Learn everything you need to plan the perfect 2-day trip to Joshua Tree National Park. We’ve been three times now and are telling you the best hikes, scenic stops, and must-see rock formations like Hidden Valley, Skull Rock, Arch Rock, and Ryan Mountain. Plus we share tips for how to prepare for desert conditions, where to find the best stargazing spots, what to download before entering the park and where to eat near Joshua Tree.

You can download our Joshua Tree hiking Itinerary to do this exact same trip on your own, or download our 9 California National Parks Road Trip Itinerary and make plans to visit them all!

We have been to Joshua Tree before and keep coming back because it is a beautiful park and easily accessible in SoCal.

Here are a few places to stay near Joshua Tree that we recommend: Holiday Inn Express & Suites, Fairfield Inn & Suites, & RESET Hotel. You can also check out a full list of hotels near Joshua Tree for more options.

Find a great flight deal to SoCal with Thrifty Traveler Premium’s flight deals alerts. Use our promo code TSP to get $20 off your first year subscription.

Joshua Tree Hiking Trip – Episode Transcript

0:35

And get ready to embark on a new adventure with us around the globe.

Hey Swati, welcome to this week’s Just the Tip.

Today you have me, Brittany, as your host and I’m taking you to Joshua Tree National Park in California.

So this was actually my third visit to Joshua Tree National Park.

0:52

My first was on a girls trip with Kim and a few other girlfriends.

And we actually have an episode about our weekend trip.

It was called Girls Getaway to Palm Desert.

The second time that I went was with Jamal and we just did a day trip from San Diego.

So we just crammed as much as we could in for that one one day.

1:09

But I really wanted to do Joshua Tree justice and I feel like we did this with this trip and it was a quick trip.

It was just two days with just one overnight and I went with my long time friend Saira.

Saira and I have been friends for over 20 years now, and we met because I picked her to work at the Target Starbucks in our hometown of Woodland, CA and we’ve been friends ever since.

1:37

It’s been a long time since Siren and I have traveled together and so I was really excited to do this trip with her and she was really excited to go to Joshua Tree.

So Joshua Tree, if you don’t know, is one of the most unique desert landscapes in the United States.

1:52

It’s where the Mojave and Colorado deserts meet, and the park is huge.

It’s over 800,000 acres.

It’s one of the largest national parks in the country, and it’s known for its Joshua trees, massive granite boulder formations, and the wide open desert views.

2:10

The park is known for hiking, rock scrambling and stargazing.

And we’re going to talk about all of that.

And it has something for everyone.

There’s short scenic trails or there’s longer panoramic summit hikes.

Before I dive too deep into that episode, I just want to start this off with a few tips.

2:27

The best bathrooms that you’re going to find at the National Park are going to be the ones at the visitor centers, and there are two that you can go to on the outskirts of the park.

While we were in Joshua Tree National Park, we pretty much had no service at all.

So make sure you’re downloading offline maps before entering the park if you want to route yourself from one place to another.

2:47

And then if you plan on doing hiking, be sure to download the offline trail maps from All Trails.

That was super helpful while we were on this trip.

You are in the desert, so pack plenty of water.

Drink water often and make sure you’re staying hydrated.

We visited in April and the weather wasn’t too warm.

3:05

I think our highs were in the 70s.

But in the summer it gets a very, very warm and there’s no shade, so you can get dehydrated very quickly.

We did learn on this trip that there are bees anywhere there’s water nearby, so just be cautious of that.

We didn’t come across much water, but we did come across some bees that were near some water by a bathroom.

3:27

Another tip is also to wear layers.

Desert temperatures can change pretty quickly between day and night.

It was very chilly in the mornings and evenings during our trip, but it was warm and sunny midday.

So you’re going to want those layers to dress up or dress down.

3:43

If you are hiking, be sure to wear some good hiking shoes.

You’re going to do probably a little bit of rock scrambling and climbing, and so you want to protect your ankles and wear something with grip.

And as I mentioned before, you’re in the desert, there’s not a lot of shade, so be sure to wear sunscreen.

4:00

So we did this trip as a quick overnight excursion to drive from San Diego to Joshua Tree.

It took us about 2 1/2 hours from central San Diego.

And on the way back, it took us about 3 1/2 hours because there was traffic going home.

So we started off our time in Joshua Tree National Park by visiting the visitor center.

4:18

You can actually buy your National Park pass there.

The entrance for Joshua Tree National Park is $30, or you can buy an America the Beautiful National Park Pass that gets you into any National Park for a rolling year for $80.

Saira actually has another National Park trip planned for later this year.

4:37

So she went ahead and bought the America the Beautiful National Park Pass that will get her into any National Park for a rolling year.

And this pass came in handy and buying it at the visitor center in particular became very handy because when we got to the toll stations in Joshua Tree National Park, there was a big line, but there was someone there checking passes and asking if people if they have at a pre purchase pass.

5:01

And because we did, we got to bypass the line.

So that felt amazing.

Our first hike in Joshua Tree National Park was the Hidden Valley Nature Trail.

This is just a quick one mile loop and it’s tucked inside a natural Rockwall basin and it’s a really good introductory hike to Joshua Tree National Park because you see the towering boulders, the iconic Joshua trees, and the legends say that it was once used by cattle rustlers as a hidden hideout.

5:31

So it has some unique history as well too.

So we did do this hike and then we headed to our next destination, which was called the Cap Rock Trail.

This trail is just a very short 0.4 mile loop, and Cap Rock is just the name of a rock formation where there’s this huge, massive boulder and on top of it there’s another boulder that fits perfectly balanced on this base.

5:58

And so it looks like a cap, which is why it’s named.

So this trail doesn’t actually go around that rock, it just kind of goes in the vicinity.

So if you didn’t want to do extra hiking, you could just go here for the picture and the viewpoint of the the rock formation.

6:14

But we did do the loop.

It was quick and you see some Joshua trees, you hike through some boulders and it’s pretty flat.

So it was easy and we were early in our day.

Next up was a visit to the Hall of Horrors area.

And this is a 0.6 mile loop, but there’s a disclaimer on this one.

6:31

All trails, I would say, LED us astray.

What I had read about it briefly prior was that the Hall of Horrors is a narrow rock corridor through these boulders, and it’s like kind of like a slot Canyon in a way, but the trail just leads you around the area and it doesn’t actually lead you to the entrance of the Hall of the Horror.

6:55

And so we didn’t actually get to experience the Halls of Horror and all of its glory.

And it kind of became a running joke between the two of us for the rest of the trip.

Like anytime we saw two boulders that you could barely squeeze, we were like, is that the Hall of Horrors?

But we unfortunately didn’t get to experience it.

7:11

We saw other hikers on this trail that were kind of lost and looking for the same thing.

We all kind of had the same map, so we weren’t sure where we were going.

And there are no signs directing you to where like that slot Canyon arrow passageway really is.

We did try to find it, but we were unsuccessful.

7:29

And we did climb up some rocks.

And that is the fun of it is kind of making your own path.

And when we got back to the room later that night, I tried to look it up, like exactly where it is.

And I think I kind of have an idea that we went around this big rock formation, but it’s actually in the rock formation on the backside, if I understand it correctly.

7:48

But if I ever go back to Joshua Tree, I’ll give it another attempt.

The area is really popular, though, because if you’re a climber, climbers really like this route.

And if you like adventure and you’re a hiker, you can climb over these boulders and squeeze through these rocks as well.

8:04

So it’s supposed to be really cool.

The next stop on our itinerary for the day was school rock.

And school rock is a rock, as you can imagine, that looks like a school.

So it’s naturally sculpted by erosion.

It looks like a giant human school.

8:20

And there’s parking very close to this rock, so it can make it very, very popular.

And there was a line there to take a picture.

Can be kind of hard to get a picture alone because people in the background can be climbing on the rock or as we experienced also kind of cutting the line.

8:36

So we went here, did take a picture, they weren’t that great.

But then on the way back from a different hike, we passed by this area again and there we happened to be there at the perfect timing and there was literally no one there and we got better pictures that round.

8:52

I also think it’s crowded in this area because it is very accessible because it’s right near the roadside and there is quick parking nearby.

But after we took our first picture at School Rock, we took a walk to another area called the Jumbo Rocks area.

And the Jumbo Rocks area is pretty much like a giant playground of enormous granite boulders that are piled high across the desert floor.

9:14

So we ended up walking from School Rock to the Jumbo Rocks campground area.

And then while we were near that area, we just said, OK, let’s pick a rock.

And we climbed up.

We ate protein bars, looked out at the beautiful desert view and kind of talked about what we were going to do for the rest of the day.

9:32

And by that point we were definitely past lunchtime but weren’t ready to call it quits in the park yet.

So we decided to do the last two things that we had planned and then leave the park after that.

So after we finished our time in the Jumbo Rocks area, which if you were camping in Joshua Tree National Park, that would be a really good camp area, I think.

9:54

And we did see a lot of campers and you can’t park there if your just a day hiker, which was our original plan.

So that’s why we ended up parking actually closer to school rock and then just walking near this area and seeing all of the big huge jumbo giant rocks.

So after we made it back to the car, we decided to go on another trail and it was a 2 Fer it was the arch rock and the Hard Rock trail.

10:17

So this trail is about 1.7 miles.

It’s an out and back.

But when we drove by the parking area, the parking area was full.

So we actually parked closer to the campground here and then I was looking at my All Trails map and it did look like there was an alternate trail that could get us to this area.

10:35

So we decided to just do that and we pretty much just ended up making our own trail to this area.

It was so much fun because we were climbing over rocks, under rocks, between rocks, and when we popped up to be close to our truck, we were like just on the backside and it was just perfect.

10:51

So it worked out really good.

There was no one on our obviously makeshift trail.

And I did like that because Joshua Tree National Park can be a little crowded, especially at the hot spots.

So it was just nice having that little reprieve with no one on our trail because immediately once we got to Arch Rock, there was a line to get a picture with, obviously the Arch Rock.

11:13

And because there’s a line obviously to get a picture with the Arch Rock, that’s the namesake.

So we did do that from there.

Hard Rock is just a short walk away.

I’m sure you can tell this rock looks like a heart.

From one side, it does look more like a heart.

11:28

From the backside, it does look more like a Peach.

So I’m not sure which way is really the front or not, but you can go take a picture in front of this big rock.

And then we walked back through the campground to get to our car and do our last hike of the day, which was the Barker Dam Loop.

This trail is 1.3 miles.

11:46

It’s a loop.

And this hike goes through a historic water reservoir built by early cattle ranchers.

And then towards the end of the hike, you could actually see ancient petroglyphs left by Native American inhabitants.

And it’s kind of in this rock shelter area.

12:02

You can’t climb up in that rock shelter and there’s a sign in front of it, but you can still see the petroglyphs above and kind of just admire the history of this area.

By this point we were pretty hungry, so we did go back into town.

The closest town is called 29 Palms and we decided to grab dinner.

12:20

After we checked into our hotel, we went and had dinner at Ground Squirrel.

I’m assuming that’s a pronunciation.

The name actually has no vowels, so I don’t know if it’s Grand Squirrel or Ground Squirrel.

We were reading reviews online about how good the squirrel burger is here.

12:39

Everyone kept piping it up.

We had to get the squirrel burger, but we decided to also split something different and we got the Stumps, which was a BBQ sandwich and honestly both of us loved the Stumps better.

That was one of the best barbecue sandwiches I’ve had and I love BBQ but I don’t always love BBQ sandwiches because sometimes I feel like they’re dry.

13:02

But I felt like this one had really, really good flavors.

The Pickles on it were great and the meat on it was so flavorful and juicy.

We also ended up getting the brownie, which was OK, and then we also got some canned cocktails that they’re known for and mine was all right.

13:18

I feel like Cyrus was a little bit better.

Mine was called Rum Punch and it was actually recommended by our server but it just wasn’t my cup of tea.

So Saira and I make a great duo because I told her I would do the planning, she would do the driving and we were both happy with our roles.

13:36

So she really didn’t give much input on this trip except for she had one request which was to go stargazing.

So I did a little research and there’s actually 4 designated stargazing areas in the National Park.

There is the Quail Springs Picnic area, Hidden Valley which we’re at earlier in the day, Caprock which we visited earlier in the day as well, and the Ryan Mountain trailhead area which we were going to visit the next day.

14:05

But also in that same research, other than the designated areas, it said that along Pinto Basin Rd.

That area has some of the darkest skies in the park and that there are numerous roadside pull outs between the Chola Cactus Gardens and the Cottonwood area.

14:23

And so we decided to go that route and instead of visiting a designated area, we just went to this road and pulled into one of the pull outs.

So we pull up in the pull out and Saira actually has a moon roof.

And so I look up through it and I’m like, oh, I really don’t feel like there’s that many stars out right now.

14:43

That’s kind of weird.

But she hadn’t yet opened the moon roof yet.

And I mean, I could see the sky, but the window portion of it was still there.

And so when she actually opened it, Oh my gosh, what a difference it makes because she actually has that tinted for whatever reason.

And so it was just amazing.

15:00

The night sky was so beautiful.

We just kind of reclined back and looked up at the stars for a while and we saw shooting stars.

We’re pretty sure we saw a planet.

We saw the Big Dipper, we saw the Little Dipper.

15:15

We did get out of the car for a little bit too, and we went in our pajamas because it was late at night, but it was cold and chilly.

So we did get back in the car and just enjoy it from there a little bit more.

But it was just so, so beautiful.

It really did remind me of the night sky that we saw at Big Bend National Park.

15:33

And I really appreciate the night skies.

And I’m going to try to make it a point more when we travel and there is dark sky opportunities to really just enjoy.

I want to get one of those apps that tells you where all the star constellations are so you can try and find them and look for them because it was really cool to see.

15:50

So from there we went back to our hotel.

We just had the quick overnight.

The next morning was actually spring forward.

So we lost an hour of sleep, but we did sleep in just a little bit.

We decided that we were going to get breakfast before going back into the park.

16:05

So we went to JT’s Country Kitchen and this is just a cute little diner, like very homey diner.

They have cinnamons roll French toast, they have omelets, they have country fried steak.

We both ended up getting the steak and eggs.

It’s fantastic.

And then after having breakfast there, we headed to our longest hike of our trip and that was is the Ryan Mountain Trail.

16:29

This trail is 2.8 miles out and back and it’s a steady climb to one of the highest points in the park.

There’s a ton of stairs on this trail so if you don’t like stairs this isn’t a great one to do, but I really did enjoy it.

There’s not a lot of shade on this hike either, so I would say start it earlier in the day.

16:48

But when you get to the top of the mountain, you have 360° views of the mountains, the giant boulder field, and then the vast desert landscape below.

It’s very interesting because Joshua Tree is very flat.

A lot of the hikes that we did didn’t have a lot of elevation, but when you look at it from above, it just gives you just such a unique perspective.

17:09

Like you can see how flat the desert is, but then how towering these boulder fields are as well.

You can see it sprinkled with all of the small little Joshua trees in the distance, and you can see the mountains in the background.

It’s a really beautiful summit hike.

17:25

That hike took us about to hours to do and then we headed down and we drove to the Chola Cactus Garden.

So I was really sad because maybe about a week or two before our trip, I actually saw an announcement that the Chola Cactus Garden trail, which is only like a .25 mile trail, was going to be closed for renovation.

17:45

And I was like, no, that’s like the one hike and area that I really wanted to see.

But after doing a little bit more research, just the trail was closed.

The actual Chola Cactus area is still open, and you can still get close to and weave through a lot of the Chola cactuses.

18:01

So we still went there.

We just parked on the side of the road.

A lot of people were parked on the side of the road because the parking lot is closed.

But the Chola cactus garden is a huge, dense field of naturally growing Chola cacti called the Teddy bear Cholas.

And so they actually do look fuzzy, like you want to reach out and like, touch them, but they’re very spiky.

18:21

It’s supposed to be a really amazing trail at sunrise because the cactus looks like it’s glowing or at sunset, but we didn’t do it at sunrise or sunset.

We did it after the Ryan Mountain trail.

But if I can make that switch, I probably would because the actual trail is closed.

18:39

Just be careful where you’re stepping because there are going to be a lot of cactus spines on the ground and Siren and I both stepped on them with our shoes.

So just be mindful about where you’re stepping and don’t get pricked.

After we finished up at the Chola Cactus Garden, we ended up stopping by the other visitor center that we didn’t stop at on the way in and Sarah got some souvenirs and then we called it quits.

19:06

With our time in Joshua Tree National Park.

Really feel like we got a really good overview of the park.

I did like that a lot of the hikes that we did were short, so you could see a lot of different areas and get a feel for a lot of what Joshua Tree has to offer.

Our drive home from Joshua Tree National Park took us about 3 1/2 hours, so it took us about an hour longer to get back than it did going there.

19:28

We did make a little pit stop at Hadley Fruit Orchards, which apparently is known for the date shake.

It’s home of the date shake.

So we did have to try a date shake, which was actually pretty good.

And they have obviously dates and, and then they have a ton of other date products.

19:43

They have actual dates, they have date jam, date BBQ sauce, they have date cookies and a whole bunch of other things.

So we got a few items to try there and then we made our way home.

I am planning on creating a Joshua Tree National Park itinerary.

So if you’re interested, just DMS and let me know that you’re looking out for it.

20:01

And thank you guys so much for tuning in to Just a tip, make sure to subscribe and leave a review and follow us on all the socials at Travel Squad podcast and have fun traveling this weekend.