Desert Horses

Welcome to my horse blog, Desert Horses. We live in the desert southwest, near Palm Springs, CA, but board our horses up in our local mountains where it is cooler in the summer. I have 4 horses, all rescues. Here is the ranch up the mountains where the horses stay.

Thursday, April 9, 2015

Spring Mountain Ranch state park

Yesterday morning we drove out to Red Rock Canyon, but instead of heading directly to the scenic drive there, we stopped at the state park, Spring mountain Ranch.  There is a $9.00 fee for non-Nevada residents, so I slipped our money into the envelope, tore off my part of the receipt, and off we went.  Neither one of us had ever been there fore.  What a treat!

We went to the end of the road, at the ranch, parked, and hiked up the 1/4 mile trail.  Along the way, there is a pond with ducks and then you angle down into the ranch.  It felt SO GOOD to get out and hike again!  There are steps going up to the top of a little mesa (we did have to stop and get our breath!), but once on top, the walking was easy.  And, the views were fantastic!  Clouds were gathering overhead and off in the distance we could see rain, and it did get dark at several spots.  It was also 50 degrees and WINDY!  I kept my sweatshirt on all day.

Here are some photos I took from the Spring Mountain state park:

 Driving up to the ranch...
 Hiking the trail to the top of the mesa...
 Those colored boulders were at the top, so it wasn't a hard hike...good for us "old folks"!
 From the top, you angle down to their pond.  Very peaceful there.

 The pond...
 Walking through the old ranch buildings.
 Wouldn't you LOVE to live here?  I would!
Leaving the ranch...I LOVED stopping here!

2 comments:

C-ingspots said...

Looks like a great outing, and the scenery is beautiful. Very different from where I live. I feel so good when hiking too, feels good to get the blood pumping. My hubby isn't much of a hiker though...bummer, but I have my dog. Looks like you're having a great trip!

Wilbert Bowers said...

What an amazing place to live. I love the Palm Springs area. I appreciate how you posted different angles and different pictures. Really gives a good idea of how things are there. Horses, great weather and your own Mesa? So Jealous. I'd love to see more of the horses in the future.

Wilbert Bowers @ Mirr Ranch Group