Carrizo Plain National Monument is one of the best kept secrets in California. (Photo by Bob Wick, BLM)

Only a few hours from Los Angeles, the Carrizo Plain offers visitors a rare chance to be alone with nature. (Photo by Bob Wick, BLM)

mypubliclands:

#WeekendInspiration from Carrizo Plain National Monument in California. 

Three hundred years ago, California’s Central Valley was vast grassland where antelope and elk grazed and wildflowers swept the spring landscape. Today, amid urban and agriculture development, a remnant remains in the Carrizo Plain National Monument.

Carrizo Plain National Monument is one of the best kept secrets in California. Only a few hours from Los Angeles, the Carrizo Plain offers visitors a rare chance to be alone with nature. Some visitors say you can “hear the silence.” The plain is home to diverse communities of wildlife and plant species including several listed as threatened or endangered and is an area culturally important to Native Americans. 

Plan your visit to this beautiful and remote destination using BLM’s National Conservation Lands online recreation maps.

View more photos from Carrizo Plain National Monument on BLM California’s Flickr, including 360 degree panoramic images like the one below:

http://ift.tt/1fI8UOA

Only a spectacular sunrise can hope to match the natural artistry of Badlands National Park in South Dakota. The rugged beauty of this unique landscape draws visitors from around the world to enjoy the sights and explore one of the world’s richest fossil beds. Photo by Jerry Smith (http://ift.tt/18oFfjl).