Shapes hide in desert of California’s Joshua Tree National Park. How many do you see?
Visitors find more than just natural beauty at Joshua Tree National Park in California.
Many have discovered desert rocks that resemble everything from broken hearts to lovable creatures, according to a Dec. 15 Facebook post from the park.
“People say if you spend a long time in the desert, you start to see things,” rangers wrote on Facebook. “But seriously, have you seen these rocks? What else have you seen here?”
Cow Rock is located “north of Real Hidden Valley,” according to Mountain Project.
To find the farm-animal shaped rock, visitors can park at the Real Hidden Valley parking area and take the nature trail, the website says. The trail will fork, and visitors will want to go left, following the trail north.
Guests can then travel “east for about 400+ yards, to its apex (near the Brown Wall),” the website says.
“Turn left (north)into the wash and follow the wash north for about 150 yards. The cliffs will be seen on your right (west) high on the hillside,” according to Mountain Project.
Visitors can find Heart Rock by following the path to get to Arch Rock, according to the website WKNDRS ONLY. Heart Rock can be found a short distance away.
Find Heart Rock on Google Maps.
While there is no information about how to reach Breadloaf Rock online, rangers joked about the formation nestled within the national park during the heart of the COVD-19 pandemic.
“Sorry to all the at-home quarantine bakers…but we think we made the best loaf,” the national park wrote on Twitter in July 2020. “Our Breadloaf boulder is just toasty enough to enjoy during a desert hike!”
To find Penguin Rock, “head to the Jumbo Rocks Campground area,” according to the website FlyingDawnMarie.
“If you’re lucky enough to snag campsite #18,” the rock “is located just above your tent site,” the website says.
“It began long ago when rain drops accumulated in tiny depressions and started to erode the granite,” NPS wrote of the rock formation. “As more rock eroded, more water accumulated, leading to more erosion until, as time passed, two hollowed-out eye sockets formed and the rock began to resemble a skull.”
Skull Rock is located “along the main east-west park road,” NPS says.
Visitors can reach the rock by taking a 1.7-mile nature trail, starting “across from the entrance to Jumbo Rocks Campground or inside the campground, across from the amphitheater,” NPS says.
Find Skull Rock on Google Maps.
Face Rock can be found by starting at Skull Rock, according to the blog Resourceful Roamer. Discovery Trail sits across from Skull Rock and will take you on a 0.7-mile loop to Face Rock.
Find Face Rock on Google Maps.
This formation can be found in the same area as Skull Rock, according to the blog Resourceful Roamer.
“While facing Skull Rock, look right and up and you should see Elephant Rock,” the blog says.
Find Elephant Rock on Google Maps.
The location of Elephant Seal Rock is a bit of a mystery, as information about how to find the formation is not online.
Joshua Tree has “few facilities” and covers 800,000 acres of desert land, the national park’s website says. Elevation greatly varies in the park, ranging from 536 feet to 5,814 feet, and the weather can change quickly.
This story was originally published December 16, 2022 at 11:55 AM with the headline "Shapes hide in desert of California’s Joshua Tree National Park. How many do you see?."
