The area's varied wildlife includes two endangered species, the desert tortoise and the Gila monster. Trail users often spot other types of reptiles. Mice, kangaroo rats, pack rats, jackrabbits and cottontail rabbits leave tracks in the sand, as do the creatures that hunt them such as coyotes, kit foxes and bobcats. A surprising number of songbirds and raptors frequent the sandstone country, some residents and others seasonally following the flyways trough the nearby river valley. Share the trails with these creatures, observing but not disturbing.
Spectacular scenery results from the region's unique geologic features.
Erosion sculpts the landscape, creating fantastic rock formations. Wind sweeps loose grains of sand into beautiful dunes. Floodwaters gouge out washes and widen fissures in the cliffs. Fossils reveal an age when this was part of an inland sea. Later swamps and pine forests covered the area.