24 Hours in Joshua Tree National Park, California
In the 1930’s desert lover and community activist, Minerva Hoyt recognized the human threats of the nearby ecosystem and persuaded President Franklin D. Roosevelt to proclaim Joshua Tree a National Monument in 1936.
It was renamed Joshua Tree National Park in 1994 and now protects 792,510 acres – mostly wilderness – where the Mojave and Colorado Deserts converge.
What’s special about Joshua Tree? It’s not just the Joshua Trees to love here but junipers, scrub oaks, Mojave yuccas and prickly pear cactus. So what is a Joshua Tree? One of the interesting Joshua Tree facts is that it isn’t really a tree, but a species of yucca! They can grow over 40 feet tall at the leisurely rate of an inch a year – typical of a desert plant.
It’s also home to a wide variety of animals such as ground squirrels, woodpeckers hawks, and ravens.
We started driving from Orange county, the Saturday after Thanksgiving 2019, at around 10 AM. It’s just over 2 hours drive from our home. When you plan for the JTNP, you have to decide on which entrance you are going to start with. I would recommend to start with either the west entrance (Parker Blvd from Joshua tree town) or North Entrance from 29 Palms town. This is because, these 2 entrances are in Mojave desert which is in the higher altitude than the South Entrance (from I-10 near Indio) Colorado desert, a little lower altitude. Joshua trees grow in the higher altitude which means, you will see lots of Joshua tree on the Mojave desert side. But it doesn’t matter, because the distance between these 2 entrances is just only 50 miles.
Saturday evening around 3 PM, we reached the West entrance and we had only couple of hours day light remaining. The best time to go to this park would be either spring or fall when the temperature is mild. During summer, the temperature can reach 110′. The day we went, it was a bit of cold, the temperature was around 45′.
The first place we stopped was, Quail Springs. It is a small picnic and day-use area located along the western portion of Park Boulevard. This area is one of the more popular picnic spots because it is the first turn-off available after you enter the park from the town of Joshua Tree. Rock climbers frequent this spot because it offers easy access and beginner friendly routes. This is a great spot to stop and provides a memorable first taste of Joshua Tree National Park.
The next stop was, Hidden Valley Trail. Hidden Valley is named after the cattle rustlers who used to hide their stolen cattle in here. This one-mile loop circles a small valley that is surrounded by tall boulders. Hidden Valley Trail shows off Joshua Tree’s rocky landscapes and is a great place to climb around. The trail is mostly level, crossing through hard-packed sand, but does venture through some of the valley’s interesting rock formations.
It was cloudy the whole day, so we couldn’t able to see the spectacular sunset normally people see in Joshua tree national park. We checked-in our tree house in Desert Hot Springs. The home was really nice and had all amenities. You can see San Jacinto and San Gorgonio peaks from the home. After the dinner, we went to bed and had a nice sleep.
On Sunday, we again went to the North entrance (This is 45 minutes drive from where we stayed) and started our day in Barker dam trail.
Another 1.3 mile loop walk leading you past Barker Dam which was created as a watering hole for the cattle. It opens up to a gorgeous expansive vista of the surrounding mountains, rocks and Joshua Trees making it one of the prettiest things to see in Joshua Tree National Park.
The Rock Formations are just amazing, and the views from Cap Rock are incredible. Definitely worth pulling over for and checking out.
The next one is my favorite and its Key’s View. This popular destination provides panoramic views of the Coachella Valley and is well worth the 20-minute drive from Park Boulevard down Keys View Road.
Look for the shining surface of the Salton Sea, which is 230 feet below sea level, on the far left. Looking to the right, the Santa Rosa Mountains are behind Indio and, along with 10,800-foot San Jacinto Peak behind Palm Springs, form the high points of the Peninsular Ranges. Further right, the usually snow-covered peak of 11,500-foot San Gorgonio Mountain is clearly visible. The infamous San Andreas Fault, stretching 700 miles from the Gulf of California to the Mendocino Coast north of San Francisco, runs through the valley and can be seen below. On a really clear day, you might be able to see Signal Mountain in Mexico.
The number one hike in JTNP is Ryan mountain (5500 feet) trail which is 3 miles round trip with an elevation gain of over 1000 feet. I’ll reserve this hike for another day.
It began long ago when rain drops accumulated in tiny depressions and started to erode the granite. As more rock eroded, more water accumulated, leading to more erosion until, as time passed, two hollowed-out eye sockets formed and the rock began to resemble a skull. Located along the main east-west park road, Skull Rock is a favorite stop for park visitors. A parking spot is located just across the road from the rock.
Cholla (“Cho-Ya”) Cactus Garden is another famous stop. Along the Pinto Basin Drive you will come to a field of them. There are thousands. And this part of the park is one of the most popular things to do in Joshua Tree National Park. There is a boardwalk and path winding through the cholla cactus garden to protect you from them. Don’t stray off the path. They’re called jumping for a reason, and they do like to embed themselves in your skin. You are close enough to admire them from the boardwalk. They are beautiful and with the mountains in the background it makes for a gorgeous setting.
Finally, we started driving to the South entrance. We also wanted to hike the Last Palm Oasis Trail, but it was already 3’o clock and Last Palm Oasis hiking is 7 miles round trip and needs at least 3 hours. So, we just went to the cottonwood springs trail, a short walk to palm oasis with cottonwood trees. Fantastic birding location with plentiful shade.
You really need couple of days if you want to hike all the trails in JTNP. Overall, this is one of the national park where you see things like Joshua tree and some kind of animals, you can’t see anywhere else. This is an under-rated national park I would say. People who are really interested to know the history of plants, animals and rock-climbers would love this national park.
The YouTube video is here: