Joshua tree national Park - Joshua tree, CA

Joshua Tree National Park might be one of the most incredible places I have ever seen. It felt otherworldly. As you enter into this national park, you find yourself transported to what feels like some sort of other planet or like you just stepped into some land imagined in Star Wars movies. To me, Joshua Tree is a can't miss stop while in Palm Springs.

There are two entrances into the park. One is located on the southern end of the park and is called the South Entrance. It's east of Coachella and further away from Palm Springs. The other entrance is called the West Entrance and is located on the northwest end of the park in Joshua Tree. We chose to use this entrance, as it's considered the main one.  The located was about an hour drive from our hotel, which was located in Indian Wells, but it's only about 45 minutes from Palm Springs. 

As we approached the town of Joshua Tree, we could start to see the noticeable changes in plant life. These strange, alien-like trees began to appear. The first one I saw, I turned to my husband and said, "What is that?" After putting a little thought into it, I realized it must be the famed Joshua Tree. As we entered the gates to the park, they began appearing everywhere, along with strange rock formations. 

There is an entrance fee to get into the park. At the time we went, it was $15. You can buy your pass online beforehand. We didn't however because we weren't sure if the weather would pan out for us. The day we went, it was unusually windy and cold and we had not packed for temperatures in the 40's. So, we figured we would drive up there and test it out. If it was too cold, we would turn around. But once we saw the sites in front of us, there was no turning back and we headed to the gate ready to brave the cold temperatures and wind with no coats.

Because we had not bought our pass online, we actually were put in a different lane than most people. The long line was for those who had bought their passes online. We passed them all and zoomed right into the park. This probably saved us a good 15 minutes or more of waiting in the line to get in. So not buying the pass ahead of time actually ended up working out to our benefit. I'm not sure if this is always the case, though.

Speaking of weather, this is the desert. This means weather can vary. In our case, it was early March and despite the fact that it was 70 degrees in Palm Spring that day, it was in the low 40's in Joshua Tree. But during the summer, temperatures can get quite high. Come prepared and make sure to check out these safety tips beforehand.

​We came to our first stop where we saw a bunch of people getting out and climbing this giant hill formed by rocks piled on top of each other. Rock climbing is a big draw to Joshua Tree and I can see why. There are rocks everywhere and people scaling the sides of them.

At that first stop, we found a tourist brochure that had a map of the park. I can't suggest enough stopping and grabbing one of these. You can download the app, but we struggled to get very good cell reception while in the park. So this old fashioned paper map came in very handy. I held on to that map and used it the entire time, not only to find out where we were going, but also to see which sites we were passing.

A lot of people come to Joshua Tree and spend a good amount of time there. There are all sorts of accommodations, with camping being a popular one. We were just there for the day, so we prioritized what we wanted to do and that was to drive through the whole park and stop when we felt like it, but also to make sure we get in a hike. We chose the Barker Dam hike, as it was short enough to accomplish during our time there and also scenic.

I loved this hike. I found myself in complete awe of my surroundings the entire time. The hike itself was easy and short, but so worth the time. You could easily take kids and we saw many families on the hike. The whole time my husband and I were on the hike, we kept mentioning to each other how much our son would have loved this hike because it looked like we were in Star Wars and the numerous piles of rocks that he would have loved to climb, like we saw other kids doing.

Rock art along the trail.

There is one part of the trail that was a bit tricky to navigate once you reach the dam. In fact, it appears as though that's the end of the trail and you need to turn around. But if you keep going past the dam, along a narrow trail along the edge of the dam, the trail continues. I would have turned around if it hand't been for a park ranger who we had run into shortly before this. He told us that it looks like it's done, but keep going. We saw many people turning around at this point, but we continued on hoping for the best.

As we continued on the trail, there were signs with interesting information and we even came to some ancient rock art or petroglyphs, or so they say. There is some conflicting information as to if these are real or ones that have been painted on. Either way, this area is full of culture and history.

​Continuing on, some spectacular views of the park lie in front of you. It was one of those views that no matter how many pictures I took, not a one did the view justice.

The trail itself loops and brings you right back to where you started and takes you right out to the easily accessible parking lot. So, make sure to keep going once you reach the dam so you don't miss any of the trail that lies ahead.

​After completing the trail, we knew we had to start to make our way back to our hotel. We decided to take the extra time to drive through the entire park. Since we entered the West Entrance, we figured we would exit the South Entrance. Do this!

By driving through the whole park, you get to experience the landscape and change and become a whole different world than the one you entered. It's worth the extra time it takes to see it all.

Cacti were all along the trail. Be careful!

Cholla Cactus Garden

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​On your way out, the landscape changes and Joshua trees disappear and give way to some pretty funky looking cacti and views that can not be missed.

​One stopping point is called the "Cholla Cactus Garden." As we were getting close to it, I kept expecting to see a garden, but all I saw were some really strange looking plants. That was the garden of cacti. There were a lot of people stopped there, so we decided to keep going. ​

We also saw a tall cactus-looking plant that was starting to flower. It was all along the sides of the road. I took a picture wanting to know what it was. I later found out it is called an Ocotillo and is more closely related to a blueberry bush than a cactus. ​

​Probably the best part of our drive out of the park were the views. There were points that looked out over the large expanse of land. Looking at the map, this large expanse was where two deserts meet, the Mojave Desert and the Colorado Desert. It was surreal.

​Overall, Joshua Tree was one of those transformative experiences for me. There was so much more we could have done if we had more time. But the short time we were there was all worth it. It was worth braving the cold and windy temperatures with no coats. It was worth the $15 admission (I would have paid a lot more!). It was worth the long drive. It was worth it all! I truly believe it's something everyone should see at least once in their lifetime.

Ocotillo

Skull Rock

Where two deserts meet.