​During the Easter weekend (April 4-6, 2015) our family took a vacation in California’s low- and high desert areas, near Palm Springs. My daughter is 10.5 years old, so we tried to plan activities that would entertain her as well.
We left quite early on Saturday morning and arrived to our first destination by 9am. Salton Sea, California’s largest lake is a place you’ll never forget. It is currently 35 miles long and 15 miles wide, but it used to be much larger. We only stopped at the Salton Sea State Recreation Area ($5 day use), but there is a lot more around there to discover. I am actually going back in May with a group of photographers to capture the eeriness of this extraordinary land.

Let me tell you just a bit about the history, so that you’ll understand why this area is so unusual. There has always been more or less water in the Salton Sink, which is basically a landlocked extension of the Gulf of California. This lake is a very important winter stop for over 400 migrating bird species. The problem with the lake is, that it has no natural outlet flowing to the ocean, so the water can only leave by evaporation or by percolation into the ground. Everything that flows into it, including agricultural runoff, will stay in the sink, and the water never gets circulated. The Salton Sea is also getting saltier; it has a higher salt content than the Pacific Ocean. Due to the high salinity, only a few species of fish continued to reproduce. The chemicals have been poisoning and killing the fish here, which consequently causes birds to die. It is rather a sad situation that is not taken care of due to state budgeting restrains.
After this brief intro into the natural history of the lake (I’ll talk about the human history after my May trip), I am ready to show you what you can expect when you enter the park. I should also warn you, that as you are approaching the lake, an odorous smell will hit you. The smell probably has a different intensity at various times of the year, and I can only comment on the spring one: it’s not that bad. It gave us a good opportunity to talk about how our nose and eyes have the ability to adjust and get used to some odd smells or darkness. By the time we got out of the car, even my daughter was OK with the smell.
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​First, I’d like to point out the abundance of beautiful birds. I would recommend that you start your visit at Sneaker Beach, if you want to see lots of birds. During our short visit we saw White Pelicans, seagulls, White Herons, and lots of smaller shore birds. But as you are walking from the parking lot to the shore on the white “sand”, expect something unusual. The sand is not sand at all (or at least not yet). The beach is covered with up to a foot deep layer of fish bones! Most off them are tiny, maybe a quarter inch in diameter, but at random you will see larger pieces as well – a skull here, a backbone there. These are the remains of hundreds or thousands of dead fish.

​It is a weird feeling to walk on the bones; it’s an experience that you can’t get anywhere else. After the beach walk we watched a short movie about the history of the lake at the Visitor Center (open between 10 am – 4 pm), and walked on a short nature walk. We had a good time here, but we were not too impressed. It was great to see it once, but we won’t be going back for a family visit.

Read about the second part of the visit (Joshua Tree National Park) here.