Boulder Oasis.

Hello everyone! This is a friendly reminder that any of these fun places we may visit, we are a guest at. Please treat both businesses and trails with the utmost respect. We here at Hidden California follow the 'Leave no Trace' mantra, meaning whatever you bring with you comes back with you. If you see trash on a trail, please do your part to help remove it. Remember, we are not picking up trash from another person but instead cleaning up for Mother Nature. Happy adventures!

This is a private residence that the owner prefers one to stumble upon vs. being given directions

Personal Experience: Deep in the desert lays what can only be described as a magical boulder oasis. Unless you have been tipped off on how to find this sanctuary, you would most likely never know which dusty road may lead you there.

Even then, there are many specific twists and turns & one dirt road after another that will make you wonder if you’re going the right way even when you DO have directions!

When we arrived there was an immediate sense that we were amongst something special. Scattered across thousands and thousands of gigantic boulders were various dwellings that looked straight out of the movie the Hobbit. Yurts, caves, exotic birds, outdoor mosaic pools, boulder saunas, etc.

When we arrived we met with the owner and were told that we were welcome to explore anywhere we wanted. We were even told we could camp here, which we did! What an amazing weekend we had! Every opportunity I am blessed to meet people who are living off the grid, whom are self-sustaining, practice permaculture and/or building their own homes I feel a little growth in myself. Hopefully these photos will help inspire you too!

If you do find your way out here, please do not come empty-handed. They are living off the grid in a form of survivalist mode. “Money, garden hoses and wild bird seed is what is most appreciated” the owner has said. A lot of other offerings are unnecessary material items that they have no need for.

My friend summed up the experience perfectly, so I will share what she wrote: “I don’t even know how to describe last night. I am humbled and I am beyond grateful. Ventured to Joshua Tree with friends without much of a game plan. We didn’t know where we would be camping, but we had a ton of food and fire hoops. Then, we ended up here- where a man who spent a good chunk of his life living on the street started over in the middle of nowhere, living in a tipi, taking in stray dogs, making art out of trash, running his own greenhouse, raising his own chickens and peacocks and plenty of other creatures… He let us stay here free of charge.

We made dinner for him, his friends and his pit bull, Red. We spun fire with the most inspirational humans I believe I’ve ever talked to and learned about sustainability. A man who lives in a trailer nearby makes his own “cure all” body creams out of local and organic herbs and cannabis. He sells it at dispensaries in North County and he gave me an entire jar for the poison oak that I have yet again. Someone who had just met me, who doesn’t have much, and he still gave me what he had simply because I said something about having poison oak. Every wildflower in the desert was in bloom. So grateful. I’ll remember last night and those people until I die.”