United States California
Joshua Tree National Park
A serene desert oasis in California known for its twisted, spiky yuccas and rugged rock formations, offering stunning landscapes and starry nights.
- (760) 367-5500
- http://www.nps.gov/jotr/index.htm
Tips from the community
A Joshua Tree, the namesake of one of California’s most-visited national parks, isn’t a tree per say, but in fact a rather fragile but tough-looking yucca. These cacti cover the scrubby, sandy plains of the park and grow between massive granite outcrops. More than 2.8 million visitors flock to Joshua Tree each year—some from LA, just 140 miles to the west—to mountain bike or backpack through the desert wonderland, hike out to Skull Rock, or check out ruins left by 19th-century gold miners.
Two distinct deserts—the Mojave and the Sonoran—converge in the park, creating landscape dynamic enough to pique the interest of even the most well-travelled wanderers. The western half of Joshua Tree National Park sits squarely in the Mojave where rock climbers of all ability levels make pilgrimages to more than 400 climbing formations and thousands upon thousands of climbing routes. In the east, the Sonoran region of the Colorado Desert offers wide-open spaces where visitors can stargaze in a brilliant night sky without any light pollution or humidity. Though the park is open year round, we recommend scheduling your trip during seasonal meteor events, if you can, to take advantage of vivid views of the Milky Way.
savannah.whitmer 3 years ago
Beyond the manicured golf courses of Palm Springs and the hedonistic party grounds of Coachella, there lies a land of strange and wonderful features. They include bouldering spots with names like the Great Burrito. There are also anthropomorphic oddities cast in stone in the midst of the mysteriously monikered Hidden Valley. And you’ll find forests of bloated yuccas with twisted branches and spiney blooms. Welcome to the Joshua Tree National Park!
jrfrancis 4 years ago
Spring means one thing in the mind-blowing Joshua Tree National Park: wildflowers. Come to see seas of desert paintbrush and strange prickly pear cacti blooms bursting into life from around March onwards.
jrfrancis 3 years ago
Fave park in California. You can pick up an America the Beautiful pass right at the visitors center.
chiefseeker 2 years ago
Get the American the Beautiful pass for free entry into all national parks & monuments
pennypinchingglobetrotter 2 years ago
Joshua Tree is the most photogenic national park I’ve ever been to!
stillontheroad 2 years ago
Skull Rock in Joshua Tree NP 🌵
stillontheroad 2 years ago
Love our parks passes!
chiefseeker 2 years ago
love this!
leah 2 years ago
Awesome!
jasmineagbhow 2 years ago
Joshua Tree National Park Guides
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