Desert Christ Park, Yucca Valley

On a south-facing slope above Yucca Valley, about 15 minutes from the house, Desert Christ Park holds more than 40 white concrete sculptures of scenes from the life and teachings of Jesus. It is free, open daily from sunrise to sunset, and 2026 is its 75th anniversary year.

What you'll see

The park covers about three and a half acres of hillside. The sculptures are steel-reinforced concrete, and most are larger than life; one history puts individual pieces at four to sixteen tons each. The figure the park grew around is a three-ton statue of Jesus (sources give its height as 10 or 15 feet). Around it stand the Twelve Apostles, Mary, Martha and angels, along with a group the park lists as "Let the Children Come to Me."

The largest single piece is the Last Supper, a bas-relief façade about three stories high (one source gives 32 feet), estimated at 125 tons. Also on the grounds are a historic stone building the foundation calls the Rock Chapel, which it has said it plans to restore for public access and events, an outdoor stage with bleacher seating, restrooms, and about 40 birdhouses spread across the property.

How the park began

The sculptor was Antone Martin, a former aircraft worker. He started making large concrete figures in the mid-1940s, amid fears of the atomic bomb, hoping they would encourage peace. His first big piece was a statue of Jesus, made at his home in Inglewood, which he hoped to place on the rim of the Grand Canyon. That plan fell through; one history of the park says church-and-state concerns were the reason.

Martin then connected with Eddie Garver, a Yucca Valley minister known as the Desert Parson, who had acquired this hillside in 1950 to build a Christian park. They brought the statue up to Yucca Valley, and it was dedicated at a sunrise service on Easter Sunday, 1951. Martin moved to the area, lived in a trailer near the statue and kept adding figures, including the Last Supper, until his death in 1961 at 74. He willed his work to San Bernardino County.

Lawsuit, earthquake and repair

For years the county looked after the park. During an ACLU lawsuit against San Bernardino County over the separation of church and state, the park went largely untended, and the settlement in 1992 ended public funding. Then, on June 28, 1992, the magnitude 7.3 Landers earthquake struck, centered near Landers to the north. It damaged buildings and roads across Landers, Yucca Valley and Joshua Tree, and at the park it broke heads and hands off statues and left steel rebar exposed. Our Giant Rock and Landers guide has more on the quake.

In 1996 the nonprofit Desert Christ Park Foundation was formed, and volunteers, including youth groups from a neighboring church, cleaned up the site. The foundation has run the park since. The work continues: its restoration page lists sculpture repair, new water lines, native plants and trees, and moving honeybees out of the Rock Chapel. Concrete in the desert takes a beating, and a 2016 newspaper report said weather and vandalism were still wearing on many of the statues.

Visiting

The park is at 56200 Sunnyslope Drive. From Highway 62, turn north at the stoplight onto Mohawk Trail. Where the road veers left, turn right to stay on Mohawk Trail; at the stop sign at the end, turn right onto Sunnyslope Drive, then take the first left at the park sign. The foundation lists the hours as sunrise to sunset, approximately 7am to 6pm, and the park is gated after hours. Admission is free, and donations support the restoration work.

The figures stand along paths on the slope, and the footing is dirt and rock, with an informal, narrow rocky path leading to a good viewpoint for the Last Supper. Wear closed shoes, and if slopes or uneven ground are hard for someone in your group, contact the foundation before you go. It is a religious site cared for by volunteers, so keep voices low and stay off the sculptures. If you'd like background before you go, the foundation's website has a photo guide and short video guides to the sculptures.

White concrete is bright under a high sun. Morning and late afternoon are cooler and give softer light for photos; just leave time to walk back before the gate closes at sunset.

Pair it with

Desert Christ Park is a short stop that fits around errands in Old Town Yucca Valley. On Wednesday mornings the farmers market runs at Founders Plaza nearby (see farmers markets and provisions), and the Hi-Desert Nature Museum and the town's vintage and thrift stores are also in Yucca Valley. More ideas are in things to do in Yucca Valley.

For another outdoor art site, the Noah Purifoy Outdoor Desert Art Museum in Joshua Tree is the work of one artist too: more than 100 large assemblage sculptures made from found materials between 1989 and 2004, spread over about 10 acres and free to visit.

Know before you go

• Hours. Open daily, sunrise to sunset (about 7am to 6pm), gated after hours. Check the foundation's website for any closures or events.
• Cost. Free; donations welcome.
• Footing. Unpaved hillside paths, some narrow and rocky. Wear sturdy shoes.
• Facilities. Restrooms on site. Bring your own water, especially in summer.
• Respect the site. It is a religious site looked after by volunteers. Don't climb on the sculptures.

At about 15 minutes from the house, it makes an easy late-afternoon outing before dinner. Check dates for your stay.