A Weekend in Joshua Tree National Park

Once I had stopped singing U2 songs and introducing the much loved Joshua Tree album to my 11 year old, I set about planning a trip to its namesake National Park! 

This was to be my first solo adventure since arriving in the USA. The small one was due to attend Scout camp in the park so instead of missing out I planned to drop him off and have a child-free weekend. In the end my husband was available to join me and I can’t even remember the last time we had a couples adventure.

Joshua Trees - not even trees at all!

Why Joshua Tree?

This is where two deserts meet, the Mojave and Colorado ecosystems collide making this area rich in plants and wildlife. The area became a National Park to protect the name sake Joshua Trees from being extracted. Fun fact, they aren’t even trees they are acutely part of the Agave family! Not only is this area famous for its trees but also the sculpted rock formations that seem other worldly. With climbers and boulderers flocking from afar to climb here. 

Deserts to a Brit are unusual and certainly one within a 5 hour drive impossible. Yes, I’ve been to Egypt, Jordan, Morocco and inland Australia but I can’t just load up the Jeep and head to the desert from my home in the green and pleasant English hills! 

We stayed at Black Rock Campsite which is close to the town of Yucca Valley, officially it is inside the park but there are no park entrance gates to get to it so you can visit this area of the park without actually entering the park. There is a small Nature Center in at the campsite, staffed by Rangers so you can pick up your stamps, maps and gifts from here. Our son was staying at Jumbo Rocks and we dropped him off in the dark before heading back to our camp site. 

The desert is cold at night in February (this is also a reason that high season runs from October to March in Joshua Tree as its stinking hot in the summer months). We woke early as an exciting day was planned. After pitching our tent in the dark, we unzipped the tent and were greeted by an incredible vista. The campsite was covered in Joshua Trees and various other cacti, and surrounded by hills and mountains. The crisp morning air produced clear blue skies and the moon was still up.

Camp mornings should be easier without a 11 year old to manage, turns out things still take way longer than they should, especially since we’d arrived in the dark and there was no organization involved in the unpacking! So we got ready as quickly as possible and made a take out coffee before driving to the park.

From Black Rock it is about a 30 minute drive to the park entrance and then there is one main road through the park with a few turn offs to the east and west. We had driven a fair stretch of the park in the dark to drop our son the previous night so we were mesmerised by the views and endless Joshua Trees that seemed endless.

Our early start was on purpose, we had a rendezvous to get to. I had booked a private climbing session to explore the crazy rocks with Stone Adventures and we were greeted by our guide in the park. We were kitted up and then drove a short distance to a pull in close to some beginner rocks. Its been a while since I have been on actual rock and my regular indoor sessions are no longer regular, but I was keen to explore this park differently. Our guide set up some cool climbs for us and coached us through different techniques to conquer them (chimney-ing anyone?). The views from the top of the rocks were amazing and well worth the effort. 

We had a great time top roping and still had two hours of our guide to go, he took us to the Hidden Valley area of Joshua Tree. This area is pretty much in the middle of the park and busy with climbers and boulderers on a Saturday morning. Out guide led us away from the parking lot and towards some rocks and then told us to put on our helmets. The proceeded to disappear into a tiny hole and inside the rocks. From here we scrambled through the inners of Hidden Valley, squeezing through small holes and up steep sections. Soon enough we popped out at the top with the most amazing views across most of Joshua Tree National Park. We traversed the top of the rocks before finding our way down, part was even on our bums as a proper slide. I highly recommend doing some sort of guided excursion in a National Park, the knowledge of these guides is incredible and you get to see areas that are off the beaten track. Check out my Reel on this on Instagram - @emily_justadventure

This area was once a ranch and we were shown an old cave with a door on that remains a mystery as to its use. Pretty interesting, but not as interesting as what came before the ranchers and rangers. This, of course, was once the indigenous peoples land and we were shown rock art from a time before America was colonised, these stories are still not shared enough by the NPS, and certainly the general visitor will not learn about these people, lots of work needs to be done on this, in my opinion. We must remember that there were people on these lands long before us that were displaced by ranchers or when lands became ‘protected’. 

Finally our time with our guide was over, we headed to a pull out and had a tailgate picnic and planned an afternoon hike. About a kilometer into said hike we realized our muscles had had enough so headed into town of the obligatory visitor centre stop and coffee. And then we had a glorious child free afternoon reading books and chilling undisturbed at the campsite. 

We had an early dinner as the sunset early and then headed into the park to star gaze. The spot we found was far from quiet and I soon discoverd the error of not bringing gloves to the desert and we didn’t last very long. I got one half decent photo before we headed back to the warmth of our sleeping bags.

The next morning we had to collect our son from across the park, so back in early and a drive to Jumbo Rocks. This campsite is more remote than Black Rock, quieter than Hidden Valley so if we went again this is where we would stay. You literally camp within the rocks. After a short handover we headed to Halls of Horror area, another set of spectacular rocks rising from the desert. Here we scrambled some more, our son had new found confidence after a day with the Scouts and we hiked around this beautiful area. 

Our final stops were, of course, the obligatory sign photo and back to the visitor centre to complete the Junior Ranger program and a new badges awarded. 

There are an abundance of trails, areas to scramble and off road tracks that can be explored in the park and our two days definitely was not enough. We barely scratched the surface so will return (although I feel we keep saying this and our time in the USA is short). Does everyone underestimate the time each park needs? And I am guilty of the tick boxing of parks and need too slow done and get deeper in each one we visit? 

Conservation in Joshua Tree

Joshua Trees are protected under the California Conservation Act due to them being at risk of climate change. The desert is getting hotter, this is proven. These ‘trees’ could be eliminated due to the small areas that they cover. 10,000 years ago the trees were dispersed by the giant sloths that would eat them and sow their seeds elsewhere, this method is now extinct. So now they are pollinated by moths and most of the seeds fall close the parent tree, thus making the area they cover smaller. In fact, Minerva Hoy championed the area to become a national park because so many trees were being extracted to be used ornamentally. There are conservation plans in place. But what can you do when you visit?

• Ensure you only stop at designated pulls in

• Don’t let your engine idle - emissions is one of the biggest issues in the park

• Remove all waste that you take in

• Visit during quieter times so impact is more spread out

• Learn about the fragility of the ecosystem and make a few changes at home.

• Champion for more public transport/shuttle services in parks. These can drastically reduce climate impact.

Planning your time in Joshua Tree

Again we did a too short visit. I would recommend 3 to 4 days to see the park properly.

Camp inside the park to get the best experience and lessen your driving (emissions), the night sky and the ability to start hikes early means it will be a quieter experience. Either pre-book at Black Rock or Jumbo Rocks or take a change on the first come first served sites throughout the park. Most have little to no facilities as no water in the park so be prepared! 

If you do stay outside the park, plan to get in early. And work backwards, drive to the furthest point first and go against the crowds. 

Ensure you carry more water (and food) than you think you will need, there is none in the park and even on a cool desert day its easy to get dehydrated.

Aim to be there on a Friday evening as there are Ranger led stargazing actives. They can be booked on the National Park Service website. 

And of course, go to at Visitor Center to get some expert advice from a Ranger.