Red Rock Canyon State Park

Red Rock Canyon State Park features spectacular desert cliffs, buttes and rock formations where the southern Sierra Nevada mountains meet the Moajve Desert. Here fluted cliffs with colorful layers of white, pink, and brown that grace both sides of Highway 14 resulted from wind and rain eroding softer sedimentary rocks beneath the hard, dark caprock of an ancient lava flow.

• From Bakersfield take Highway 58 to Tehachapi, pass through the canyon with the windmills, take the California City Exit, and head north.
• Continue on two-line road a short distance and turn north (left) at a T-intersection onto Highway 14.
• After 25 miles, the highway enters Red Rock Canyon. Midway through the canyon look for an exit to the left for the Ricardo Visitor Center. Follow the paved road a couple of miles to the visitor center, then continue on dirt road to the camp area at the base of the obvious cliffs.