My best friend Amy was planning a group trip to Joshua Tree National Park, and since I didn’t want to pass on the opportunity to hang out with her and explore somewhere new I said yes! Since we went in November, we did not go camping since being in the desert would drop to low temperatures in the evening, plus there’s no running water or electricity. Instead, she booked a beautiful Airbnb right outside the park for a fun weekend getaway.
TIPS
Drinking water in the park is scarce - bring plenty of water with you and keep extra in the car
Same with food, bring your own since there are no concessions inside the park
There are no services inside the park so all bathroom breaks and souvenir shopping will have to be done outside the park
Watch your step or else you might get pierced with a cactus thorn (this happened to me!)
Bring a set of pliers or tweezers in case you need to get out any needles
Pack layers if you plan on exploring the park early in the day or late in the evening
THINGS TO DO
The park is a massive desert joined together by the Mojave Desert and Colorado Desert.
The best way to explore the park is driving around and pulling off to areas where you can park and walk around.
If you’re looking to do some rock climbing, Joshua Tree has more than 8,000 established climbing routes, from easy beginner scrambles to extreme vertical cracks.
RYAN MOUNTAIN TRAIL
We hiked up Ryan Mountain where the trail to the summit is 3 miles round trip out-and-back and with an elevation gain of 1,075 feet. Once you reach the top, you’ll get to enjoy the 360-degree panoramic view atop the park’s tallest peak.
JUMBO ROCKS
After our hike, we drove around and stumbled upon the jumbo rocks, which is part of a campground and offers great views of rock formations. I’m glad we stuck around because we were able to capture gorgeous views of the sunset before it got too dark.
CHOLLA CACTUS GARDEN
If you drive further into the park, you’ll come across the Cholla Cactus Garden where the landscape is dominated by a plethora of cholla cacti. The nature trail is only 0.25 miles roundtrip and is mostly flat.
Make sure to stay on the course because you will get pricked by a cactus if you’re not careful! We saw some people crying because they got pricked by cacti.
In another area of the park, I got pierced with a long needle since I accidentally walked backwards into a cactus and it went through my hiking pants and into my thigh. Luckily it was just one needle we had to get out, which is better than getting pricked by a million tiny ones.
