With a son named Joshua, we couldn’t miss Joshua Tree National Park on our cross country drive from Phoenix to the California Coast! This park exceeded our expectations. We were planning to just see some trees and move on, but Joshua Tree definitely deserves a full day. You can see Joshua Trees across the Mojave Desert, but what makes Joshua Tree National Park special is the concentration of trees in combination with the mountainous landscape and the rock formations.
Where are the Joshua Trees?
If you enter the park from the south off I-1o like we did, you’ll have to drive 27 miles north into the park to see Joshua Trees. Don’t miss them, they’re awesome and once you get to the right area of the park they’re everywhere! We drove through the entire park and exited on the north side near Joshua Tree, CA. If you just drive the park and do a couple of stop-offs, plan on about two hours.
Hikes and Sights
The park is full of huge boulder piles everywhere! The boulders were formed from volcanic activity which was really cool to learn about. What our boys found way cooler though was climbing around on them! One of our favorite stops was Skull Rock, but it can get crowded. If you’re looking to beat the crowds there are plenty of good alternative climbing spots, just ask a ranger at the Visitor Center. For our hike, a ranger recommended Hidden Valley. It was a fairly easy one-mile hike through a valley “hidden” from the outside world by rock formations. This is a great short hike to give you a feel for the park. You wind through Joshua Trees and boulder piles, while surrounded by impressive terrain. Our boys got a kick out of the rock climbers scaling some of the larger rocks.
Best time to visit:
This is another desert environment, and the best times to visit would be fall, winter, and spring to avoid the extreme summer temperatures.
Where we stayed:
We visited this part on a drive through to the California Coast, but a popular place to stay nearby is Palm Springs.
Other things to do:
The Cholla Garden Trail looked like a cool stop as we drove by. Cholla cactus everywhere in this spot!
Palm Springs is a beautiful area to explore.
Check out the Southern California Coast, we loved Newport Beach!
