A Visit to Picacho CA State Recreation Area

Picnic with a Colorado River view.

This past Easter weekend we decided to visit Picacho State Recreation Area which lies on the California side of the lower Colorado River. We left before dawn and had a fun and a little bumpy one hour ride up the dirt road north of Yuma, Arizona where we’re staying. 

Picacho Road to the Park 

As the sun rose, the desert gave way from being a moon-like volcanic landscape to a glowing and rusty red swath of peaks and valleys. Were we in Mars?  The big Picacho (which I found out means “Peak” in Spanish) stood tall and grand, like a big king of the desert! I was so happy to finally see it up close after looking at it far off in the distance from our hotel!

Look at all that color!

Some say the desert is stark, but I say it’s full of drama. Between the crazy and multi-colored rock formations, there were lush green cottonwood trees, beautiful yellow flowers on the palo verde and acacia trees, bright red flower spikes on the ocotillo plants, and the cactus was in bloom. If the desert ever became an ocean again, I think the ocotillo would make neat kelp, and the cactus could be cool coral.

Ocotillo "Desert Kelp" in Bloom

From the rocky hillsides to the river and plants, this park was just loaded with all kinds of colors! It reminds me of Death Valley National Park, and even the Grand Canyon in some places.

We did a bit of exploring and spent some time at the Taylor Lake Overlook, and had a picnic at one of the Colorado River dock areas. Yay for yummy cheese croissant sandwiches and the Porto-Vino Backpack for keeping our wine nice and cool! Nothing like a little Vino-with-a-View! 

This park has a lot of natural and geological history. For thousands of years this area was home to the Quechan and native people of the Great Basin culture. Later in the 1890s, Picacho turned into a thriving gold mining town. You can see the remnants of the river and mining history all throughout the park.

Picacho Stamp Mill Trail with an Ore Cart at the Trailhead

My favorite experience was seeing two little wild burro families! How lucky! I can’t wait to go back in the fall and do some hiking and more birdwatching (it’s on a migratory flyway), and maybe we can explore the river in a boat or kayak. I really want to see the bighorn sheep that live there too! I love this park, it’s real special!

Wild Burros....here's lookin at you kid...

Pretty in Picacho,
Miss P.