Weekend Trip to Joshua Tree National Park (CA)

While we have yet to live in California on a travel P.T. contract, we’ve had the opportunity to check off a few National Parks while living across the borders. We took a 4 hour drive from Scottsdale, AZ to embark on our 18th National Park (at the time). We were excited to see the unusual looking trees, rugged rocks, and desert landscape. Driving around this park was so cool! We visited in mid May, which ended up being the perfect time. The weather was cool at night and wasn’t too hot in the day.

CAMPING

We were thrilled to snag some last minute spots at a really popular campground, Jumbo Rocks. This was one of our most incredible sites so far. Camping among the rocks was a one-of-a-kind accommodation, and being centrally located to activities is always a plus. Fair warning, this area can get extremely windy, so be prepared and make sure your tent is staked down properly.

Travel tip: I’m probably late to the party, but I finally learned this summer you can set alerts on the Recreation.gov app for particular dates/campsites. This has become SO helpful since we can’t usually plan our adventures months in advance. You're allowed to set 3 alerts at one time.

HIKES

⦿ Ryan Mountain (2.9 miles) - while it was a relatively short hike, this was our first mountainous attempt with Nolan. It was a good choice too, since the elevation gain was on the lower end (~1000 ft). This was a fantastic panoramic view on a very well maintained trail. The incline was moderate, and there were quite a few stone steps which made it easier. It’s best to start this hike early, as the sun can beat down pretty hard later in the day.

⦿ Skull Rock (1.7 miles) - while there are many, this was definitely one of the coolest rock formations in the park! It really does live up to its name. You can walk to the trail straight from Jumbo Rocks Campground.

⦿ Hall of Horrors (0.60 miles) - this slot canyon trail is a short & adventurous one to add to your visit. Since I was concerned about fitting through the narrow openings with a baby carrier on, Hunter wandered off by himself. If you're up for squeezing through narrow openings and feeling a small adrenaline rush, this one's for you. I love the way the sun peaks out through the "ceiling."

⦿ Oasis of Mara (0.50 miles) - this quick and accessible trail is located just outside the park near the Joshua Tree National Park Headquarters. As parents, we love being able to incorporate some places we can take our baby stroller on. This paved trail through the palms made for a nice morning walk before heading home. We'd only recommend including this trail on your trip if you need a time filler. While there's some history related to this area, there are other places that boast better scenic views.

⦿ Hidden Valley (1.0 miles) - this was probably our favorite out of all that we did at the park. We loved the combination of rock formations, Joshua Trees, and other foliage that dotted the trail. We did this in late afternoon and had the trail basically all to ourselves.

THOUGHTS

We were a lot more impressed with Joshua Tree than we initially thought we would be. It was so awesome to be able to climb directly on a lot of the rocks (always be safe and adhere to any rules/restrictions). The weather conditions can be extreme, especially in the summer, so we'd recommend visiting in the spring or fall. There's not a lot of shade on any of the trails, so come prepared with hats and sunscreen.

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Side note - as you can tell, we love visiting breweries whenever we go. They often have good food, and Hunter has fun collecting souvenir glasses & trying new beers. We came across two breweries on Google - "Joshua Tree Brewing Company" (Adobe Road in Twenynine Palms, CA) and "Joshua Tree Brewery" (Sunset Road in Joshua Tree, CA). These are apparently two separate brewing companies.

We drove by the Sunset Road location and unfortunately it appeared permanently closed; it was locked and had graffiti all over the doors. We then headed over to the Adobe Road one. This place was extremely small operation, in an adobe-style building and appeared to be in a run down area that we didn't feel overly comfortable hanging around in. The outdoor patio was composed of plastic chairs within a chain-link fence, and beer was served in plastic cups. Hunter ended up grabbing a quick beer anyways, but we wouldn't recommend adding this stop on your trip. We just wanted to give a heads up to our fellow brewery-lovers!

We also brought our own food on this trip, and unfortunately do not have any restaurant recommendations.

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