National Obsession
Recently President Obama federally protected nearly 2 million acres of California desert by designating three new national monuments across select landscapes well worth a visit. Here’s how to hike around and explore each one of them.
Sand to Snow
Hike the Sand to Snow National Monument
The Sand to Snow National Monument’s centerpiece is the 11,500-foot peak of Mount San Gorgonio (the highest in all of SoCal), but a hidden gem exists in the area’s 2,850-acre Whitewater Preserve.
Read the full storyMojave Momentum
Mojave Trails National Monument Hike
The largest of Obama’s monument designations clocks in at a modest 1.6 million acres! Mojave Trails National Monument is home to a variety of desert destinations, including colorful canyons, striking mountain ranges, sand dunes, and even fossil beds containing 550-million-year-old trilobite remnants!
Read the full storyStorm the Castle
Castle Mountains National Monument
Before President Obama channeled Teddy Roosevelt, the Mojave National Preserve was missing a key piece bordering Nevada in the northeast section of the park. This now conserved 21,000-acre parcel is protected and designated as the Castle Mountains National Monument after its namesake range.
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