Planning Your Time

Joshua Tree in One Day

After stocking up on water, snacks, and lunch in Yucca Valley or Joshua Tree (you won’t find any supplies inside the park), begin your visit at the Joshua Tree Visitor Center, where you can pick up maps and peruse exhibits to get acquainted with what awaits you. Enter the park itself at the nearby West Entrance Station and continue driving along the highly scenic and well-maintained Park Boulevard. Stop first at Hidden Valley, where you can relax at the picnic area or hike the easy 1-mile loop trail. After a few more miles turn left onto the spur road that takes you to the trailhead for the Barker Dam Nature Trail. Walk the easy 1.1-mile loop to view a water tank ranchers built to quench their cattle’s thirst; along the way you’ll spot birds and a handful of cactus varieties. Return to Park Boulevard and head south; you’ll soon leave the main road again for the drive to Keys View. The easy loop trail here is only 0.25 mile, but the views extend for miles in every direction—look for the San Andreas Fault, the Salton Sea, and nearby mountains. Return to Park Boulevard, where you’ll find Cap Rock, another short loop trail winding amid rock formations and Joshua trees.

Continuing along Park Boulevard, the start of the 18-mile self-guided Geology Tour Road will soon appear on your right. A brochure outlining its 16 stops is available at visitor centers; note that the round-trip will take about two hours, and high-clearance, four-wheel-drive vehicles are recommended after stop 9. Do not attempt if it has recently rained. Back on Park Boulevard, you’ll soon arrive at the aptly named Skull Rock. This downright spooky formation is next to the parking lot; a nearby trailhead marks the beginning of a 1.7-mile nature trail. End your day with a stop at the Visitor Center in Twentynine Palms, where you can stroll through the historic Oasis of Mara, popular with area settlers.