Barker Dam Nature Trail Loop, Joshua Tree National Park

Date	Distance	Time	Elevation Gain	Average Moving Time	Year to Date Miles
1/5/2018	1.1 miles				41.5

Map: National Geographic Joshua Tree Map
Guide book: Hiking Joshua Tree National Park, a Falcon Guide
Directions: Hike #32 in guide book, Barker Dam Nature Trail Loop

This is one hike I still really wanted to do. It's an area where you might see Bighorn sheep, and there are also petroglyphs there. Other areas in the park have petroglyphs, but I don't believe they advertise them. This hike is very popular and crowded. It's hard to imagine sheep coming here, because of all of the people. We arrived at the dam, which was a pretty big pond. Just like at the Whitewater Preserve, there was some fall foliage here. Its so strange to see this much water in the desert. There were even ducks in the pond. It would have been nice to take a long break there, but there were just way too many people to make it relaxing. We continued on. I hadn't brought the guide book with me, and had no idea where the petroglyphs were. I kept my eyes peeled for sheep (we saw none) and the petroglyphs (there ended up being a sign for them, so no need to worry). We stopped and visited the petroglyphs, which were fabulous. This was an easy hike.