One day at Joshua Tree National Park, CA - Things to do

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Joshua Tree National Park is the second most visited National Park in California after Yosemite. This is the first national park that we visited in California. It is located near Palm Springs, California, which is 3 hrs from Los Angeles. 

We covered this park on our way to Page, the Grand Canyon, and SanDiego. 

Photo by Kindel Media: https://www.pexels.com/photo/cacti-in-joshua-tree-national-park-8979752/

How to Reach?

Joshua Tree National Park is 3 hrs away from Los Angeles, San Diego, and Las Vegas. So, it's very accessible. 

Some Flight options

Where to Stay?

Twentynine Palms is the best place to stay, which is nearer to the Park. But it might be expensive. The towns of Joshua Tree and Palm Springs are other options for staying.

We stayed in Twentynine Palms, and it was around 10 mins away from the Park. 

Here are some options to book accommodations:

Things to do in Joshua Tree National Park

Here is our 1-day itinerary of Joshua Tree National Park.

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There is an entrance fee of $30; you can also use your Annual National Park pass.  The Joshua tree is a succulent variety in the Mojave Desert. It is actually not a tree, but looks iconic with spikes and branches, and it can grow as tall as 40 ft. During Sunset, this tree looks still cool in photos.

Skull Rock:

We entered the park from the North Entrance in Twentynine Palms. We drove through Park Boulevard to reach the Discovery Trail. 

Discovery Trail is an easy 0.5 loop that goes around the iconic rock that looks like a skull. The shape is very prominent. But this stop is usually very busy. So, take time to capture a photo without a crowd. 

We also did some fun rock scrambling here. You can see many other rocks with different shapes. You can also see Jumbo rocks. 

Split Rock is another hike closer to Skull Rock. It is a 2.5-mile loop to Face Rock. We couldn't do this due to a lack of time.

Arch Rock, Heart Rock:

We turned back on Park Boulevard to reach the Twin Tanks parking area on Pinto Basin Road. Arch Rock Trail is just 1.4 mile loop and might take 1 hr. It's an easy walk and a little rock scrambling at the end. 

We loved this hike with the kids. The Arch Rock is difficult to capture unless you climb a rock before it to capture it at the correct angle. But it looks huge and beautiful.

Heart Rock is around 0.2 miles away from Arch Rock. Don't miss this at all. We loved this rock in the shape of a heart. It is Instagram-worthy.

Cholla Cactus Garden:

We continued on Pinto Basin Road to reach Cholla Cactus Garden.

This is another popular spot after Skull Rock. It's an easy 0.25-mile loop, which might take 20 mins or less. 

Don't miss this! 

The Cholla Cactus is a shrub-like cactus, and it is also called 'jumping cacti' as it might detach and cling to nearby people. These are also called 'teddy bear cholla'. Perfectly named, I would say! These cacti really look so cute like teddy bears, ofcourse we cannot hug them 😜

This trail has the largest concentration of these cacti, so we spent a lot of time taking photos. 

We had our packed lunch and drove through Park Boulevard. 

Keys View:

We took a left at Caprock to reach Keysview. This is the best viewpoint in the entire park. There is a 0.25-mile short paved loop, which is steep to reach view point. It gives breathtaking views of all surrounding areas - the San Andreas Fault, Mount San Jacinto, Mount San Gorgonio, and the Salton Sea.

On the way to Keys View, we saw a large concentration of Joshua Trees. This will be a good drive to do during Sunset. 

Photo by Pixabay: https://www.pexels.com/photo/green-tree-surrounded-by-weathered-bush-on-brown-soil-under-white-and-blue-sky-during-daytime-73820/

There are some hiking areas around. Lost Horse Mine Trail is 4 mile out and back trail. The Ryan Mountain hike is the most popular trail, which is 3 miles out and back. It is a challenging trail. 

Hidden Valley:

Our last stop was Hidden Valley. The trail is a 1-mile loop around a rock-enclosed valley. 

There are some nice trails around this area. Barker Dam is a historic trail with 1.1 mile loop where you can see a water tank built by early cattle ranchers. Wall Street Mill is an easy 2-mile hike to see Wall Street Mill, building ruins, and rusty cars. If you are into history and culture, you will enjoy these 2 hikes.

Other things to do:

Stargazing:

This park is named the International Dark Sky Park. So, your best chance to see the celestial objects at night.

This is the best place to experiment on night time photography. There is an observatory in the park where they conduct skywatching programs. 

Photo by Trace Hudson: https://www.pexels.com/photo/green-leaf-tree-2454682/

Off-roading:

If you have a 4x4 vehicle, you can explore the Geology tour road. It is a 18 mile loop dirt road covering some geological history. 

We couldn't do stargazing/off-roading. It's for next time.

So, that's how we ended our day at Joshua Tree National Park before driving to San Diego. 

Hope you liked our travelogue. 

See you with my next travelogue or book review.

Until next time,