Known for it's Joshua and Juniper Trees, Arthur B. Ripley Woodland State Park is located about an hour away from Santa Monica in Lancaster. We drove out here to see the Poppy Reserve which is located right down the road, but unfortunately, we did not receive enough rain this past winter and there are no poppies to be seen. We decided to go to Arthur B. Ripley Woodland State Park which was right down the road. It's tough to find the entrance, so it's best to keep an eye on your odometer or GPS as you approach the entrance, which is literally a metal gate. There is no parking lot, you can pull over and park your car along the side of the road. This park was nice and it was wonderful to see the Joshua Trees and Juniper Trees, but there isn't much more than that to see, and the walking trail was very short. The coolest part of this trip for us was taking advantage of the empty stretch of dessert road to take some pictures in the middle of the road. I would definitely make the stop if you are going to the Poppy Reserve, but otherwise it's not worth the long drive.
