Vast mountains, luscious flora, super unique trees and plant life, oases, incredible night skies… Sound familiar? It should. If it doesn’t, go check out our post JOSHUA TREE NATIONAL PARK: HOW TO PLAN YOUR VISIT and then come back here.
Ok, you back now? Great! Let’s jump in to 5 must-do activities in Joshua Tree National Park.
WHERE TO START
Update: Arch Rock Trail added in December 2022
Keep in mind, there are far more than 5 things to do in Joshua Tree. In fact, Joshua Tree has just over 100 different hiking trails in it according to AllTrails. Depending on how much time you’re planning to visit, and the types of activities you’re interested in, will really dictate what you end up doing. Where you stay in relation to all of the different points of interest may also be a deciding factor. For us, these are simply the five things we were most excited about seeing and doing during our two-day visit.
HIDDEN VALLEY TRAIL
The very first thing we did in Joshua Tree National Park, was the Hidden Valley Trail. It was noted as being one of the main hikes to do in the park, and it did not disappoint. We were fortunate enough to have the entire trail to ourselves, which gave us plenty of opportunities to take photos (and rest), IT WAS HOT. This trail is one of the first you’ll come across after entering the park. It has a fairly large parking lot, picnic tables, and bathroom which makes it a great spot. The trail itself is only a 1mi / 1.61km loop, and relatively easy. So it’s great for everyone.
- DIFFICULTY – Easy
- LENGTH – 1.0mi / 1.6km
- TIME NEEDED – 1 hour
- PET FRIENDLY – No
RYAN MOUNTAIN
Ryan Mountain is the opposite of the Hidden Valley Trail. The Ryan Mountain Trail is 3.2mi / 5.15km roundtrip from trailhead to summit, and is a literal hike up the mountain and is considered moderate. AllTrails shows it being 3mi, but keep in mind that is total distance there and back. The hike takes roughly 2 hours each way, and is quite strenuous though. So if you have difficulty with narrow climbs in elevation, this may not be for you. But if you enjoy hiking, and are ok with elevation, than we would highly recommend this hike.
One thing to note though, the Park Rangers recommend doing this hike either very early in the morning, or later in the afternoon/evening due to how hot it gets in the middle of the day. They even have signage at the beginning of the trail warning that people have died doing this hike due to heat exhaustion and dehydration. Remember that section of our planning your trip post: here? This is where that really matters. Take it seriously.
- DIFFICULTY – Hard
- LENGTH – 3mi / 4.8km
- TIME NEEDED – 2-3 hours
- PET FRIENDLY – No
CHOLLA CACTUS GARDEN
That last one was a bit tough, so let’s give you another easy one. Easy. But Dangerous. Enter, the Cholla Cactus Garden. We had no idea what we were getting in to when we visited this garden. We thought it was this super cool and cute expansive garden area full of super unique cactuses. That part was right. What we didn’t know, was everything you need to know about these cactuses.
THINGS TO KNOW ABOUT THE CHOLLAS
First, they are pronounced “choy-ah”. Second, they are not your typical cactus. Did you know there are almost 2,000 different types of cactuses? We didn’t. We assumed if we don’t go near the cactuses, we have nothing to worry about. WRONG. Have you heard the term “jumping cactus”? We hadn’t. The leaves, flowers and needles on these cactuses are not the type that stay attached to the cactus. They jump, they fall, and they attach. TO EVERYTHING. And they don’t come out. We’ll stop boring you of all the details on these cactuses, but what you should know, is that the needles are so incredibly sharp, that they can go through the soles of your shoes and in to your feet. And since they fall so easily, they are everywhere on the ground. So if you plan to take photos in this garden, STAY ON THE PATH.
THE TRAIL
Second, they call this a trail, but it’s only 0.2mi / 0.32km long. So there is almost no activity whatsoever. But it is beautiful. We opted to go before sunrise to enjoy the sunrise lighting over the garden and it was well worth getting up super early for. Just be careful, as with the super low lighting, it’s easy to not see where you’re stepping.
*Side note: bring a hair comb and/or pliers with you. In the event you do get attacked by one of these cactuses, you will not be able to remove them with your hands. So these items will be helpful in removing them.
- DIFFICULTY – Easy
- LENGTH – 0-1mi / 0-1.6km
- TIME NEEDED – 0-1 hours
- PET FRIENDLY – No
FORTYNINE PALMS OASIS
Ok, back to a more difficult one. Not quite as difficult as Ryan Mountain, but it is of equal distance 3.1mi / 5km round trip. And well worth it. The hike is not quite as big of an elevation as Ryan Mountain, but there still is some moderate climbing involved. And nestled out on the eastern side of the park, is an oasis in the middle of the mountains. From what we were told, there is a small spring that runs through these mountains as a result of a number of fault lines that collided with one another right where this oasis is. And in the early 1900s, miners planted palm trees here to mark where the spring was located. There is a point about 2 miles in when you finally round a corner of the trail and see the palm trees off in the distance, and it literally is an oasis. Beautiful palm trees in the middle of the desert.
*Side note: if you do this hike, there is a sign posted in the middle of the oasis that states that you should not go any further in order to maintain and preserve the ecological area. Please be respectful of this. And please do not carve in the palm trees like others have.
- DIFFICULTY – Easy – Moderate
- LENGTH – 3mi / 4.8km
- TIME NEEDED – 1.5-2.5 hours
- PET FRIENDLY – No
ARCH ROCK
Did you know that California had arches in it? Utah and Colorado aren’t the only places! And the hike isn’t terribly difficult either making it great for all types of adventurers!
The hike starts at a trailhead right off of Pinto Basin Road, about 15 minutes from the North Entrance of the park. The hike is about 1.5mi / 2.4km in length and skirts the White Tank Campground. The trail is well maintained, and relatively flat until you get to the arch. You are able to see the arch without any strenuous climbing, but if you wish to get photos in or around the arch, it does require some climbing.
One of our favorite aspects of Joshua Tree National Park, are the rocks and rock formations. And getting to hike in and around them is one of the best activities to do. And given the level of ease of this hike, it is a must for all visitors!
- DIFFICULTY – Easy
- LENGTH – 1.5mi / 2.4km
- TIME NEEDED – 1-2 hours
- PET FRIENDLY – No
BONUS OPTIONS
Two additional bonus options which we also checked out while in Joshua Tree, but weren’t exactly highlights, were Barker Dam, and Skull Rock. But one that was a highlight, was getting to stargaze and photograph The Milky Way!
STARGAZE
This one is about as easy as they come. Unless you are not a late night / early morning person. In which case, it may be super difficult. But one of the amazing things about Joshua Tree, is the amount (or lack thereof) of light pollution. This means in the middle of the night, you will have a front row seat to one of the best stargazing areas in the country. One thing to keep in mind, ESPECIALLY if you plan to photograph the sky or Milky Way, is the moon. The moon is a giant flashlight in the sky and can really impact the amount of stars you see. Whenever we’re trying to track the sun, or the moon, we use the Sun Seeker and Moon Seeker apps. These will help you see and track where both of these will be at any given hour. We were lucky enough to have the moon set below the horizon at around 1:30am, so we planned our stargazing for around 2:30am and it was INCREDIBLE. You can literally just step outside, grab a seat and enjoy the show.
BARKER DAM
The hike at Barker Dam is about a 1.3mi / 2.09 km, and relatively easy. We weren’t especially impressed, but if you’re looking for an easy hike, this will suffice. One thing to note and call out about this hike though, that was cool, was that there are petroglyphs which were painted on rock by Native Americans a long long time ago.
SKULL ROCK
Skull Rock is literally on Park Blvd. All you have to do is pull over and boom, you’re there. It makes for a cool photograph, but beyond that, that’s about it.
Between this and our How To Plan Your Visit post, we hope we’ve given you some inspiration and all you need to make an epic trip to Joshua Tree.
Let us know what you thought of this, and if you plan on making a trip to Crater Lake National Park in the near future, down below in our comments!
And if you’re looking for some other National Park inspiration, check out some of our other articles:
- ULTIMATE GUIDE TO LASSEN VOLCANIC NATIONAL PARK
- ULTIMATE GUIDE TO YOSEMITE NATIONAL PARK
- 5 MUST-DO ACTIVITIES IN REDWOOD NATIONAL AND STATE PARKS
- 12 TOWNS TO VISIT ON THE CALIFORNIA COAST
- 9 WAYS TO VIEW GOLDEN GATE BRIDGE
- 10 NATIONAL PARKS IN THE U.S. YOU PROBABLY DIDN’T KNOW EXISTED
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Thanks for stopping by!
Ryan & Katy
