Hiking Alkali Flat Trail

This trail drops you into another planet. From the trailhead, you immediately leave behind any sense of civilization and wade into a sea of brilliant white gypsum dunes that roll in every direction like frozen waves. The loop route takes you up and over dune after dune — none of them massive, but the relentless up-and-down through soft sand will have your calves burning within the first mile. Navigation relies entirely on orange trail markers planted in the sand, and between markers the landscape is so featureless it borders on disorienting. You'll reach the edge of Alkali Flat, a cracked, bone-dry lakebed that once held water thousands of years ago — the contrast between blinding white dunes and this stark, flat expanse is genuinely surreal. On the return loop, you'll likely have the dunes entirely to yourself. This trail rewards hikers who want to feel genuinely alone in a landscape that looks nothing like anywhere else on Earth.