I LOVED Joshua Tree National Park!! If I am being honest, when I first thought of going to Joshua Tree I thought it was just going to be another desert like where I live in West Texas. I expected a couple of actual Joshua Trees and maybe some cactus, but that was it. My expectations were pretty low, so maybe that is why my mind was completely blown.
We entered the park from the south entrance and for the first 30 minutes of the park it was pretty much what I expected…..a desert wasteland! There wasn’t much more than some desert hills and yeah that was about it. Then you get to the Cholla Garden you think this is pretty dang cool. Then you see the rocks and trees and your jaw just drops! It gets more and more amazing the farther north you go!
Past the giant rocks it just gets even better when you pass through the forest of hundreds of Joshua Trees! These trees are not your average tree! I mean I am pretty sure that these trees came straight out of a Dr Suess book! They were so large and their branches went in every different directions and they looked like giant spike puffs! I don’t know how else to describe them, but pictures do not do them justice.
I started our Joshua Tree experience thinking this was gonna be a long trip, but it turned out to be one of my favorite National Parks! Not only mine, but my kids! Again I was nervous to take my kids to this desert national park, but it turned out to be such a perfect National Park for kids! There were giant rocks everywhere, so of course it was the best natural playground a kid could ask for!
All I can say about Josuha Tree National Park is prepare to be amazed! It is so much more than you can imagine!
Essential Gear And Supplies:
- SUN PROTECTION– sunscreen, hat, sunglasses, anything you need to protect against the sun (NO SHADE)
- Ankle High Hiking Boots– Ankle high to protect as much of your foot as possible due to the high number of cactus in the area.
- Physical map- not just on your phone. Go old fashion and get a paper map, just in case you get no service.
- Clothing and footwear suitable for desert conditions- dress for heat, dress for lots of sun, dress for cactus
- WATER!- again high heat and lots of sun! Camelbak’s are great for places like these where you will get in and out of your car, hike for long periods of time, and need a lot of water.
Planning Your Visit:
Best time to arrive is first thing in the morning! This is a desert national park so during the day it gets HOT! Also getting here in the morning will help you beat the crowds. This is not as crowded of a National Park as others, but there still will be quite a bit of people.
I suggest going on a weekday and especially not on a holiday. We went on Memorial Day and golly that was a lot of people. Thankfully this park is huge and there are so many trails that it spread people out a bit, but there were still people everywhere. It kinda took some of the excitement and beauty out of the experience because everywhere you looked there was a person.
To enter the park the entry fees are: $30 Private Vehicle Fee, $25 Motorcycles, $15 Per Person on foot or bike
As a mom of 4 kids I am a huge fan of passes that help make traveling cheaper and easier. Of all the passes I own my favorite pass of all is my National Park pass! If you do not have one I HIGHLY recommend it! The National Park pass is $80 for a year of unlimited entry to National Parks, Monuments, and a ton of other national owned sites.
Most National Parks take quite a while to get into the park and that is because most people don’t have a pass. I love that I can just pull up hand them my pass, get it back and then go about my day. It is like a minute process, and makes life so much easier! So if you don’t have one, maybe look into getting one!
Tips:
- Bring water! I mean a whole case of water bottles, cause this is a desert and this dry heat ain’t no joke!
- Don’t just assume there is no parking. If you see people parked at the side of the road by a trail head that does not mean there is no parking available. Every trail we stopped at a trail, we would just pull off and park at the roadside like a ton of other people. I regretted it every time though cause we would walk towards the trailhead and we would find a ton of parking spots. Look in the parking lot before you park, because most likely there are spots available.
- Plan your route before you go! If you really want to get the most out of your trip to Joshua Tree National Park than do your research before you go. Plan which trails you would like to do and the route you will go. That way you will see the most that you can and not miss anything!
- Plan on spending an entire day if not 2. We spent 1 day at Joshua Tree and we only hiked 3 trails! This National Park is huge and if I had known it was as amazing as it was I would have planned on minimum 2 days here.
- Just go as soon as you see a restroom, whether you have to go or not! There are not restrooms at every trailhead and they are few and far between! If you are coming in from the south entrance you will not see a bathroom for about 30 minutes after passing the visitor center!
- Stay on trail! This is a desert national park which means cactus and rattlesnakes! Do yourself a favor and stay on the trail!
- Bring a hat and sunscreen. This is not a place where you are going to find lots of shade so bring whatever you need for sun protection!
- Either download the map or get a physical copy. We had no service the entire time we were there! Thank goodness for physical maps!
- Pack a lunch. Unless you want to drive about 30 minutes to an hour out of the park and then back, make sure you bring your meals with you. Joshua Tree the town has some places to eat, but it is still quite a drive in and out of the park and to wait in the lines that are both coming and going.
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Is Joshua Tree National Park A Good Place To Take Toddlers Or Kids?
YES!! When we visited Joshua Tree National Park with our 4 kids, we had also visited Yosemite, Saguaro, Kings Canyon, and Sequoia National Parks. If you were to ask my kids which were was there favorite they would tell you Yosemite and Joshua Tree! They LOVED it! Let me tell you why!
BIG, GIANT ROCKS!! Honestly this is the number one reason they loved it so much! It was the best natural playground everywhere. Cap Rock, Skull Rock, Jumbo Rocks, Arch Rock, and Hall of Horrors are all filled with giant rocks. Everywhere you look there are rocks to climb on! My kids loved climbing and jumping on the rocks, crawling in the caves, and walking in the canyons. It was so much fun!
I guarantee no matter what age your kids are, they will love this National Park simply because of the rocks! Make sure you got those kids some great hiking shoes though. Hiking shoes will just keep them safer as they are climbing on all of the rocks!
3 Easy Family Friendly Trails In Joshua Tree National Park:
Cholla Cactus Garden
We entered from the south entrance and so for about 30 minutes we saw absolutely nothing and then all of the sudden in the middle of nowhere was a forest of hundreds of cholla cactuses!! I have never seen this many Cholla cactus in one place before and I have hiked all around Arizona!
These beautiful and deadly looking cactus were everywhere and you can walk right there in the middle of them! It was such a cool and beautiful trail. Just make sure you watch where you step, where you lean, and where you swing your arms, these cactus have you surrounded.
The trail is super easy. It is kinda marked, but just mostly a maze of worn dirt in the middle of a ton of cactus. I didn’t even strap my 2 year old in his hiking carrier and he hiked the whole thing by himself, no problem!
Length: 0.25 mile
Discovery Trail/Skull Rock
The number one rock formation in all of Joshua Tree National Park is Skull Rock! It is literally just around the corner from the trailhead sign. I was expecting a small rock maybe about the size of me, but no way, this thing was huge! Like 3 of me would have to stand on my shoulders tall to reach the top. It was a real good size.
You do have to slightly scramble up some rocks to see it, but really it is super easy. The only thing you need to worry about is that the rocks are slippery. Okay I shouldn’t say the rocks, I mean the sand on the rocks, makes the rocks seem slippery. Just take it slow and be aware.
This trail is probably one of the busiest trails in the National Park so you might have to wait in line to get your skull rock picture. There are rocks all over the place though and so feel free to climb and explore the trail and the area.
Length: 0.7 mile
Cap Rock
Cap Rock was my favorite trail that we hiked while visiting Joshua Tree National Park. The first reason I loved it so much was that it was not crowded at all. We visited the park on Memorial Day and there were people everywhere. We sadly couldn’t even find anywhere to park at the Hall of Horrors trail (which I heard is amazing).
Cap Rock was almost completely empty! Second reason I loved Cap Rock was that it wasn’t just big rocks at this trail, there were also tons of Joshua Trees! A lot of the hikes have a sporadic few Joshua Trees, but this trail was smack dab in the middle of the Joshua Tree forest as well as surrounded by plenty of giant rocks!
My toddlers loved crawling through the small caves in the area and climbing the rocks! We even saw this really beautiful lizard. Though it kinda gave me a slight heart attack cause I thought it was a snake at first and I am terrified of snakes! Haha!
The trail itself is beyond super easy and very well marked. You will have no problems at all knowing where to go or being worried you are going off trail into another trail, because it is just a small loop.
Length: 0.49 mile
Final Thoughts On Joshua Tree National Park:
Entering in from the south side of the park, I was not impressed at all. Then we got to the Cholla Cactus garden, then we saw the big rocks and then we drove through thousands of incredible Joshua Trees. My eyes just got bigger and bigger the entire time! This National Park is AMAZING! I cannot believe that I almost passed up going just because I thought it was just another desert!
You have to visit this national park, it may be in my top 5 favorites now that I am thinking about it. It is one that as I drove through I kept thinking I want to come back here again and again and again. You will love the unique trees, the gigantic rocks, and the unique formations. This park will blow your mind!
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