Barker Dam and Wonderland of Rocks

One of the marvels of Joshua Tree National Park is the Wonderland of Rocks, 12 square miles of massive, jumbled granite. This fantastic labyrinth conceals groves of Joshua trees, trackless washes, and pockets of water that seem as improbable as a mirage.

The easiest – and certainly the safest – way to experience the Wonderland is to follow the Barker Dam Nature Trail. It highlights the unique plants that manage to thrive in this desert and brings you to one of the park’s most famous man-made features: Barker Dam.

A century ago, cowboys discovered that this natural basin could be harnessed to water their cattle. The Barker and Shay Cattle Company built the original dam, and later, Bill Keys and his family raised it to its current height in the 1950s. The little lake behind the dam remains a rare desert watering hole, attracting not only birds and wildlife but also generations of curious hikers.

That placid pool tells a lot of stories if you listen. Ranching days linger in the stonework and in the old trough nearby; birds broadcast the daily schedule; and on still mornings the Wonderland of Rocks duplicates itself in the mirror of the water, a granite Rorschach for anyone in need of desert therapy. The nature trail does a fine job of naming the players: turbinella oak, juniper, pinyon, and the hardy shrubs that turn a khaki landscape into a living one.

You’ll pass Piano Rock – proof that desert entertainment once required a team, a plan, and questionable judgment. Someone actually hauled an upright up there for impromptu concerts. Nearby petroglyphs tell of far older gatherings: designs pecked into rock by Native peoples who navigated this country long before cowboys and campers. (A film crew later “enhanced” the figures with paint so the camera could see them better, an action that ranks high on the list of Things We Wouldn’t Do Today.)

The great seduction of the Wonderland is its labyrinth. Step ten feet off-route and the boulders begin to rhyme with one another; every corridor looks promising, and half of them don’t go. The Barker Dam loop is the perfect compromise – safe, signed, and still full of discovery.