Rare dusting of snow turns Joshua Tree into ‘frosty wonderland.’ See magical photos
Lucky tourists stumbled into a dreamy scene in Joshua Tree National Park when they woke up to watch the sunrise on their only morning in California, photos show.
They posted the stunning photos to Reddit on Jan. 7 and explained they were only in the area for one morning on a less than 24-hour trip when they “were greeted by a snowy park.”
Photos show what looks like the most delicate dusting of snow sprinkled across the desert landscape: rocks, sagebrush, dry soil and, fittingly, coating one side of a Joshua Tree.
The snow started at approximately 4,000 feet of elevation and became more dense as they drove up to Keys View at 5,185 feet, they said.
“We asked the Visitor Center how often it snows and they said, ‘Maybe once or twice a year,’” they said. “We loved it, feeling incredibly grateful to have been there today!”
A park spokesperson told SFGATE the park received a “sprinkling of snow” that day.
“It was all melted within an hour but looked beautiful while it was there,” spokesperson Jennie Kish Albrinck told the outlet.
The park recently posted a photo of heavy snow coating the desert landscape and weighing down the limbs of a Joshua Tree — but the photo was taken in February 2019.
The visitors only noticed two other cars in the parking lot between 7 and 8 a.m., and having the place mostly to themselves made the experience all the more special, they said in the post.
“It was incredible having this frosty wonderland to ourselves,” they wrote.
This story was originally published January 12, 2024 at 7:13 AM with the headline "Rare dusting of snow turns Joshua Tree into ‘frosty wonderland.’ See magical photos."
