How to best enjoy Joshua Tree National Park

Joshua Tree National Park is spectacular! It’s super unique, very beautiful, and a ton of fun. BUT, by being unique from most other parks, there are certain things you must think about to help maximize your time in the park. Some of these I learned the hard way and want to pass my mistakes on to you so you can skip the challenges, and go straight to the fun!

About Joshua Tree National Park

Joshua Tree National Park is located in Southern California. The Colorado and the Mojave Desert meet inside this park, creating 2 very different landscapes. The Mojave Desert is represented in the Western Part of the park. Here you will find the namesake Joshua Tree along with huge boulders and unique rock formations to climb and play on. The Eastern part of the park, or the Colorado Desert section, is flatter and home to the Cholla (choya) Cactus. These fuzzy-looking cactus are often called Teddy Bear Cactus because they look soft.

Getting to Joshua Tree National Park

The closest airport to the park is Palm Springs about 37 miles away. You can also fly into Ontario, John Wayne, LAX, or San Diego. It’s just under 3 hours drive from Los Angeles to the park.

You’ll need to rent a car, because there are no shuttles or transportation through the park.

The cost is $30 USD per car for 7 days. If you are visiting multiple National Parks during the year, I highly suggest the “America the Beautiful pass”, its $80 USD and good for 12 months to as many parks as you want.

There are three entrances to the park.

1. West Entrance- Located in the town of Joshua Tree. This is the busiest entrance. Expect a wait during popular times. Closest to Keys View.
2. North Entrance – Located in Twentynine Palms. Closest to Skull Rock and Barker Dam.
3. South Entrance – Near Cottonwood springs, this is the least used entrance, is closer to the Cholla Cactus Garden, and has some BLM campsites nearby

Tips for Visiting Joshua Tree National Park

Prepare, prepare, prepare!

• Plan ahead. There are not a lot of services nearby. You need to be sure you have a place to stay, and transportation arranged before you go. There is no lodging inside the park, except for camping. You’ll need to book this far in advance. I highly recommend getting an AirBnB near the park. We got a great little house just 5 minutes from the Joshua Tree entrance! I am so glad we did. Some of the towns and hotels can be 20-30 minutes away. You will do A LOT of driving inside the park so having somewhere close once you leave is wonderful! There are so many unique places to stay near Joshua Tree.

• This is the desert. It is HOT! We went in October and it was over 94 every day. Try and go in the Spring, or Fall if you can avoid the summer. I highly recommend going early and getting your hiking done before it’s too hot. Then you can drive around and see some sights from inside the car during the afternoon. Mornings in Joshua Tree National Park are AMAZING. It’s cool, it’s quiet, it’s not too busy, the lighting is great for photos. You’ll love early mornings here

• Speaking of the heat, don’t bring your dogs. They cant go on any hiking trails, and it is TOO HOT to leave them in the car. I LOVE my dogs and would bring them everywhere if I could, but it’s not fair to them to bring them somewhere they can’t get out and explore.

You should always get travel insurance before you travel! The company I use and recommend is Travel Insurance Master

What to bring

• Bring and drink water. A LOT of water! There is no water in the park. It is hotter and drier than you think! We brought water in our CamelBaks and extra water in a cooler in the car. The recommended amount of water in Joshua Tree is one gallon per person, per day. If you are hiking or biking, you should bring more. We brought that, plus extra in case someone else needed help along the way. We froze a few bottles overnight, so as the day went on they would be cool and refreshing. I am not a good water drinker, and I drank a ton of water while we were there. You will be glad you have it. Dehydration is the worst and can ruin your trip in a hurry.

• Speaking of cactus. It should go without saying that cactus are sharp. Don’t touch them. Even though I was careful I still ended up with quite a few cactus pokes. They are super hard to remove, so my tip here is to bring pointy tweezers with you in your supply bag. Trust me. I tried removing them with my fingers and ended up just breaking them off, making it even harder to get them out.

What to wear

• Be prepared for extreme weather. There is hardly any shade, and it gets hot quickly! We started a hike and it was 68 degrees F, within one hour, it was 94 degrees F. It can also rain and cause flash flooding, although we didn’t have rain on our trip. Bring sunscreen, light, and breathable clothing ( like this shirt, and these pants), and a wide-brimmed hat. There were signs all over the park that read “Don’t die today” and while they were a bit strange to see, it highlights the real danger of dehydration and heatstroke.

• Wear good shoes. It’s tempting to wear sandals because it’s sandy and hot. There are rattlesnakes, lizards, and cactus everywhere. Wear something that covers your feet, and ankles. It will also make climbing on the boulders more enjoyable. In the picture below, we had just hopped out of the car to look at an exhibit, we were NOT on a hike, I was in Flip Flops because we had just gotten there. I was on a paved, marked trail, and just next to the trail was this big guy! No more FlipFlops in the park for me!

Inside the park

• Drive the park! When you first get there, or after hiking when it’s too hot to be outside, just drive the park. There are so many pullouts for pictures and so many unique sites to see along the way. There are clearly marked “exhibit ahead” signs and you can see a lot without ever leaving pavement if you want to!

• Research and take maps of your hikes. It is unbelievably hard to find the trail sometimes. It’s sandy and rocky and finding marked areas are difficult. Have a good sense of where you are going and where you want to be before you head out on the trail!

• Watch for wildlife. Joshua Tree is home to more wildlife than you would think! As always, remember you are in their home, allow them space and leave them alone. There are so many birds! We saw Ravens, Quail, RoadRunners, and more. We saw quite a few lizards and one big rattlesnake. There are 6 varieties of Rattle Snakes in Joshua Tree! Don’t reach into bushes, woodpiles, or under rocks without looking first. We saw a lot of Jack Rabbits. We got a great photo of one, that just sat and watched us watch him for a while. There are different kinds of rats too. There are coyotes and foxes. You can hear the coyotes at night! Bighorn sheep are found in the park, as well as tortoises! We didn’t get to see either of those 2, and I’m super bummed about it! Tortoises will at times try to cross the roads for water. Watch for them so you don’t run them over. If you see one, try and block the road for it, so it can safely cross.

PRO TIP:

• This is my BEST tip! It may sound weird at first, but trust me…STAY AFTER DARK! Sunset is glorious here, with all the trees, and boulders for silhouettes, but use the last bit of daylight to find a place to park and enjoy the dark! There is a saying in Joshua Tree “half the park is after dark”. I don’t think there is a bad place to be, but some areas of the park (the middle) get darker than others. There are numerous pullouts on the side of the road, or parking lots for exhibits that make great places to watch the night sky. You will be amazed at how many stars you see! A lot of people see the Milky Way for the first time at Joshua Tree. I had heard it was a good thing to do, but was still unprepared for how absolutely amazing it was at night! If you want to camp at Joshua Tree, you’ll want to have a Stargazing Tent to take advantage of the dark sky!

Keeping these tips in mind will help you make the most out of your trip to Joshua Tree National Park. I hope you have fun! Pin these tips to help you plan, and share this post with anyone who is also planning a trip!

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XOXO- Chantelle

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