Mojave Mojo!

Ready to get your mojo working? Hoodoos, tortoises, and a hermit’s tunnel to nowhere—they’re all part of the wondrously weird, easy-to-explore high desert just beyond the town of Mojave.

Week: 05.04.2017
Regions: Southern CA

Red, White, and Hoodoos

Hiking in Red Rock Canyon State Park California

“Don’t stay on the trail” sounds like an odd suggestion, but it’s the best way to explore the crimson sandstone cliffs and hoodoos that crosscut Red Rock Canyon State Park in the northern Mojave Desert. Perfectly legal, too, in this otherworldly convergence of the Sierra Nevada a
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Yosemite Cabin This Spring

The Redwoods in Yosemite Cabin in Spring

This spring in Yosemite is one for the records: Waterfalls are raging and dogwoods are blooming! And the cherry on top: a secluded cabin or private vacation home right in the heart of it! The Redwoods In Yosemite offers privacy and adventure inside the park! BONUS: Waterfall Spec
The Redwoods in Yosemite

The Tortoise In Its Lair

Hiking the Desert Tortoise Natural Area in the Mojave Desert

The Mojave Desert’s most extraordinary creatures are rarely seen, but at the Desert Tortoise Research Natural Area, you’ll have your best chance. Tortoises live in higher density in the 39.5-square-mile preserve than in other parts of the Mojave, and now is the best time to visit
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Tunnel Vision

Hiking to Burro Schmidt Tunnel in the Mojave Desert

Don’t expect logic from oddball desert hermits! At Burro Schmidt Tunnel, that’s to our great benefit. It took 32 years for William “Burro” Schmidt to dig through a mountain in a remote part of the north Mojave as a shortcut for taking his ore to a smelter. Long after new roads re
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Trending Stories NorCal

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  1. Sequoia Re-opens Crystal Cave

    Step inside Sequoia & Kings Canyon National Park's hidden world by visiting the newly re-opened Crystal Cave—the only cave in the parks open to the public. Closed for four years, this rare marble karst cavern is welcoming visitors once again, but only through the summer season!

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  2. Afternoon on the Island

    What is it about tiny islands in the middle of lakes? There’s something that just draws you in. It’s even more fun when getting there is half the adventure because you have to reach it by canoe, kayak, paddleboat, or a ranger-guided boat tour!

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  3. Easiest Best Hike in the World

    Choose the easiest and most view-rewarding hike in Yosemite. Okay, we’ll go first: the combination of hiking to Sentinel Dome and Taft Point. Both of these lookouts are within a couple miles of each other on Glacier Point Road

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  4. Hiker in the forest at Mount Sutro in San Francisco

    San Francisco's Middle Earth

    No need to travel to New Zealand to visit Middle Earth. San Francisco’s Mount Sutro Open Space is practically Hobbiton—a hidden “shire” in the middle of the city. Okay, maybe not quite as magical, but still an incredible place to take a hike in city limits.

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Trending Stories SoCal

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  1. Locals' Feature: Jim Litchfield, Owner of Reno Fly Shop

    If there's a river, you're likely to find Jim Litchfield there. As the owner of Reno Fly Shop, Nevada's premier fly fishing outfitter and shop, Jim's passion for rivers knows no bounds: he's fished in places near and far, including Alaska, Bolivia and Christmas Island. But home is beautiful Reno, where he has been running Reno Fly Shop and leading tailored river float and fly fishing adventures (including beginner-friendly options) for over a decade.

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  2. Can't Top This

    San Francisco’s Presidio was already a fantastic place to hang out for the afternoon, a beautiful site within the largest urban national park in the United States (the Golden Gate National Recreation Area). And Presidio Tunnel Tops is like a cherry on top. Make that two cherries on top, with the newly opened (July 2025) Outpost Meadow, a 1.5-acre green space located at Old Mason Street across from the Crissy Field Marsh in the Presidio.

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  3. Volcanic Activity

    Northern California is home to one of the most unique ecosystems in the country: Lassen Volcanic National Park. The region features geothermal areas, including the largest dome volcano in the world, Lassen Peak. Hike to the top of this active volcano on a 5-mile out-and-back.  

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  4. Oh Ryan

    Sure, it’s those whimsical trees that give Joshua Tree National Park its marquee billing; but this beautiful landscape also has surrounding mountains and its night sky—one of the darkest in Southern California and designated an International Dark Sky Park. Joshua Tree has four allowable stargazing parking lots, and a newly opened haven for spending the night nearby...

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