Located near the community of Lake Los Angeles at the eastern fringe of the Antelope Valley, Alpine Butte Wildlife Sanctuary is an unexpected corner of rich ecologic features in what many would consider the barren high desert.
There are no roads or facilities within the sanctuary. Instead, visitors must park and walk through the soft sand into the heart of the sanctuary. The further one gets from the roads, traffic noise, and litter, the deeper one gets into the Joshua trees and creosote scrub along small sand dunes. Animal tracks are easily visible in the silty sand: Mojave sidewinder rattlesnakes, zebra-tailed lizards, and Mojave desert tortoises all make their homes here. During the spring, wildflower blooms give the sanctuary some color.
The colorful sunrises and sunsets of the Antelope Valley make this an area of note to photographers, and there are several movie sets nearby that also take advantage of the colorful desert light.
There are no trails or any facilities here, making it less of an area to hike and more of an area to walk. It is about a half mile from the Avenue O along the sanctuary's northern end to the wash and the wind-blown dunes near the heart of the sanctuary.
Alpine Butte Wildlife Sanctuary is free and open to the public between sunrise and sunset daily.
Comments
Sign In and share them.