Joshua Tree - National Park

Entrance to Joshua Tree National Park

Joshua Tree National Park

It was a quick drive to Joshua Tree National Park driving from the Los Angeles area.  About a 2-hour drive with pleasant mountain surroundings after an hour or so heading away from LA.  Similar to the Sequoia National Park drive there were windmills all over countryside spinning electricity into the grid.

Arriving early in the morning (approximately 7am) I spent a few hours at the southwestern side of the park (main route was I-10).  My visit was on May 12, 2022 and the temperature upon the morning arrival was pleasant.  Shortly after going through to entrance gate I encountered a small group of road cyclist out on an early morning ride through the hills.  While there were other cars, campers and the like, the park was not crowded at all.  There are private residences all along the winding road to the park entrance.

Once in the park, I stopped to take short hike on a looped one-mile trail and all of sudden it felt hot and the terrain was rough.  The trail was mostly a mixture of loose, thick dirt and some sand with many types of cactus and desert plants all around. Will post pictures of the trail and the rabbit hiding under the shade of a large cactus tree.  As a note, after the hike my clothes were full of Cactus needles.  It was hard to pick the needles out of my clothes without finger pricking.

In contrast to the mountains in Death Valley, the mountains in Joshua Tree seemed more barren and unwelcoming.  It could have something to do with the Ranger flyer posted at the Visitor Center that is titled: “Don’t Die Today” with a hiker pictured underneath the title. 

The Visitor Center was plain, okay but not great with no public restrooms and very few exhibits.  It was really more of a gift shop.  The towns leading into the park were not great with older hotels and retail except for a new Home Depot.  Probably not a town I would spend the night if I were looking to stay at a hotel and drive into the park each day.

Of the National Parks so far, this was my least favorite.  Even though I only had 3 hours for my time in the park, that was enough.  Happy to visit Joshua Tree and certainly some interesting desert landscape to see.