Joshua Tree became a National Park in 1944 and it was converted from a National Monument. It got the National Monument status in 1936, from FDR. The area is over 792,000 acres of land and more than 80 percent of the land is wilderness. The park has two deserts within its boundaries being the Mojave and Colorado. The park also has distinctly different landscape as the two deserts are vastly different in vegetation and topology. As with any desert there are a few oasis within the bounds of the park and these areas are where there is a crack in the Earth’s crust. Groundwater founds these cracks and rise to the surface of the Earth creating the oasis. The oasis has different vegetation than the desert areas as there is abundant water for pants to thrive. The park hosts many wild animals and if you are lucky enough to see some of the larger ones enjoy the time. Big horn sheep and the desert tortoise are the most well know large animals in the park. Don’t forget the smaller ones like a road runner, (not the cartoon one,) desert iguana, and many types of birds. Joshua Tree has many different campgrounds and one will fit your needs if camping is your thing. Many people drive into the park from Palm Springs or even Los Angeles for the a day trip if you don’t want to stay and camp within the park. Drones are not welcome and carry a fine if you are caught using one within the boundary of the park. Also pets are allowed in the campgrounds on a leash and within 100 feet of a trail head. Pets are not allowed on any trail, but when on the Lost Palm Oasis trail I saw two dogs and neither was on a leash. Last thoughts is that this park is an Instagram park. There is a through road that you can drive and stop at placed during the day and post all of your photos at night when you get home. The thought was confirmed by a Park Ranger who called it something else but the thought was the same, a drive by park.
Main road in park – The main road in the park from the Cottonwood entrance has many places to stop and enjoy the scenery but also learn a bit about the park. There are places to take short hikes like Arch Rock, Heart Rock, and the Cholla Cactus Garden. There are also many longer hikes along the route but you can enjoy much of what Joshua Tree has to offer but driving and stopping at these various outposts. The way points are well marked on the road and is great for someone who wants to spend the day driving through the park. The way points have many interesting facts and information about the park, and are worth the few minutes it takes for you to stop and enjoy the area. The West area of the park is filled with the Joshua Trees and the forest of trees is something to be seen. These trees are growing in the desert of Joshua Tree National Park and seem to be thriving. If they only grew bigger and could provide more shade, it was hot then I went to the park.
Arch Rock Trail – The trail head is just off of the Twin Tanks parking area and this parking is just North of the White Tank camping area. There is plenty of parking and when you are ready to hike go a bit South in the parking area and you will see a covered area with the trail information and backcountry camping information. Take the trail for Twin Tanks and after a little bit the Arch Rock trail goes to the left. The trail will cross the road at a crosswalk. The path is well marked and warn in the desert. You will come to a “Y” in the trail with the Arch Rock trail going in a loop or you can go to Heart Rock. The Arch Rock trail will take you to a rock formation that is made by rocks, hence the name. The hiking around the rock is a bit of rock scrambling but otherwise you can have a nice easy walk.
Heart Rock Trail – You pick this out and back trail up at the “Y” in the Arch Rock trail. The trail has a bit of up and down but the elevation gain/loss is not much. The path is well marked and seeing a heart shaped rock is well worth it. The best is if you can get a photo with your loved ones at the rock would make for a good photo. Me I did a selfie but a couple who were doing Instagram shots offered to take my photo but I declined. This little detour from the Arch Rock trail is well worth the extra 10 – 15 minutes you spend going and coming.
Cholla Cactus Garden – The stop on the main drive between Cottonwood entrance and the end of the road has a wonderful stop called Cholla cactus garden. You see these cactus starting to grow before you get to the garden area. The garden area has parking and is an easy walk through this wonderful cactus field in the park. The cactus has multiple colors and even flowers but these are not you delicate flowers. The cactus’ flowers attract bees and you can see many bees here in the garden, but don’t hurt the bees. The walk takes a winding route on flat ground through the garden. Remember to stay on the path and don’t touch the cactus as they are dangerous to touch. The NPS rates the trail as easy and it is 0.25 miles. They also say that it should take between 15 – 30 minutes to complete the loop. Note: Why do people not think the trail is for them and they go outside the trail. Do they want the photo that nobody else is getting?
Lost Palms Oasis – The trail head is near the Cottonwood campground and if so inclined you can even hike from the campground to the Lost Palms Oasis. I choose to drive to the parking area of the trail head and hike my way in. The hike I thought was 3.4 miles in total was actually 7.5 miles! The trail is easy to follow with many markers showing you the way and giving you distances. About 0.6 of a mile from the trail head you can choose to go to Mastodon Peak or continue onto the Lost Palms. I choose the palms and continued onward. As luck would have it today it was only in the low 90’s and in the valleys there was a bit of a breeze. During the hike you have to go up and down into a valley about 4 time. The path is mainly sandy in the valleys and hard sand the rest of the hike. I only saw about 20 people on the trail to the oasis and was on the trail for some 6 hours. The trail ends with a sign saying that the trail ends and no more maintained trail. You can see that many people have hiked down into the canyon where the oasis is located but I was happy to see it from the top of the hill. I am told by Chris, who went to the bottom, that there was a little bit of water at the bottom near one of the palm trees. Maybe I missed this but seeing the palm trees on the cliffside was cool enough for me. The NPS rates the trail as strenuous and says it is 7.5 miles but only 500 feet of elevation gain. The elevation is not hard but boy the miles are hard on an old guy with a bum leg like me.
Skull Rock Nature Trail – The trail is 1.7 miles and it starts and stops at Skull Rock. The trail on the side near Skull rock is .5 miles and there are many markers to follow and along the way there are many way points with information about the nature in the area. The trail will drop you out at a campground and you need to go to the right and had back to the main road. Once you have exited the campground you will then cross the street and are able to continue on the trail. The trail on the non-skull side is not marked as well and the way points are not a frequent as on the other side. The trail has a tight spot for a large guy like me with a day pack on but other than that it is an easy hike. The hardest part of the hike is the walking in the sand.
Cottonwood Campground – The campground has two main loops being A and B both have 30 spots along with 6 group sites. Each loop and the group sites have a restroom with flush toilets and they are cleaned daily by the park service. There is also fresh water available by the rest rooms along with trash dumpsters. The recycling is down near the group sites that are on the way into the campground. The sites are nice with a picnic table and fire pit but more importantly you get privacy with vegetation or the parking area for your vehicle blocks wondering eyes. The sites on the outer loop are drive up sites and parking is along the road but if you are in the inner loop you can back into your spot and the vegetation along with your vehicle provide plenty of cover. The downside is the non-group sites don’t have shade so you should bring your shade to enjoy the day without the sun beating down on you. The van provided nice shade in the evening and I had a little tree/bush for some shade in the early morning. Note: somebody broke the men’s room soap dispenser when I was there so you could not wash your hands in the bathroom. Second item, please don’t wash your dishes and then dump the water on the ground. The food particles will attract animals and the water is not good to be dumping. Remember to leave it as you found it and take only memories and photos. The campground loop A has a trail head that will take you to the Lost Oasis but it also adds about 3 miles to the trip. I stayed at the campground on a Thursday – Sunday nights and have to say that Thursday and Sunday was much better and more quite than Friday and Saturday.
