Joshua Tree National Park, California

Joshua Tree National Park - California

Go to Park Details
A Desert Park
The desert is immense and infinitely variable, yet delicately fragile. It is a land shaped by sudden torrents of rain and climatic extremes. Rainfall is sparse and unpredictable. Streambeds are usually dry and waterholes are few. This land may appear defeated and dead, but within its parched environment are intricate living systems, each fragment performing a slightly different function, and each fragment depending on the whole system for survival.

Two deserts, two large ecosystems primarily determined by elevation, come together at Joshua Tree National Park. Few areas more vividly illustrate the contrast between high and low desert. Below 3000 feet (910 meters), the Colorado Desert, occupying the eastern half of the park, is dominated by the abundant creosote bush. Adding interest to this arid land are small stands of spidery ocotillo and cholla cactus. The higher, slightly cooler, and wetter Mojave Desert is the special habitat of the undisciplined Joshua tree, extensive stands of which occur throughout the western half of the park.

Standing like an island in a desolate sea, the oases, a third ecosystem, provide dramatic contrast to their arid surroundings. Five fan palm oases dot the park, indicating those few areas where water occurs naturally at or near the surface, meeting the special life requirements of those stately trees. Oases once serving earlier desert visitors now abound in wildlife.

The park encompasses some of the most interesting geologic displays found in California's deserts. Rugged mountains of twisted rock and exposed granite monoliths testify to the tremendous earth forces that shaped and formed this land. Arroyos, playas, alluvial fans, bajadas, pediments, desert varnish, granites, aplite, and gneiss interact to form a giant desert mosaic of immense beauty and complexity.

As old as the desert may look, it is but a temporary phenomenon in the incomprehensible time-scale of geology. In more verdant times, one of the Southwest's earliest inhabitants, Pinto Man, lived here, hunting and gathering along a slow moving river that ran through the now dry Pinto Basin. Later, Indians traveled through this area in tune with harvests of pinyon nuts, mesquite beans, acorns, and cactus fruit, leaving behind rock paintings and pottery ollas as reminders of their passing. In the late 1800s explorers, cattlemen, and miners came to the desert. They built dams to create water tanks and dug up and tunneled the earth in search of gold. They are gone now, and left behind are their remnants, the Lost Horse and Desert Queen Mines and the Desert Queen Ranch. In the 1930s homesteaders came seeking free land and the chance to start new lives. Today many people come to the park's 793,000 acres of open space seeking clear skies and clean air, and the peace and tranquility, the quietude and beauty, only deserts offer.

The life force is patient here. Desert vegetation, often appearing to have succumbed to a harsh and sometimes unforgiving environment, lies dormant, awaiting the rainfall and moderate weather that will trigger its growth, painting the park a profusion of colors. At the edges of daylight and under clear night stars is a fascinating multitude of generally unfamiliar desert wildlife. Waiting out daytime heat, these creatures run, hop, crawl, and burrow in the slow rhythm of desert life. Under bright sun and blue sky, bighorn sheep and golden eagles add an air of unconcerned majesty to this land.

For all its harshness, the desert is a land of extreme fragility. Today's moment of carelessness may leave lasting scars or disrupt an intricate system of life that has existed for eons. When viewed from the roadside, the desert only hints at its hidden life. To the close observer, a tiny flower bud or a lizard's frantic dash reveals a place of beauty and vitality. Take your time as you travel through Joshua Tree National Park. The desert provides space for self-discovery, and can be a refuge for the human spirit.

Location Information
Operating Hours/Seasons
Facilities and Opportunities: (including trails, camping, concessions)
Visitation
Special Events Programs

Location Information

Address:
74485 National Park Drive
Twentynine Palms, CA 92277

Directions:
Joshua Tree National Park lies 140 miles east of Los Angeles. You can approach it from the west via Interstate 10 and Highway 62 (29 Palms Highway). The north entrances to the park are located at the towns of Joshua Tree and Twentynine Palms. The south entrance at Cottonwood Springs, which lies 25 miles (40 kilometers) east of Indio, can be approached from the east or west, also via Interstate 10.

Back to Park Details List

Operating Hours/Seasons

The park may be visited year round. Each season adds its personality to the desert's character.

Back to Park Details List

Facilities and Opportunities

Visitor centers, ranger stations, entrance stations, and wayside exhibits are located along main roads leading into and through the park. These provide you with opportunities to acquaint yourself with park resources. Publications about the park are sold by the Joshua Tree Natural History Association at visitor centers.

Park rangers are here to help you have an enjoyable, safe visit. Detailed information on weather, road conditions, backcountry use, campgrounds, and regulations may be obtained at visitor centers or entrance stations.

Walks, hikes, and campfire talks are conducted chiefly in the spring and fall; information is posted on campground bulletin boards, at ranger stations, and at visitor centers. Ranger conducted activities can increase your enjoyment and understanding of the park.

Camping
There are nine campgrounds with tables, fireplaces, and toilets. Several picnic areas for day use are available. You must bring water and firewood. Motels, stores, restaurants, dump stations, and auto services are located in nearby towns.

Obtain reservations for individual sites at Black Rock and Indian Cove, all group sites, and horse camp at Black Rock by calling 1-800-365-2267. Reserve horse camp sites at Ryan by calling 760-367-5541. All other campgrounds are first come, first served.

Showers are not available and there are no hookups for recreational vehicles.

Two cars and up to six people are allowed at each family campsite. Group site capacity ranges from ten to seventy people.

Campfires are only allowed in the firepits provided. Bring your own firewood. All vegetation in the park is protected.

Hiking
The park contains six trails that range from moderate to strenuous, as well as 35 miles of the California Riding and Hiking Trail. Two to three days are required to hike the entire length of that trail but shorter hikes of 4, 6.7, or 11 miles (6.4, 10.7, or 17.6 km) are possible. Additional information on hikes in the park is available at park visitor centers.

Back to Park Details List

Visitation

Safety Concerns

Joshua Tree contains abandoned mines and associated structures that are potentially dangerous.
Supervise children closely and never enter abandoned mines.
Carry enough water, at least one gallon (4 liters) per person per day; two gallons (8 liters) when it is hot or when you are involved in strenuous activity.
Avoid washes after thunderstorms because of flash floods.
When climbing be sure you are properly trained and equipped.
Watch where you put your hands and feet, especially in summer when snakes are active.

Back to Park Details List

Special Events Programs

Special events and programs take place throughout the year. Check with the park office for details.

Back to Park Details List
Top of Page
National Parks Home