Vasquez Rocks Park in Agua Dulce

Here’s a unique place that you might recognize from some episodes of Star Trek and even one of their movies, Vasquez Rocks Natural Area Park. Located about 40 minutes north of downtown Los Angeles in Agua Dulce. With unique rock formations and lots of trails to hike and explore, this place turned out to be a fun day trip for my wife and me. One can easily spend a few hours hiking and climbing these rock formations, and that’s exactly what we did. But there’s a few things you must know about getting to Vasquez Rocks and how to make the most of your trip.

Lets talk about the parking. Many people park at the parking lot at that visitor center, which gets full quickly, especially on the weekends. Some people park out on the street, I wouldn’t do that nor is it necessary, I think some do because they see the parking lot full and don’t realize there is much more and better parking deeper inside. To find the larger parking or staging area, make sure to make a left as soon as you enter the park, (to the right is the visitor center parking) heading left on a dirt road will lead you to a smaller parking area, skip that area too unless you plan on visiting the center, instead continue on the dirt road (most all cars have enough clearance to drive through it) stay on the right and soon you will arrive at the large staging/parking area (also the site of the Star Trek filming site) and you can see the large rock formation to the right of you. Park wherever you want on the side.

If you want to experience this place with minimal crowds then go during the week. You will see a lot less hikers on a weekday than on a weekend. And on holiday weekends, well it will be crowds galore, the photo above was taken on a Saturday new years weekend, so that’s why you see so many people out climbing the rocks above.

As for climbing the rocks, all I can say is be careful, take your time and be aware that like anything you do in nature, there are risks and know that climbing any rocks is risky. So know your limits. Wear some good hiking shoes, take plenty of water and have fun. Oh yeah and best time to visit is during the fall/winter/spring months as summer gets really hot there. As for amenities, down near the bigger rock formations there are porta potties and in some areas picnic tables. I suggest you bring your own water and food as they don’t sell any there or anywhere near the entrance to the park.

Vasquez Rocks park is a fun little area to take a your family for a few hours of outdoor exploring. Be sure to visit the official park website at LAParks/VasquezRocks. Be safe and have fun!