Red Rock Canyon State Park

Red Rock Canyon State Park, Cantile, CA, March 26, 2024We took an hour and a half trip up to Red Rock Canyon State Park out of Barstow. We got an early start because we weren't sure how far north we would go. We drove west for about 45 minutes until we came to a turn off that takes you through California City and up to Red Rock Canyon State Park, which features scenic red rock desert cliffs, buttes and spectacular rock formations. The park consists of approximately 27,000 acres and is located along State Highway 14 in Kern County, about 80 miles east of Bakersfield and 25 miles north of Mojave, where the southernmost tip of the Sierra Nevada converges with the El Paso Mountains.There are plenty of hiking trails with impressive scenic views right off the main highway. You can also drive into the park to the visitor's center where you can purchase a day pass and check out their wildlife Museum and gift store. They also have a Campground there.

I came here on the way to the Death Valley National Park, and I'm glad I did. The scenery is not a thing to be missed! There are such beautiful layered rock formations to view. You can park in the empty areas as you came in the entrance and take few photos. If you go further in, there's a Visitor Center and parking lot. There's a simple Ricardo Nature Trail to walk near the Visitor Center.

My friend and I came up here in April because it was advertised as dog-friendly on the website, but it's not exactly. The campground itself is, and a couple of service roads, but dogs are not allowed on the trails. The pictures you see with my dog are at a beautiful trailhead, but we could not go further because the trail signs said no dogs. We did see a lot of other dogs when we checked out the camp grounds, so it seems like a popular place for campers and their dogs. In terms of amenities, the campsite is very basic. I don't remember seeing any showers. There was one restroom by the visitor's center, but it's a bit of a walk from the campsites, if that's important to you. It definitely looks nice and would be a good day trip to hike around. I personally wouldn't bring my dog back unless there was someone who wanted to camp but not hike because he couldn't go many places.

Talk about stunning! The red rocks and beautiful rock formations in this canyon are magnificent! It's off the beaten path and far less traveled which equals minimal crowds. And there is soooo much to explore here! The views seem to be endless. I stopped here during a trip to Death Valley National Park, and this stop was absolutely worth it. There are actually several different trails in this park, but the most popular trails are the Red Cliffs, Hagen Canyon, and Ricardo Campground Trail. I was able to do all three (they're all pretty short and doable), and the trek through Ricardo Campground was my hands down my favorite area to hike in. The Red Cliffs trail is the most popular and also the most photographed since you can see the Red Cliffs right from the parking lot. This trail is family friendly and features a short incline up a hill that presents a wonderful panoramic view of the Red Rocks. This is also a great place to take a quick stop if you're just driving along the road and want to stop off for pictures and a break. There are restrooms near the parking lot and plenty of parking. The Hagen Canyon Trail is located right across the street from the Red Cliffs trail. This trail is also pretty short and family friendly, but you'll have to actually hike in to capture most of the best views. The trail is about a mile or so and it's a loop trail. You'll be inside of the canyon which will allow from cascading views of the red rocks. This part of the park also has the most unique rock formations with many of them resembling animals and faces. The trail map at the beginning of the trail will identify many of these unique formations and where you'll find them. The Ricardo Campground Trail is an explorative trail that you can extend or shorten to your liking. If you have some time to kill and are serious about getting a good workout in, this is the trail that you should be on. The trail begins at the campground and follows dirt path through a gorgeous desert garden. It then inclines up a steep hill where you can choose from several different connector paths to explore your heart out. But be forewarned; some of the connecting trails are not well maintained. Also if you have a fear of heights, there are some narrow ridge paths with steep drop offs on both sides. Yeah... I was freaked out by some of these trails, but the views were marvelous! This is where you'll get those 360 degree landscape views. You can get really high up in the mountains and you can also hike deep down into the wash. I did both and it was so amazing. A bit scary, but so incredible. You can clearly see where the water used to be when this canyon was actually an ocean. It's so damn impressive. This park is small and huge all at the same time. Small compared to something like Death Valley National Park, but it feels huge when you are smack dab in the bottom of the canyon looking up. I'm talking jaw dropping visuals here, folks. Also, if you do plan on hiking into the canyon, you'll get be up close and personal with the red rocks. It's fantastic. I'd recommend downloading a map for specifics (AllTrails works pretty well). Without making this review a novel, I'll just say that this park is astounding and I can't believe that more people don't frequent this place. Even the campground was damn near empty. But that's okay because this is what makes it so peaceful and serene. In any event, you should definitely plan to visit this beauty (especially on your way to the Sierras and/or Death Valley National Park). Trust me, it's worth it!

Can you believe it? All of what we see now used to be under water, the entire area was at the bottom of a massive lake millions of years ago! We passed through Red Rock Canyon on our way to Mammoth lake. Not gonna lie, I wanted to come when we were on our way back from Death Valley a couple of months ago, but we didn't have enough time to stop by. So, I feel like I had to plan for a visit this time, and luckily, it turned out amazing. The camel rock reminds me of Cappadocia in Turkey, and the Turk's turban rock looks even more beautiful in person. We didn't have time to check out window rock this time, but I feel like Red Rock Canyon would be a great destination for RV camping and stargazing. How lucky we have such an amazing place in Cali, and it's only less than 3 hours away from LA!

We have passed this place soooo many times on our way from LA to Mammoth but we finally did a quick stop on the way home. The visitor center was closed but from the little side road you can get some nice views. We'll come back again when we have more time.

Pretty cool spot with plenty of photo ops, but for those of you coming over for only for this, just expect there isn't much else to see or do in this area. That might make it less of an incentive for people with a long drive to make it out here since its not a huge park. We came from LA so it wasn't too bad of a drive, and made some pit stops in Lancaster for food.You can easily see the "attractions" here without needing much of a hike, so its friendly for the whole family. The Red Cliffs Trail isn't much of a hike for avid hikers, and you pretty much see the entire view from the parking lot already. And there's restrooms available there.We drove over to Hagen Canyon Trail, which is on the other side of the 14. It's also really accessible and free to enter. You can walk right up to the cliffs, which is pretty cool. For those wanting a longer hike, there are a few trail options in the Ricardo Campground. Also bathrooms available here, which are basically outhouses with toilet paper. There are also tables for picnicking. But the rocks weren't as red or cool in my opinion compared to the first 2 places we went to. The office has maps placed outside if you want to grab one to read up more on this place.Overall very convenient, although a very short stop that's easily doable in an hour or less if you wanted to rush through it. Or you can take your time, and it was nice that it was never overly busy here, with plenty of parking spots. Definitely recommend as a quick stop if you're on the way to anything else and passing by the area.

Another State Park off my bucket list!Red Rock Canyon is a small state park with smaller red rock buttes and gothic cathedral formations. The camping ground site is beautiful, it looks like an ideal place to bring the family to camp. There were plenty of restrooms available. I am assuming one must reserve a camping space in order to stay overnight. We were able to climb on the rocks and take pictures of the scenery. It's an easy hike for kids/adults, plenty of open space and some cool "caves". This was a 2 hour drive from Los Angeles, CA. This was a short but well worthy trip.

Nothing beats a free experience with a bathroom. Simply pulling off the 14 and parking in their large maintained dirt lot is all that's required..You have free reign to climb on the rocks and take some really awesome pictures. This is a 30 minute max experience.NOTE - Be sure that you pull off into the correct parking lot for the easiest view of red rocks.. Put "Red Cliffs Natural Area" into Google maps.. should be off the 14 in California... - There's also a nature trail attached to the parking lit. The trail was a bit rundown.

Beautiful creation. Breathtaking. It is a MUST see. It is worth the trip. I didn't know that we have one here until a client of mine mentioned it. My daughter and I went on a road trip one summer day and this is our last stop.