Joshua Tree National Park

(uplifting music) (uplifting music) (uplifting music) (calm music) - Welcome to Joshua Tree, located in Southern California.

I'm gonna be exploring this park over the next few days.

Now, Joshua Tree is known for a few things.

Can you guess one?

Yes, the namesake Joshua Tree, which, spoiler alert, it's not even a tree.

This week's adventure takes us to one of my favorite desert landscapes.

With trees that look ripped straight from the pages of Dr. Seuss, Joshua Tree is one of California's most beloved national parks.

Highly popularized in pop culture, Joshua Tree has become somewhat ubiquitous with the Southern California desert aesthetic.

It's a small park and a highly trafficked one, especially in the cooler months.

Off-roaders looking to get into the desert flock to its dirt roads, open to four-wheel drive vehicles.

In the park, you can also find massive boulders great for rock climbing and bouldering.

There are hiking trails that weave through hidden valleys and palm tree oases tucked into the canyons.

Old homesteads from the days of ranching and mining have left historical remnants to explore, and its dark skies are great for stargazers too.

(gentle music) My first stop in the park was to the Hidden Valley Trail.

This is one of the park's great short trails at just one mile that loops through massive boulders, cactus and desert plant species in an area believed to have been a legendary cattle rustlers' hideout.

It's one of the most popular trails in the park, right across from one of the park's popular rock climbing spots too.

(gentle music) (gentle music) This area of the park is really fascinating.

I love these big giant rock formations.

It's like two giants just had a Play-Doh fight and left all of their clay out way too long.

It hardened and formed all these brittle mountains.

But that's not too far off because we know that these were formed by hardening lava.

And then erosion has created these different formations, all the striations and the cracks made incredible places for rock climbing, bouldering, and for geology nerds to just marvel at the rocks.

(calm music) This park is massive.

It's just under 800,000 acres, making it the size of Rhode Island.

And one of the really unique things about it is that it's not just one desert ecosystem, it's two.

You have the Mojave Desert that comes down from the north, which meets the Colorado Desert that comes over from the east, and there are more than 700 plant species that live within this park, the most famous of these being the Joshua tree.

These strangely shaped plants are native to the arid landscapes of the Southwestern US, with most of them being confined to the Mojave Desert in California.

But they're also found in Arizona, Utah, and Nevada.

The plant finally received protected status in California in 2023, making it harder for people to remove the trees and making this park even more special.

Talk about peculiar, don't these look like straight out of a Dr. Seuss movie?

It's like they've got hair and spiky little tops.

Where are the googly eyes?

Hello.

Are any of you named Josh?

So where did the name Joshua Tree even come from?

Well, it's believed to have come from Mormon travelers in the mid 19th century that used the trees to guide them through the desert and their unique shape actually reminded them of a biblical story in which Joshua keeps his hand outstretched for a significant period of time.

(upbeat music) Joshua trees are not actually trees.

They're a succulent, a type of yucca, also in the same family as agave, although I'm not sure what kind of tequila you would get out of this.

But one of the really cool features of yucca plants and succulents is that they actually are able to store water inside of their trunks during heavy rain periods.

So all of this would be full of water, and that's how they're able to withstand these hot summers.

But climate change is definitely making it more difficult.

In 2020, a wildfire killed an estimated 1.3 million Joshua trees, and scientists believe that by 2100 there will be a 90% reduction in the amount of Joshua trees still living within this park due to both its concern about its ability to migrate and rising temperatures and worsening droughts.

Something else I really like is lichen.

And if you look closely at some of the rocks, you can actually see little bitty tiny pieces of yellow or green in the cracks or on the surface of the rocks.

And this is type of lichen.

(upbeat music) With the light fading on the desert, I was back on the road to find a place to camp for the night.

I'm gonna be in the park for two nights.

My first night I'm actually gonna be camping.

There are actually several campgrounds here in the park.

One of the most popular is called Hidden Valley, which is where I was planning on camping, but it's first come, first served, and you can actually stay there for up to 14 days.

It's a really popular rock climbing spot in the park, so it's completely full.

Luckily, before I came into the park, I booked a backup campsite at Jumbo Rocks, so that's where I'm heading now.

It's a really pretty campground.

I've been to it before, and it's got some really great giant rocks that we're gonna be able to camp in.

(gentle music) (gentle music) (singer vocalizing) (gentle music) (gentle music) (singer vocalizing) My tent is now set up, and it's just after six o'clock now.

As you can see, the sun's going down pretty early.

It is February.

I'm just making some dinner, and when it gets a little bit darker tonight, before I go to bed, I'm gonna head out to another part of the park called the Cholla Cactus Garden.

I've heard this is one of the best places to see the stars.

I'm gonna try to get some good astro photos.

(gentle music) (singer vocalizing) This park is a designated dark sky park, making it a haven for stargazers.

So whether you're an avid photographer or just a lover of the night sky, staying up late at least one night in this park is a must.

The Cholla Cactus Garden is one of my favorite places to go because of not only its distance from any population centers, but I love the large and neatly stacked rows of cholla cactus, which make for great foreground in evening photographs.

(upbeat music) It just got so windy.

It's just almost six and all the stakes all over my tent just ripped out of the ground.

(laughs) So it looks like I'll be getting up soon.

(wind blowing) (gentle music) (gentle music) Well, good morning, everybody.

It was quite a windy start to the day.

I am just doing a short little walk over to Skull Rock, which is located just down the road from the Jumbo Rocks Campground.

It's right along the road, so if you're not staying at the campground, you can actually park right in front of it, check it out.

It's just a short little walk from the campground so that's what I'm doing this morning.

And you're gonna see why it's called Skull Rock in just a second.

(upbeat guitar music) (upbeat music) (upbeat music) It's not just cool plant life and cactus that you'll find here in Joshua Tree, but awesome looking rocks.

One of the things I wanted to point out are these long lines of a different color that you'll often see in a lot of the rock formations around here.

These are actually formed from cooling molten lava.

Now, when that happens underground, it actually shrinks.

You then get these cracks in the rock, and when more molten lava actually comes in, it fills these cracks and you end up with these really cool formations just like this one.

(upbeat music) This is Skull Rock, and I think you can see why it got its name.

Now, this park is certainly full of bizarrely shaped rocks and boulders to walk, climb and crawl through, but there's one other thing that you'll see a large variety of, and that's cactus.

There are several species of cholla cactus here in the park that you'll run into.

This one's got a nickname, the jumping cholla, and it's certainly one you don't wanna get too close to when you're on the trail.

This is another variety of cholla called the pencil cholla.

And just like the jumping cholla, it's one you won't wanna brush up against.

(upbeat music) Next stop is the Hall of Horrors.

Now, this is a rock climbing spot, but there's also a little slot canyon that you can get into, and that's what we're here to see.

(upbeat music) Okay, I've been searching around for maybe 20 minutes.

I think I finally found the Hall of Horrors.

It's very narrow.

See if I can fit.

(upbeat music) (upbeat music) Well, welcome to the Hall of Horrors.

It was very small getting in here, but the way out is even smaller.

I'm not sure I'm gonna be able to squeeze through there.

There is a reason I did not bring my backpack on this short little walk because these narrow openings are very small.

It's also really confusing to find this.

There are so many paths throughout this area of the desert, so you really have to keep your eyes peeled.

Facing my way.

All fours.

Pretty small.

(energetic rock music) The history of Joshua National Park goes back to 1936 when this became a national monument.

But it wasn't until 1994 that it became a national park.

In the century prior to that, you had cattle ranchers out here, you had cowboys, and you had people mining for gold, and there were quite a few homesteaders that lived out here as well.

Now, one of the famous homesteaders that you might hear about here in the park is William Keys.

His homestead is still part of this park.

It's now available for guided tours with rangers, and I'm gonna be heading there just in a few minutes to check out the ranch and learn about the history.

It's gonna be a really cool experience.

This is actually the first ranger-led tour I've ever done at a national park, and I'm really excited about it.

Now, the mining history here runs deep.

You'll see that a lot of the trails here in the park actually take you to some of the old mining areas.

You'll see a lot of old vehicles on some of the trails, some remnants of mining machines as well.

But there's definitely rich history of that here in the park.

And I just wanna mention as well, before there were white settlers in this area of the country, there were numerous Native American tribes, some of which still call this place home.

So I definitely wanna honor them by making this video as well and just keeping this beautiful land protected.

(calm music) This is the Keys Ranch.

This site was protected as it is a great depiction of what life would've been like back then.

I just can't imagine living way out here really in the middle of nowhere in such a stark and somewhat brutal environment.

But the Keys family thrived here and they had many different businesses.

As mining started to decline and the rumblings of this place becoming a protected area started, William Keys and his family had many methods of making money from canning their own fruits that they grew in their orchard to having guest cabins and even renting out some of their old equipment to other miners.

Now, this guided tour was such a great way to learn about the history of not only the park, but a lot of the unique plants and wildlife, and also a lot of the Native Americans that used to inhabit this area of the world as well.

(calm music) Most visitors coming here to Joshua Tree are gonna enter through the Joshua Tree exit, which is on the east.

But if you're coming up from Palm Springs, or Indio, or I-10 in the south, you're gonna come up through the Cottonwood area, where the Cottonwood Visitor Center is, and there's a couple of things in this area of the park you won't wanna miss as well.

Joshua Tree has more than 1,000 miles of designated wilderness and the roads which are open to four-wheel drive vehicles and bicycles can give visitors a rare glimpse into some of the most seldom viewed sections of the park.

Three great trails shoot into the desert nearby the Cottonwood Visitor Center: Pinkham Canyon, Old Dale Road, and Black Eagle Mine, which are all roads I've driven in years past, and ones I would highly recommend for four-by-four enthusiasts.

This part of the park is also home to the Cottonwood Springs Oasis, where dense fan palms create a photo worthy stop, and those looking for a longer walk will want to continue on towards Mastodon Peak or the Lost Palm Oasis, where the crowds are sure to be non-existent and the desert scenery is great.

If you're coming here to the park, you might have some questions in your planning process, so I'll try to cover as many of those as I can.

Now, the best times to visit Joshua Tree are going to be from October to around March.

You can come in those other months, but keep in mind it's gonna be extremely hot, like in the 90s at night and during the day or higher.

So keep that in mind when planning a trip out here.

It is the desert.

It is, you know, higher altitude than some of the other places in Southern California, but still gets extremely hot.

And that can make coming to this park extremely dangerous in those warmer months as well.

Now, there is also no reception in pretty much the entire park.

So if you're coming here, you'll want to download offline maps, whether that be on Google Maps, on AllTrails or onX Offroad if you're doing any OHV trails here in the park.

And have those obviously before you come into the park.

Also, if you have a camping reservation or something like that, you wanna take a picture of that or save it to your phone.

So if in case there's an issue, you have that already on your phone.

Bring everything that you need.

There are no services here in the park outside of the Southern Cottonwood Visitor Center, which is not in the area most people are going to come explore here in the park.

So you'll need all the water and food that you are going to require on your trip.

And as I said about the temperatures here, it is hot, even in February right now, it's probably in the high 70s right now.

You need water, you need sun protection, you need layers.

Try to avoid being outside in the heat of the day from noon to 3 p.m. if you can, especially if you're in one of those hotter months.

And know also that the temperatures change here drastically, especially in this cooler season.

The mornings and evenings can be rather cold, so bring a jacket if you can for that as well.

If you're wondering where to stay, there are actually several options.

Most people are gonna stay in the towns of Joshua Tree, Yucca Valley, or Twentynine Palms, if they're gonna be exploring the northern section of this park, which is the most popular.

You could also stay in Indio or Palm Springs.

Just know that it is gonna be a bit longer of a drive to come into the park, and you're probably less likely to do multiple days here in the park if you're staying in that Southern section closer to Interstate 10.

But there are a variety of options from camping in the park, you can stay in an Airstream at AutoCamp in Joshua Tree, you can rent an Airbnb.

There are hotels like Fairfield Inn and Marriott up here as well.

As far as food options, I would say it's rather limited.

This are not big metropolitan areas.

There's not a lot of options for dinners.

You're gonna be much better off like shopping at the grocery store, making what you want as far as things to bring into the park.

However, there are some great cafes for breakfast and lunch as well.

My last little tidbit here is to always, always, always leave no trace.

Always be respectful of this land and the wildlife here.

And now let's get back to more fun stuff.

My next stop was the short hike out to Wall Street Mill, which is an easy two-mile hike to the site of an old gold mill and homestead.

Now, on the walk, I've passed by several old structures, wells and remnants for the days of mining and ranching that took place here in the desert over a century ago.

Wall Street Mill was a complete operable gold ore crushing mill.

At the site, you can still see some of the two-stamp machinery, buildings, and well pump that ran this operation close to 100 years ago.

This site was also owned by the legendary homesteader William Keys.

(calm music) It's hard to imagine driving a car lake this out here into the desert.

(gentle music) (upbeat music) Off to the next adventure, Barker Dam.

This is actually just down the road from Wall Street Mill and it takes us to an old dam area that was actually put there by cowboys.

This was a really important ranching spot.

In the 1800s and early 1900s, there was a lot of cattle were in this area, and where we're going now is one of the places they used to water the cattle, and during rainstorms, it still fills with water.

I've heard that there's not really much water in there right now, but we're gonna find out.

(upbeat music) Behind my right shoulder here is Barker Dam.

And I'll tell you what, there is not much water down there.

We just had days and days of rain in January, and this is what's left.

It's said that Barker Dam was built around 1900 and then later raised by William Keys.

Today it's a great gathering spot for wildlife, including many species of bird, lizard and the occasional bighorn sheep.

The last really cool thing on this trail are some petroglyphs.

There were, actually, several different Native American tribes that lived throughout this area, and some of their cave paintings are here.

Many of these are well faded from time and sun, but the brightest of them painted in red easily depict bighorn sheep, and other desert dwellers.

(calm music) (calm music) There's nothing quite like a sunset in the desert.

And one of the best places to see it here in Joshua Tree is at Keys View.

This is located on the crest of the little San Bernardino Mountains, and it looks out into the Coachella Valley.

But I will say that being up here was extremely windy, and it's also often very smoggy in this area, which is just a reminder of how dry, dusty, and close you are to the major metropolises of Southern California.

Well, this brings this national park adventure to a close.

Thank you so much for joining me here in Joshua Tree.

What a fun few days here in the desert.

I hope you learned a lot.

I hope you wanna come visit this national park now, and until the next adventure, stay safe out there.

If you're coming to this national park, make sure you're prepared.

I will see you all soon.

As always, I'm Alice Ford.

Never stop exploring.

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