Joshua Tree was high up on my list of National Parks and I finally got to camp there. We took off along weekend and left LA early to drive to Joshua Tree and get a good camp site. The drive into the park was beautiful and surrounded by wind mills and mountains.
We camped in the Jumbo Rocks Campground and it was the perfect home base for all of our hikes. Pro tip, get to your camping spot early in the day. The camping spots go quickly and once they’re gone there is nowhere else to camp. Once our camp site was set up we mapped out our plan and hit the trails.
Ryan Mountain Trail
Ryan Mountain was the first trail we did and it was the perfect way to kick off the trip. The trail is a moderate 3 mile out and back hike with about 1,000ft of elevation gain. The trail basically goes straight up Ryan Mountain and there is no shade, so make sure you bring water if you go.
Hidden Valley Nature Trail
After the uphill hike at Ryan Mountain we decided to skip over to Hidden Valley Nature Trail for a flat and fun loop. The Hidden Valley loop is only 1 mile long, but the trail is surrounded by walls of boulders that you can climb and explore. We spent a long time at this trail trying to get to the highest boulder in sight.
Keys View
We drove to Keys View lookout as a break from hiking. The lookout is right next to the parking lot, so it’s a quick and easy walk to the 5,000ft high lookout over Coachella Valley. On a clear day you can see all the way to Mexico. It was super windy at the overlook, so all my photos from the impromptu photoshoot are very windswept.
Arch Rock Nature Trail
Another easy add to your Joshua Tree trip is the Arch Rock Nature Trail. The trail is a 1.2 mile loop that takes you in a circle to large rock formations. One of which, is a giant arch. The trail has a lot of fun places to climb and boulder. You could easily spend an entire day exploring that area.
Cholla Cactus Garden Nature Trail
The Cholla Cactus garden was high up on my list of things to do in Joshua Tree. It’s a flat and easy .2 mile trail that goes through a field of Cholla cacti. I loved reading all of the info signs, but there was one I didn’t read well enough… Dangerous, don’t touch the Cholla Cactus. Whoops.
Find The Wildflowers
It’s not hard to miss the wildflowers that pop up all over the desert, but while you’re there I highly recommend trying to spot as many different types as possible. There are over 240 species of wildflowers in the Joshua Tree desert, so good luck!
