If you've driven Interstate 10 between Desert Center and Blythe, California, you've probably seen…read morethe Corn Springs exit. You may have then asked why? There's no gas station, no houses, no ghost town, no structures of any kind -- nothing. If you have time for a little adventure before you head to wherever it is that you brought you to Interstate 10 in the first place, then stop on the south side of the Corn Springs exit and take the Corn Springs dirt road for eight miles into the mountain valley. (Any car can handle it.) There, you'll find a thirsting remnant of a once vibrant oasis that was home to the Cahuilla people. In short order, you can check out the petroglyphs and the cluster of palm trees that have seen better days. Most of the petroglyphs here are abstract, but if you look carefully you might see some primitive hunter-and-bighorn sheep images, too. Layered over and near some of these images are unfortunate instances of more modern day graffiti. There are no brochures or park rangers here; just a few plaques and numbered poles that don't provide enough clues to put the pieces together. If you have time to spend the night, a Spring evening here is beautiful as the sun sets. It's very peaceful, too, unless some redneck is shooting up a metal sign or beer cans or liquor bottles. Waking up the next morning to the calls of many different birds is refreshing. A short hike in the vicinity of the palm trees and petroglyphs reveals occasional bursts of colorful flowers. July, when the temperature easily reaches 108 degrees and touching the rocks will burn your skin off, is not the best time to see Corn Springs. The heat blazes, there's no water, little shade, and even the large campground is empty. Your vehicle will melt into the ground. If one of the Border Patrol/military aircraft that routinely flies this area sees you, it may circle above you for a while until it realizes you're just a dumb gringo. (Yeah, that was me.) Corn Springs frustrates my curiosity because the area has a haunting residue that suggests so much more went on here than the few details left can now tell us. Well, now you know why there is a Corn Springs exit. You have time for this. You really do.

Corn Spring/Springs (it's spelled both way on signs) is an easily accessible BLM campsite whose…read moredominant feature is a stand of palms that have seen better days. Some kind of disease seems to be slowly stripping them of their fronds but the campsite remains a fine place for car and tent camping that puts you within about an hour of the Cottonwood Springs entrance to Joshua Tree National Park. A wide, smooth dirt road takes you to Corn Spring about eight miles into the Chuckwalla Mountains to the west of Interstate 10. There are about 10 individual campsites with fire rings and pole-mounted charcoal grills. Some sites have nice metal canopies over a concrete picnic bench; you definitely want that while desert camping. There are two septic tank bathrooms that are absolutely five-star facilities in the world of BLM camping. They're clean, well-maintained and odorless. Someone is obviously taking good care of these babies. The other notable feature of Corn Spring is, of course, the petroglyphs that can be seen among the rocks lining either side of the dirt road as you approach the campsite. They're most easily seen on the western side. Apparently there are better petroglyphs among the rocks to the east if you do a little boulder scrambling, but we didn't try. They're interesting, not too spectacular and are unfortunately mixed in with latter-day petroglyphs along the line of "Mike" and "George R 43." No one has yet tried to bomb them with spray paint. There are no interpretive signs so you'll have to do your own research. Maybe their origin is unknown. This is the first desert campsite I've used where I have actually come upon bighorn sheep. There were four of them standing on the ridge line along the dirt road on a November afternoon, gazing down upon us like they owned the place. Which they did. It's also the only desert campsite where, at 1 in the morning, I was awakened by the rumble of engines that seemed to surround us like a raiding party. After hearing the collective idle of engines outside our tents for about five minutes, I opened a flap to discover the military had invaded Corn Spring. Or at least a National Guard contingent on night maneuvers. There were about five armored Humvees, each with a large automatic machine gun atop, all accompanied by militarized ATVs. it was cool and a bit scary at the same. Apparently they were taking a potty break, using the aforementioned great bathrooms. We've camped at Mojave National Preserve, Death Valley, Panamint Valley, Rainbow Basin near Barstow, Valley of Fire east of Vegas, Whitney Pockets east of Vegas, Afton Canyon in Mojave and several other places. Corn Spring stacks up well as desert campsite, with ample opportunities for hikes, wildlife viewing and general desert exploration. I highly recommend it if Joshua Tree sites are full or when the weather's cold at the National Park. It's $6 a night per vehicle, payable via envelopes and metal mailbox. There's good-tasting water available via a hand-operated pump. Quite charming. Services are available about 25 miles away at Chiriaco Summit, west on I-10

There is only one negative thing about this area, and let's get it out of the way at the top:…read more You need a high clearance vehicle to really experience this place. There are amazing places to camp, hike, and climb in here but make sure your vehicle has at least 7.5" of clearance (more is always better) or else you're definitely going to get some body-scraping going on. If you're renting a car to come out here, some sort of jeep (or a Tacoma) is probably going to be your best bet. You don't really need 4 wheel drive or all wheel drive, you just need to have your undercarriage up above the ground. Once you get in here though, there's some incredible stuff! I hiked/scrambled to the summits of (you can find my GPS files for your mapping software at the links below): Castle Dome Peak: https://peakbagger.com/peak.aspx?pid=4071 Ten Ewe Mountain: https://peakbagger.com/peak.aspx?pid=35522 Signal Peak: https://peakbagger.com/peak.aspx?pid=4066 There's also some really great stargazing in here, and lots of spots to pull over and have a campout. This is one of the better places for boondocking in the US provided, again, that you have the clearance. And since this is a merely a National "Wildlife Refuge" rather than a National "Park", it's effectively free and not very crowded. I only saw one other person (and his dog) in the mountains.

~ Crystal Hill Review ~…read more To get to the Kofa National Wildlife Refuge's Crystal Hill just look for the turn-off sign just past the 95 mile marker ( off the State Route 95). You will then have to drive 6 miles down a dirt and rocky road.. It's tough sledding (15 mph), but most cars can made it if they avoid the large rocks and go slow. I even saw a compact car make this. About halfway down the dirt road you'll see the official Kofa Park sign and Trailhead.. You'll then keep going for 2.5 miles until you're next to a small mountain / hill on your left. Hopefully there are RVs camping so you know you're at the right place. Just turn LEFT into the campground toward the bottom of the mountain/hill. There are several pullouts ( campsites) here, so park and walk towards the hill. There are a few trails up, all with white signs telling you that no digging tools are allowed on the hill. Walk up the trail and make your way to the top. Please feel free to go off trail as you please. The best finds are off the main trails so explore everywhere. Crystal Hill is very family friendly and you're going to find quartz ( mostly white) everywhere. The clear crystal points (very tough to find) can be found if you really look hard off-trail. Remember, limit of 10. TIPS - - 10 rock limit or 10 pounds.. whichever comes first.. - Most people collect then leave their spoils in a pile for others to find.. This helps out younger rockhounds find cool specimens. - The top is pure tailing, but the midway point on the North West side has some good locations for the cool stuff. - If you see small holes in the hillside those might be illegal mines. Small, but you or your kids can crawl in and take a look. Bring a flashlight.

A beautiful Wildlife Refuge with a drive-loop and a nature trail. On the border of California and…read moreArizona about a hour from Yuma. We did not get to actually go inside Visitor Center as it was closed for the season, so plan ahead as it is not really close to much of anything except the great outdoors. There are pit toilets near the nature trail if needed. The loop drive is very nice along open fields where there are burrowing Owls habitats (did not see any) We missed the wintering birds by a couple weeks. We did see this beautiful American Kestrel hanging out overlooking the fields.

Refuge for wildlife, fishing hunting and something for everyone Swimming & free camping Dune buggy…read morein the winter. Bible study and exercise much needed. Breathtaking mountain views! Although, the Sunrise and sunsets r totally amazing.

10/16/2013 My friend…read moreand I were out there today, We headed out from the Palo Verde side, The mine is abandoned and road is impassable regardless of vehicle, even 4x4. They have had a series of storms that have washed the road out. I have no idea of the road conditions coming from the north. We got within about a half a mile and it was not easy. There are issues the whole 9 miles out...huge amounts of sand (we had to dig ourselves out twice), and multiple sections washed out. I absolutely do not recommend driving this road. The mine is not open anyways. We hiked up the last 1/2 mile and the place was empty and looked like it had been completely ransacked. Windows are shot out and broken, trash and materials are everywhere. Im not kidding this place is trashed. It looks like it was abandoned and vandalized long ago. We asked some nice folks in town and they said the owners left over a year ago because the roads were impassable. I can attest to that.

We had some laughs,learning how to chisel,ouch and learningnforbtwo days how to get these beautiful…read morefire agates out of the mine. My husband,Bill had the best time was so enthusiastic once he saw the bulb errors piece exposed and how he was going to get it out. He kept discovering more veins of the red agates.

Fun hike that was on the drive back for us. Really wanted to do 49 palms but had no time and this…read morelooked like an interested hike. If we didn't have a senior citizen and 2 kids with us we would have gone for the whole thing. It's a long 7.5 mile hike if you want but we weren't able to get too far into it because of timing but the nice thing is the giant palms are right in the beginning! Here are some nice things you can see without getting too far deep: -The palms right at the beginning, if you go a little past them there is a small path where you can get right into the middle of them and climb up a little platform into a totally "secret" and secluded area. I would go into here and not just look at it from the outside. -On the right side there are stones that Native Americans used to use for grinding down seeds, herbs, etc... You can find these distinct holes and get right up to them. -The desert plants are amazing at the beginning of the hike, some we didn't see anywhere else at Joshua Tree.

+ Cool place to encounter a real oasis and a closed mine. So…read moreglad I do my research before embarking on my adventure, so I can anticipate cool attractions such as this hiking trail. Surprised to witness so much greenery and shade in the middle of the desert, as well as mines, a glimpse into history. + Plenty of parking.

Such a great hike!!!!! I love that the beginning of the hike is paved. I have seen rattlesnakes…read morequite a few times there so just keep an eye out ;) great cardio and love sitting on the bench up top! When you get about halfway up, you will see a little fenced area and some Hohokam petroglyphs ;)

No bar at the top, was totally disappointed! I wanted to drink a cold alcoholic beverage when I got…read moreto the summit.

Grateful for the well paved footpath to show you around the cholla cacti and keep guests a safe…read moredistance away from those gnarly jumping spikeballs. It's a short peaceful walk. Gets a good amount of visitation. Little to no shade.

The best spot in Joshua Tree National Park! Sunrise is an…read moreabsolute MUST, one of the most beautiful i've seen! Walking around the cacti is trully magical any time of the day. Only downside no restrooms or water nearby so come prepared.

Wow what a trail! If you are in lake Havasu city and love hiking, then you can't miss this place!…read moreIt is well marked and easy to navigate. There are trails for different levels.

Hiked the Crack in the Mountain twice. People on the trail were all so friendly and helpful…read more Trails so well marked I couldn't get lost by myself. Sara's Park is the greatest community asset I have ever seen.

It is gust great. For family and it is so entering! And you should go check it out! They have…read moreamazing Hicks's you get a really big camp site

Stayed in campground site 111. Very nice new upper loop. Full hook ups. Unfortunately not many of…read morethe sites are level. We needed 50 amp due to heatwave 100 plus weather. A real challenge to get a class A motorhome level. You would think when making a new campground the sites would be level. Most sites short only 37 ft. Today's rvs are much larger. If you have a trailer it easier to level. Most staff very helpful but the main ranger thinks he is a drill sergeant with attitude. We wanted to see the actual park before coming as this new loop we had never seen. We were at another state park and had reservations for this park. No way. You have to pick off the website that does not show accurately the way you will face. So our site got all afternoon sun. We couldn't even enjoy the outside with such hot conditions. Five star campground if sites were level and the jerk ranger wasn't here.