Joshua Tree National Park has multiple entrances. It’s not a huge National Park and it could be done in a day with minimal hiking but I recommend two days. However, because of the multiple entrances the order in which you decide to see all the fun stuff should be based on where you’re staying.
That’s why I’m sharing two different itineraries with tips on choosing the best one and each one includes all the places I recommend seeing. So whether you are staying at the North or South entrance, you can see it all.
This post may contain affiliate links. Which means I get a portion of the sales if you make a booking through my link at no extra cost to you!
Top Travel Resources
After decades of traveling, there’s 3 companies I tend to use over and over and recommend to everyone:
Where is Joshua Tree National Park?
If you’re going to visit the park you’ll need to know where it is and how big it is. Joshua Tree National Park is in California, near Palm Springs, only about a 1 hour drive. You can easily drive from Palm Springs to Joshua Tree and back in a day but it will be a full day and you’ll be tight on your day. I’m going to do spending 2 days in the area but you can pick and choose as you please.
I’m including a free graphic map of the park to help you get your bearings. Please note, this is not to scale and not to be used for actual navigating, but will let you see where the entrances to the park are and why you may want to do things differently based on where you start. It does not show all roads.
Top Joshua Tree National Park & Town Sites
The park has a lot to see and much of it can be done pretty quickly. Each one of these things is included in the two itineraries below. They are what I believe to be the “must sees” of the park and the little town. It will give you a comprehensive overview of rock climbing, hiking, sunsets, and even a distillery.
In Joshua Tree National Park
First things first, let’s talk about the must sees in the National Park itself.
Here are the highlights:
- Cholla Cactus Garden
- Arch Rock Trail with Heart Rock
- Skull Rock
- Barker Damn
- Hidden Valley Trail
- Cap Rock Nature Trail
- Keys View
- Ryan Mountain
- Hall of Horrors
- Indian Cove
In Joshua Tree Town
The town of Joshua Tree is a quirky little place with plenty to keep you occupied.
Here’s the must sees:
- Crochet Museum
- National Park Vistor Center
- Mojave Flea Trading Post
- Joshua Tree Coffee
- Joshua Tree Distilling Company
- Tiny Pony Restaurant & Bar
Joshua Tree National Park Itineraries
There are technically 3 entrances to Joshua Tree: West, North, and South. The West and North are fairly close together and for the purpose of this, the itinerary is the same for the west and north entrances. Let’s get going on the itineraries.
West (& North) Entrance
I am a sunrise lover so my days start early and I’m not a night person so you won’t get a lot of “night life” tips from me, once the sun goes down, I’m out. This means I’ll start each itinerary with where to watch the sunrise and we always pack a lunch on national park days.
This itinerary is for those who are staying IN Joshua Tree the town. The closest entrance is the West Entrance to the National Park.
Day One
- Sunrise: at Hidden Valley. This isn’t the spot I originally planned but we were staying in Joshua Tree so it was the closest place I found for sunrise and I’m glad I did. Honestly, because it’s not the “go to” place we essentially had it to ourselves.
- Full Day of Hiking: After sunrise you’ll have a lot of time before the park gets to get crowded so it’s time for some hikes.
- Order of Hikes:
- Barker Damn (1.1 miles round trip)
- Cap Rock Nature Trail (0.4 miles round trip)
- Hall of Horrors (0.6 miles round trip but leave extra time for rock scrambling)
- It will probably be time for lunch at this point so have a sandwich!
- Skull Rock (1.7 miles round trip but you can see the rock formation from the road- we skipped the actual hike as it was crowded)
- Arch Rock and Heart Rock (1.8 miles round trip)
- Drinks and Dinner: You’ll probably be ready for dinner at this point or at least drinks so I recommend heading to the Joshua Tree Distilling Company for a tasting and then Tiny Pony for dinner.
- Sunset: If you’re up for sunset, head to Keys view. Make sure you get there early to get a parking spot.
Day Two
- Sunrise: If you’re feeling ambitious, head to Ryan Mountain for a 3 mile round trip hike up the mountain. We didn’t feel ambitious enough for this so we watched the sunrise from our accommodations.
- Hikes: There’s a couple more hikes I do recommend getting in if you feel up for it and especially if you skipped Ryan Mountain (like we did). Here’s how to do it:
- Indian Cove (0.6 miles round trip). This one is up north and it’s best to take the north entrance to get to it- also known as the Twenty-nine Palms entrance.
- Next, drive down to the Cholla Cactus Garden (the actual “hike” is really just a nice walk around the cactus garden). It’s the farthest point away from the north entrance but well worth a visit. It’s also great at sunrise if you’re inclined to make the journey from the north (it’s about an hour from the north entrance).
- Drive all the way down to the south entrance and then head back to Joshua Tree town. This is a great chance to stop at any lookouts you might have passed on the way. There’s a couple of lookouts along the way south as well and by doing this you’ll have now driven the length of the park.
- Around Joshua Tree Town: After these hikes, it’s time to hang out in town. Don’t miss these stops:
- Joshua Tree Coffee (a nice treat any time of day!)
- Crochet Museum (and surrounding shops)
- National Park Visitor Center shop (if you haven’t already hit it)
- Sunset: If you didn’t do it the day before, head to Keys View for sunset. The Cholla Cactus Garden is also a great place if you didn’t get that in already.
There you have it, from sunrise to sunset, you’ll have two full days in the National Park and town. Now, if you’re staying down south, you’ll want to do this in a completely different way, so keep reading.
South Entrance
If you’re doing Joshua Tree National Park from the south entrance I recommend doing it completely different. Buckle up because we are still starting both days with sunrise.
Day One
- Sunrise: Start your day with sunrise in the Cholla Cactus Garden. The sun hitting those cactus is magical.
- Full Day of Hiking: Here’s the order of hikes I recommend coming from this direction:
- Arch Rock and Heart Rock (1.8 miles round trip)
- Skull Rock (1.7 miles round trip but you can see the rock formation from the road- we skipped the actual hike as it was crowded)
- Hall of Horrors (0.6 miles round trip but leave extra time for rock scrambling)
- Cap Rock Nature Trail (0.4 miles round trip)
- Barker Damn (1.1 miles round trip)
- Joshua Tree Town: for this itinerary, I recommend hitting Joshua Tree town on day one.
- Joshua Tree Coffee (a nice treat any time of day!)
- Crochet Museum (and surrounding shops)
- National Park Visitor Center shop (if you haven’t already hit it)
- Sunset: Keys View
- If you’re planning on staying at the south end of the park then you’ll have a bit of a drive back down. Depending on how much light you want for driving, you might want to skip sunset.
Day Two
- Sunrise: If you’re feeling ambitious, head to Ryan Mountain for a 3 mile round trip hike up the mountain. We didn’t feel ambitious enough for this so we watched the sunrise from our accommodations.
- Hikes: There’s a one more hike I do recommend getting in if you feel up for it and especially if you skipped Ryan Mountain (like we did). Here’s how to do it:
- Indian Cove (0.6 miles round trip). This one is up north and it’s best to take the north entrance to get to it- also known as the Twenty-nine Palms entrance.
- Around Joshua Tree Town: After these hikes, it’s time to hang out in town again. On your second day head to:
- Joshua Tree Distillery for a tasting
- Tiny Pony for dinner
- Sunset: If you didn’t do it the day before, head to Keys View for sunset.
Both of these itineraries will allow you to see the bulk of Joshua Tree National Park and town. Like most National Parks, there’s a lot of driving but the short hikes will break up your day.
You can also rock climb all over Joshua Tree NP so if you’re so inclined, make time for that as well.
Book a rock climbing trip
to take your Joshua Tree NP visit to the next level!
Shop Desert Art
Adorn your home with photos from the desert. Shop clocks, canvases, coasters, and even phone cases.
