mojave National Preserve” (Olympus Press, $12.95).

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High View, South Park Peak Trails

Where: Joshua Tree National Park.

Distance: High View Nature Trail is a 1.3-mile loop with 300-foot elevation gain; South Park Peak is 0.8-mile loop with 200-foot elevation gain.

Terrain: Slopes cloaked in pinon pine and juniper.

Highlights: Mountain and desert vistas, diverse flora, two excellent nature trails.

Degree of difficulty: Easy.

For more information: Joshua Tree National Park, 74485 National Park Drive, Twentynine Palms, CA, 92277; tel. (760)367-5500.