Pudgy Buffalo

Highlights:

• 1.4 miles (2.3 km) / easy
• Arch Rock formation
• Nature trail with interpretive signs

Overview: Let your imagination run wild as your eyes feast upon a smorgasbord of boulders of all shapes and sizes on this hike to Arch Rock! Arch Rock Trail is an easy 1.4-mile (2.3 km) out-and-back hike with a small lollipop loop at the end which leads to famous Arch Rock. The relatively flat trail ambles down a sandy path and then loops up in a scramble over rocks to the arching 30-foot (9 m) rock. Along the way, educational placards spotlight the area’s unique geology. This trail is great for casual explorers, adventurous families, photo bugs, night owls, and anyone who wants to see a really cool desert landscape.

Hike It: Find the Arch Rock trailhead at the southern end of the Twin Tanks parking area. Follow the path through the wooden fences to meet the junction with the California Riding and Hiking Trail (CRHT). Take a left onto the CRHT and cross over Pinto Basin Road at the crosswalk. After crossing the road, diverge from the CRHT by heading east (right) towards Arch Rock.

Amble through the open desert, heading east-southeast down the sandy rock-lined trail towards the rock stacks. The desert here is carpeted with creosote, jojoba, pencil chollas, silver chollas, and some small Joshua trees. Beyond this tract of desert, the Pinto Mountains rise up to the east, behind the granitic rock formations. Arch Rock Trail is a great place to learn about the White Tank granite that makes up Joshua Tree’s famous rocks, and how erosion created the natural arch.

.4 miles from Pinto Basin Road, the path reaches the loop. Time to find your footing and put on your best explorer’s fedora—it’s about to get cinematic. Follow the rocky loop to the right (counterclockwise) as it climbs up the boulder stacks, over rock beds and up rock-cut steps. Although the loop is only .2 miles long, it packs a lot of fun as it scrambles around the side of Arch Rock, which arcs in the middle of the loop. (Note that the small road to the south of the loop is part of White Tank Campground.)

When you reach your destination, capture the spirit of exploration with a photo under the arch. Arch Rock is also a hot spot for night photographers looking for sublime starry shots framed against the rock’s dramatic span.

Take a moment to explore this fun rock corridor, which at times can feel like climbing atop the fossilized spine of a stegosaurus. Watch out for a boulder lodged in a craggy chute ready to be launched at nosy archaeologists with one misstep, and see if you can spot the formation signaling to hikers that everything is going to be a-ok. Arch Rock is an excellent place to let your imagination take the lead as the formations morph into sea creatures and cartoon characters all around the trail.

Continuing on Arch Rock loop, the trail passes a giant boulder with a hooked overhang. This boulder is an excellent example of weathering. Water trapped in soil erodes the rock’s minerals, wearing them away. Since water evaporates more slowly in shadier areas, these areas have a greater opportunity for erosion. Indeed, the boulder here is eroded on its shady side.

Enjoy exploring Arch Rock, its wild formations and unique geology, and when you’re ready, complete the loop and follow the trail back the way you came to the parking area.