Experience The Remarkable Vasquez Rocks Just Outside LA
Living in the city of Los Angeles, or spending too much time within it’s busy streets, can be downright exhausting. Trust us, we know firsthand.
Residing 3 years in the heart of Koreatown, we frequently find ourselves craving more and more time away in nature. It’s out there we participate in exercise, breathes of fresh air, and most importantly, relaxing the mind and soul. A by product of just being present in a natural environment.
One spot we often visit that completely satisfies this need is surprisingly not too far from home. A beautiful desert park that holds one of southern California’s most unique geological rock formations, surrounded by scenic hillsides, and veins of interweaving trails.
We’re talking about Vasquez Rocks Natural Area Park – a wonderful desert escape right outside the city of Santa Clarita.
🌻 Our content may contain affiliate links. If clicked through to make a purchase, the price remains the same for you and we will earn a small commission. This helps us to continue creating useful and valuable content for you and other visitors. 💜What is Vasquez Rocks and How Did It Get Here?
The 932-acre grounds of Vasquez Rocks Natural Area Park is well known and admired most for its distinctive geological rock formations.
Upon entering the park, you’ll immediately see the incredible Vasquez Rocks. Massive layers of jagged rock erupting from the earth that extend upward at almost a 45° angle. Something that literally looks straight out of a sci-fi flick.
So what’s the story behind these odd formations? Vasquez Rocks are basically large sandstone rock formations that were uplifted out of the earth along the San Andreas Fault. From being so close to the fault line, tectonic activity has been a huge factor in the reshaping, uplift, and exposure of the buried sandstone.
These strange rock formations create a picturesque and otherworldly landscape that draws in tons of visitors, both hikers and city-folk alike.
Interestingly, these formations are also extremely similar to the red rock formations at Garden of the Gods in Colorado. How cool to find such a remarkable geological feature so close to home!
Vasquez Rocks Park Info/Location
As we said before, Vasquez Rocks is a convenient park to visit if you’re not looking to venture too far from the city.
Technically, the park resides in the small town of Agua Dulce, but is only 15 minutes away from the city of Santa Clarita. From Los Angeles, you can expect a 30-45 minute drive north of the city to reach the park. Nice.
As one of our top 17 Beautiful Nature-Fueled Day Trips from Los Angeles, we’ve visited this park many times. Mainly to satisfy our nature craving when we only have half the day or less.
If visiting from out of town, the closest and best place for overnight lodging would be in Santa Clarita. It’s also home to the popular roller-coaster theme park, Six Flags Magic Mountain. A 2 for 1 weekend banger for those staying in the area! (Just don’t forget to ride X2, easily the best coaster we’ve ever ridden)
But if you’re also here to see the big city, then finding lodging in Los Angeles is your next best option.
Vasquez Rocks Natural Area Address: 10700 W. Escondido Canyon Rd. Santa Clarita, CA 91390
Park Hours: (times subject to change)
- Sunrise to Sunset
- 8:00am – 7:00pm (May 1 – September 15)
- 8:00am – 5:00pm (September 16 – March 9)
- Nature Center – 8:00am – 4:00pm
Coming from LA, take Highway 14 north and exit at Agua Dulce Canyon Road. Turn left and follow Agua Dulce Canyon Road for 1.5 miles till it veers right and turns into Escondido Canyon Road. Head down for just 0.5 miles more and Vasquez Rocks Natural Area Park will be on your right.
After turning in and going past the gate, you’ll see the nature center on your right. We recommend stopping in to obtain a trail map, read the exhibits, and take a gander at a few of the insects & reptiles they have inside on display.
Explore The Iconic Vasquez Rocks
Alright, now that you’ve seen the nature center, it’s time to get into the park and start exploring!
Continue down the dirt road from which you came in. There’s only 1 road in the park so it’s impossible to get lost. You’ll see multiple parking lots alongside the road where you can park. Or drive straight back till you reach the towering rock formations and the largest parking lot. This is where the road ends.
Basically once you step out of your vehicle, you’re already standing below the mighty Vasquez Rocks. From the base looking up, these formations are truly incredible. Layers upon layers of thick jagged sandstone stretching up towards the sky, casting a heavy shadow down on everyone and everything below.
CLIMBING ATOP THE SANDSTONE PEAKS
To our surprise, the park allows visitors to climb all the way up to the top of the formations with zero restrictions. We saw people scattered around the base, the middle, and a few others at the very tip-top of the highest peak.
The texture of the sandstone is very grippy, making it fairly easy to climb. We recommend closed toed shoes and of course proper hiking shoes for this type of activity. You can get away with sneakers, but hiking shoes are a much safer bet.
If you decide to climb (which we hope you do), exercise caution as there are no handrails, guardrails, or any sort of safety net when climbing up to the top. For those wanting to reach the very top, it’s a steep drop on the other side so please be mindful and watch your footing.
We climbed up the largest of the formations, about 3/4 of the way to the top. Overall it was fairly easy! A bit steep and crumbly in certain parts, but nothing too difficult if you take your time.
From up top, the breeze feels great and the high vantage point provides great views of the surrounding land.
DID YOU KNOW?
Because of the unearthly landscape, Vasquez Rocks has actually been filmed in a ton of movies and television shows! Originally it was used for western films, but overtime it evolved into a frequent spot for sci-fi movies. Most popular being the Star Trek movies.
Read more about the location’s film history and full list of movies/television shows that were filmed at the park at The Agua Dulce History Project.
Besides filming, Vasquez Rocks is also very popular for photo shoots. We’ve seen models posing all over the terrain, engagement photos for couples, and many more utilizing the scenic environment.
WE even had our engagement photo shoot here!
Photo credit: Nicole De Anda Photography
Wander The Many Hiking Trails
Outside of the rock formations, Vasquez Rocks Natural Area Park has many scattered hiking trails. Amazingly even the Pacific Coast Trail, which goes from Canada to Mexico, runs right through the park!
Grabbing a trail map at the nature center will help with navigating your way, but you can honestly go without. Just simply pick a trail and wander.
Don’t worry about getting lost as you can visibly see the tall Vasquez Rocks along most of the trails. This makes it easy to navigate back and gives you a general sense of direction.
Best of all – the hiking trails have little foot traffic compared to the number of people surrounding the Vasquez Rocks. If you’re wanting some solitude, the trails are where it’s at.
If you choose to hike, make sure you bring a daypack or hiking backpack with the proper essentials & enough water to stay hydrated. It’s good to always be prepared even if you’re not hiking too far from your car.
OUR PREFERRED ROUTE ALONG THE PCT
We have a favorite loop route that we usually hike when we visit. It begins on the PCT up on a higher ridge line, then takes you back down into the lower sections of the rocky landscape behind Vasquez Rocks. See below map for our specific trail route.
The beginning of the trail starts with the PCT, which you can find at the very back of the 2 last parking lots near Vasquez Rocks.
Along the first portion of the PCT, you’ll be on a taller ridge where you can see excellent views of Vasquez Rocks off to the right. All while you wander through a gorgeous landscape of desert foliage, hillsides, and a few scattered trees. This upper portion is my favorite part of the hike.
During the spring, this trail becomes to life with greenery. The dusty brown terrain turns to light green as it became filled with small plant life.
We loved the lush landscape so much we stopped under a tree, laid on the ground, and enjoyed the wonderful views of Vasquez Rocks off in the distance.
After following the PCT for a little while, the trail starts to slope down. Once you near the bottom, you’ll reach a junction. Continue left to hike further or turn right which will take you back towards Vasquez Rocks.
If you go further, the trail takes you up and around the rocky hillside where you can find a different way to loop back.
Unfortunately, there’s no specific trail names for these tiny pathways so I can’t easily clarify. But as we said before, just use the rock formations as your home base and follow the way back in that general direction.
THE BACKSIDE OF VASQUEZ ROCKS
Once you’re done hiking the PCT portion, the trails continue along towards the backside of Vasquez Rocks.
There’s lots of intermingling paths you can take in this back area. Overall it’s mainly desert brush, a few unique rock structures, and some small peaks you climb up.
Even though the scenery doesn’t change much, the hiking trails offer a lovely walk through the other beautiful regions of this expansive park.
Escape The City Into A Surreal Desert Environment at Vasquez Rocks
For those craving outdoor adventure near Los Angeles, you must check out the spectacular Vasquez Rocks Natural Area Park. An almost 100-acre park filled with stunning landscapes, various trails, and extraordinary geological rock formations.
This park draws in desert lovers, hikers, photographers, and people from all backgrounds. Many who simply want to take in the landscape of the rocks or those who want to hike and enjoy some time exploring nature. Experience your surroundings best by scrambling up to the top of the rocks and by roaming the many conjoining trails.
I don’t know about you, but I think a day filled with hiking and rock climbing is a day well spent. Vasquez Rocks is certainly hard to beat.
For more beautiful desert locations in the area, check out post on our 8 Best Desert Spots in Southern California! Spots we’ve visited time and time again and showcase California’s scenic desert region.
Have you been to Vasquez Rocks before? What do you like doing during your visit? Tell us in the comments below!
Like this? Pin it!
