5 Deserts In The USA To Visit That Won’t Disappoint
They are often thought of as barren, uninhabitable wastelands. But deserts offer some of the most beautiful and unique landscapes with miles of sand, weathered cliffs and distinctive plant life.
In the United States, there are four major desert ranges - the Chihuahuan Desert, the Mojave Desert, the Great Basin Desert, and the Sonoran Desert. They all offer incredible scenery and breathtaking views to be enjoyed and appreciated. Here’s a list of the best 5 deserts to visit in the US.
With its close proximity to two of Utah’s most popular national parks - Canyonlands National Park and Arches National Park, Moab is a perfect destination to explore the desert wilderness and see incredible red rock formations.
It’s a popular tourist destination with many activities to do such as hiking, off-roading, rafting, and cross-country skiing. In addition, Moab is also regarded as one of the world’s best places for mountain biking.
2. Big Bend National Park, Texas
Everything’s bigger in Texas and at over 800,000 acres, Big Bend National Park is no exception. It’s a beautiful part of the Chihuahuan Desert with deep canyons, yucca plants, and the powerful Rio Grande river that sweeps through on its way to the Gulf of Mexico.
The park is very isolated, located in the area of far west Texas, with the nearest city 200 miles north. It’s a great place for challenging hikes with the Chisos Mountains providing high-alpine terrain and mountain summits. Overlanding and backcountry camping is also some of the best in the United States while the Rio Grande provides an excellent river for rafting.
Due to its remoteness, the park is visited by less than half a million people each year. The month of March is the busiest time for tourists because of spring, but the rest of the year, the park is seldom crowded. So long as you visit safely with enough provisions, you’ll be able to enjoy a beautiful desert landscape mostly to yourself.
Bend is in the high desert region of the state, located east of the Cascade Range and south of the Blue Mountains. It’s a semi-arid landscape with sunny days, cool nights, and low annual precipitation. The area is a fantastic location for nature lovers to visit in both summer and winter with its scenic mountains and rich forests.
There are plenty of activities to partake in year-round including hiking, mountain biking, rock climbing, and skiing. You can even take a helicopter ride over the landscape to get a complete picture of the areas full beauty.
4. Joshua Tree National Park, California
A two-and-a-half hour drive from Los Angeles, Joshua Tree National Park is named after the famous trees that fill it. They are only found in and around the Mojave Desert region making the park one of the few places to see these rare trees.
Joshua Tree is well known for the numerous boulders throughout the park making it a popular spot for climbers. Skull Rock and Arch Rock are two of the parks most well known rocks for climbing.
The park is also a great place for camping with 500 sites to choose from. In addition to camping, there are several hiking trails to explore that range from easy to difficult.
Explore one of the only deserts on the East Coast of the United States with the Desert Of Maine. It’s not your typical desert, it was formed after the Tuttle family farmed and overgrazed the land in the mid-19th century. What started as a small patch of sand gradually spread until it took over the entire farm and eventually became a popular local feature and tourist attraction.
The site offers tours, both guided and self-guided that present the deserts full history. You can walk on the surrounding nature trails or stay at the parks campground which has been recently renovated. There’s also the newly excavated spring house that had been buried since WWII under 25ft of sand to check out.
Conclusion
So for your next desert adventure, be sure to check out these 5 locations to see all the beauty and splendor of these incredible landscapes!
