Half an hour into the park, Park Boulevard winds into the heart of the boulder country, and the landscape becomes almost absurd. Piles of rounded granite rocks, some the size of houses, rise out of the desert floor among the Joshua trees, stacked and balanced as if a giant had been playing with them.
The rocks are monzogranite, which formed deep underground as molten rock cooled more than a hundred million years ago. Water seeping through cracks rounded off the corners, and when the softer material around them eroded away, the boulders were left standing in heaps. Climbers have been coming here for decades, and on a winter weekend you will see brightly clothed figures on almost every rock face, with ropes and crash pads everywhere.
Hidden Valley is a short, easy loop trail through a natural enclosure of rocks that, according to local stories, was used by cattle rustlers to hide stolen livestock in the late nineteenth century. It is a lovely walk, about a kilometre and a half, with interpretive signs and plenty of Joshua trees and junipers. Nearby, Barker Dam is a small reservoir built by ranchers, which sometimes holds water and attracts birds and bighorn sheep, and there are petroglyphs on the rocks along the trail.
The road through this section is narrow and winding, with low speed limits and lots of parked cars. It is not a place for fast riding, but the curves are gentle and the scenery is extraordinary. Watch out for people walking along the road, cars pulling out of parking areas, and the occasional desert tortoise crossing the asphalt, a protected species that you must not disturb.
Inside the park you can buy nothing at all, and water is found only at the visitor centres and a few campgrounds. Bring everything you need, and be aware that mobile phone coverage is patchy. The best light is early morning and late afternoon, when the rocks glow orange and the shadows are long. At night the sky is very dark, and the stars are spectacular.