This is an amazing national park with cool rock formations and trails. It is an easy drive from Los Angeles and is only 3 hours. It is also nearby Palm Springs and La Quinta, so this park is always a good stop whenever we are in the area.
GETTING THERE:
Driving your own car or renting one is a must, there are no shuttles or any public transportation in the park
There are 3 entrances from the park. We use the WEST entrance most of the time since we are driving from Los Angeles
You may also use 29 Palms entrance or SOUTH "Cottonwood Spring" if you are coming from that area
There is no cellphone signal inside the park, download offline google maps or get a park map from the gate
WHERE TO STAY:
There are multiple campgrounds inside the park, check out recreation.gov to reserve. There are also first-come, first serve camp sites in the park
Dispersed camping is available at North and South Joshua Tree BLM for free! Check out BLM.gov
Neighboring towns: Palm Springs/Palm Desert/La Quinta have a lot of hotels, resorts and airbnbs
POINTS OF INTEREST:
1. HIDDEN VALLEY
Picnic area with vaulted toilets
1 mile loop trail
Mostly flat with trail in between massive boulders
This is a popular trail so it tends to get busy
2. BARKER DAM TRAIL
1 mile loop trail
Easy and flat hike
The trail leads you to an abandoned dam. It was dry when we visited but can have water after a rainy day
There are petroglyphs on rocks near the end of the trail
3. CHOLLA CACTUS GARDEN
45 minutes away from the west entrance but worth the drive
0.2. mile loop trail
Best to visit around sunrise or sunset
They are also called "jumping" cholla because the spiny segments of the cactus easily detach from the plant and poke you, it will be also hard to remove them so be careful!
4. SKULL ROCK
Cool skull-shaped rock formation
There is no parking lot. Visitors park next to the road and the skull rock is only few feet away.
On busy days, parking area gets full so you may need to wait or return at a later time.
This can be a quick stop or you may walk around or climb rocks next to it
5. ARCH ROCK
1.4 mile out and back
The parking lot across the street from the trail head
The Arch Rock can be confusing to find, there are no clear trail marker and we talked to some people who could not find it
We used "AllTrails map" and we were able to locate it easily
6. HEART ROCK
Only a short walk from the Arch Rock
Again, the trail signs are not clear so it can be confusing so I highly suggest using the Alltrails app
7. KEYS VIEW
This is the highest viewpoint in Joshua Tree NP
5000 ft elevation with view of mountains and desert
You will be able to see San Andreas Fault from here
9. COTTONWOOD SPRING/ MASTODON PEAK TRAIL
This is located at the south side of the park and is far from west entrance
Less visitors at this side of the park
We hiked the Mastodon Peak Trail which is 2.6mile loop trail
The trail started with an oasis where we saw lots of palm trees and it led us up on a rocky mountain.
Have a fun roadtrip to Joshua Tree National Park :)
@yourbasictraveler
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