Joshua Tree National Park: Barker Dam

In the 1800s, the Barker Dam area of Joshua Tree National Park received much more rainfall than it does nowadays, an average of 10 inches per year, and cattle were able to graze. In the early 1900s, a low dam of rocks was built across the stream forming a lake, and in the mid-1900s the Keys family added a poured concrete wall atop the rocks, making the dam much higher. According to the inscription they made in the concrete, they called it Big Horn Dam.

Big Horn Dam is a very apt name, because on the day we visited, a whole family of big horn sheep were grazing and hanging out on the now-dry lakebed near the dam.

The dam is at the edge of a rocky area on the northern side of the park. It is an easy hike from the Barker Dam parking area.

In this slideshow, you'll see a sampling of the fantastic rock formations, Joshua trees and other desert plants, and a family of bighorn sheep hanging out by the dam.