These hiking poles are sturdy, and great to help keep your balance on short or longer hikes
Elmer’s Bottle Tree Ranch is a unique roadside attraction along Route 66, a perfect pitstop if you’re driving to Las Vegas or Mammoth Lakes from Southern California. It features many tree-shaped sculptures made from glass bottles & vintage items. This interesting art collection is the work of one man, Elmer Long. He built his very first bottle tree in 2000 and continued to add to his gallery for years after. Elmer’s Bottle Tree Ranch is more than just a roadside attraction, it’s showcasing an impressive level of creativity in turning waste bottles, discarded objects, and scrap materials into a forest full of “trees.” It is one of those things that you have to be there in person, willing to immerse yourself in the art to be able to appreciate the beauty and hard work Elmer had put into this place. You can see his heart and soul shine through these eccentric pieces of art.
As we pulled up in front of the Bottle Tree ranch, I still didn’t know what to expect. The front fence is partially covered with signs that kind of obscure the view of what lies just behind it. It looks like it could be a fenced-up dirt lot, overrun by a sea of glass bottles. The place looks unassuming at first. We parked on the side of the road and got out. As you walk through the entrance, you’re greeted with a welcome sign and a forest of bottle trees. They are at first, visually overwhelming. There is so much glass that it is almost hard to see where one tree ends and the next begins.
NOTE: make sure you pull over all the way and be respectful to traffic. Do not leave your car doors wide open or stand in the middle of the road to take photos. The small number of cars that come through here do so at a pretty good speed sometimes.
You really need to keep your eyes peeled as you weave your way through the sea of glass trees on the property. Many of the trees are topped with very unique things. Some have street signs, some have traffic signals, and two in the back have replica rifles. One is even tasked with holding on to a torpedo. There’s also a Willys Jeep that resides near the middle of the property. Elmer’s personal favorite is a bottle tree with a homemade rake on top that he had found on one of his adventures.
The one thing I love about the Bottle Tree Ranch is that there are so many unique, hidden things scattered around the place. At first, all you see are glass bottles after glass bottles. However, if you really look and pay attention to all the little details, you’ll start to notice Elmer’s heart and soul shining through. His personal touches and personality are everywhere from the hidden Tigger, interesting signage to the little handmade wind chimes.
As we made our way around the seemingly endless sea of sculptures, a breeze started to kick up. The ranch started to come to life. Some bottles clicked or rattled on their posts. The many artistic windmills that are scattered amongst the trees began to spin. The sounds of the wind chimes combined with the whistle of the wind blowing through the bottles were such an incredibly peaceful sound. It was like standing in the middle of an orchestra of inanimate objects.
Elmer’s Bottle Tree Ranch started simply enough. Every time Elmer Long and his dad went on their camping trips to the desert, they collected bottles and other artifacts. The bottle collection grew to thousands. As his dad got older, he started to give the bottles away. However, Elmer just couldn’t part with his collection. He decided to save his beloved bottles and turn them into bottle trees that he installed on his property on Route 66 near Oro Grande, CA. He built his very first tree in 2000.
In the beginning, the bottles came from private dumps on ranches or other large parcels. The owners would let his dad rummage through spots where people had been tossing their trash for generations. Now he gets bottles from all over the world. People send them or bring them, from all over the world. We couldn’t help but bring a moving tub full of wine bottles with us to contribute to this intriguing masterpiece.
If you ask Elmer, he doesn’t consider himself an artist. He is just someone who thinks of what they want to do and then does it. “It’s a crazy world, and it’s mine,” he said.
Elmer’s Bottle Tree Ranch is part art gallery, part planetary cleanup effort, part craziness, but 100% awesome. It is definitely something you should see for yourself. It’s located about 2 hours from Los Angeles or San Diego and a short detour on the way to Vegas before Barstow. If you are heading to Vegas, don’t forget to check out another unique art installation, the Seven Magic Mountains. This bottle tree ranch is also on the way to Mammoth Lakes, along Highway 395. If you’re heading in that direction, we recommend checking out the Olancha Sculpture Garden. If you love bizarre art like this, check out Salvation Mountain, Slab City & East Jesus, Bombay Beach, and of course, the creatures of Borrego Springs!
Happy Adventuring. Don’t forget to check out the related posts below for more inspiration on your upcoming adventures. While at it, follow us on Instagram and subscribe to our YouTube channel! We’ll love you forever!
These are the gear that we personally use and find helpful for this particular adventure. Don’t forget to check out our Recommended Gear section as well.
These hiking poles are sturdy, and great to help keep your balance on short or longer hikes
If you tend to have foot blisters on hikes, get this! We use this all the time.
Our favorite hiking/travel jacket. It's warm and packable, perfect to bring on a hike or a road trip.
Our favorite hiking/travel jacket. It's warm and packable, perfect to bring on a hike or a road trip.
This jacket is packable into a super small and light little ball. Perfect for when you just need a little…
This jacket is packable into a super small and light little ball. Perfect for when you just need a little…
It's always good to bring a GPS tracker with you. We use the Garmin inReach.
This is Vy's favorite hiking bag! It has tons of room for snacks and water!
Our favorite biodegradable, eco-friendly, reef-safe sunscreen!
This is our go-to camera for all of our adventures. It comes with us everywhere!
Compact GoPro pole that extends to 25", perfect to bring on your adventure.
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Hi! We are Dustin & Vy, the proud creators of Live That Adventure. We created this website because we wanted to inspire others to live their lives to the fullest. On here, you’ll find everything from hiking, canyoneering, kayaking, and snorkeling to adventure and travel tips, gear reviews, and bucket list items such as bungee jumping or wing walking. We’ll show you the ropes so you can do them too!
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5 Comments
What a unique place. We’ve done loads of road trip in the US but we really must get around to driving route 66 someday soon.
If you are passing by Route 66, I definitely recommended it!
Wow! You have a great journey.
I see the colourful of bottles over there
Thank you! Glad you enjoyed it.
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