The Best 2-3 Day Itinerary For Joshua Tree National Park

So, you are planning a trip to Joshua Tree National Park, and have a couple of days to explore the park and the surrounding area. Well, look no further (or do, it is good to do lots of research) you have found the best 2-3 day itinerary for Joshua Tree National Park to see all of the best things inside and outside of the park.

Why should you consider our itinerary?

We were able to really explore the park in our 4 month contract in 29 Palms (Adam) and Yucca Valley (Erin). The house we stayed at was about 10-15 minutes from the park entrance in 29 Palms, so we were able to go to the park all the time. Shout out to the America The Beautiful Pass for unlimited trips into the park for free! (after you buy the pass of course)

Naturally, we had a few family and friends that wanted to visit the park during our stay there, so we got to see most of the park more than a few times. Playing tour guide helped us get a good feel for not only what we like, but what others like too!

Our time near Joshua Tree was from January to May, so we did not have to deal with the stifling heat that the desert brings. It was surprisingly cold, and windy, for the first few months we were there, but definitely warmed up as it got into spring/early summer. The park is at a much higher elevation (mostly above 4000 feet, up to ~5800 feet) compared to the desert around. So, it is at least a few degrees cooler, which can help quite a bit during the warmer months.

Be sure to be prepared when going on a hike while in the park, check out our post on what we pack in our day packs to make sure we are prepared.

Depending on when you arrive to Joshua Tree will dictate what order you do some of these things. There are a few things on this list that are time dependent, mostly involving sunrise and sunset. Also, like most parks, the weekends and middle of the day will be more crowded at the popular places. So, plan accordingly. I will list different things to see by the area that they are in, to try and help you put together a plan that is most efficient in terms of amount of driving/time.

Check out this map (thanks NPS!) of Joshua Tree National Park to get an idea of the layout.

29 Palms Entrance/East Side of the Park

Sunrise at Chollah Cactus Garden

This is pretty much a must when visiting Joshua Tree. The lighting and colors that come through the Chollah cactus at sunrise are amazing! You also get to see Pinto Basin light up between the huge mountains on either side. This is not a hike by any means, the parking lot is right in the middle of the cactus garden. It is a popular place at sunrise, but there is plenty of space to explore and spread out from everyone else.

Ocotillo Patch

While you are over in the area checking out the Chollahs at sunrise, you can drive 3 minutes down the road to see the Ocotillos. Pictured above, they are really tall and super interesting. We were able to see them while they were flowering, which was pretty neat.

Arch Rock and Heart Rock

Arch Rock and Heart Rock are two more that can be done on the way back from the Chollahs at sunrise. The trail to Arch Rock is just over 1.25 miles, and very flat. You can do a little bouldering while you are there, and find the perfect shot for your pictures. Heart Rock is just a bit farther, and still mostly flat.

Skull Rock

Skull Rock is super popular, so try to get there early if you can. It is less than 10 minutes from the Arch/Heart Rock trail parking lot, so you can get there easily before the crowds. It is right next to the road, which is part of the reason it is so popular and crowded. You can find the different angles that make it look most like a skull. There is also a great opportunity to do some fun bouldering around here.

Desert Queen Mine & Eagle Cliff Boulder House via Split Rock Trail

The last part of the east side of the park is this hike. It is a combination of a few different trails that allows you to see a few different cool things. You start on the Split Rock Trail, which comes very early on in this hike, but then this trail “splits” off. It takes you to some old mines and an old house built into the mountain, which were both really cool to see.

We found this one on AllTrails, but our hike was ~6 miles total (AT says 3.4 miles). Also, the trail is not marked that well, so make sure to have some sort of GPS/map so you can follow it. We usually just save the hike on AllTrails and then follow our location on the map as we go.

Fortynine Palms Oasis

Here is a hike that is technically in the park, but you do not have to enter the park to do it. The trailhead is just a short drive off of Highway 62 in Twentynine Palms. It is a cool, short hike that leads to an area with a ton of palm trees and some wildlife (a couple tortoises live here!).

Joshua Tree Entrance/Central Area of the Park

Keys View

Keys View provides a beautiful, high elevation view of Palm Springs, the whole Coachella Valley, and Mt. San Jacinto. Another spot that can get busy, but parking spots open up quickly as it is not a far walk to see the view. It can be windy and cold at the higher elevation, but definitely worth check out. Along the way you can see Cap Rock, which looks like it is barely balancing on the top of another massive rock.

Ryan Mountain

This trail gets you to the top of a mountain that provides 360 degree panoramic views of the park. It is not very long (~3 miles), but it has a bit of elevation to it (>1000 feet) and is exposed throughout the hike. We really enjoyed hiking this at sunset, and then we had an evening picnic at the trailhead to wait for it to be dark enough to do some stargazing.

Hidden Valley

This area of the park generally has a lot going on. It is kind of the middle of the park, and there is a campground in the area. You can watch people rock climb, which is always very impressive to see them just hanging on the side of a huge rock or cliff. There is also a neat nature trail that loops through this area. This is a nice place to stop for lunch if you brought your lunch in to the park with you.

Boy Scout Trail

Boy Scout Trail was the first hike we did in the park. It is one of the longer ones (~8 miles), but very flat overall (~200 elevation gain). It is a cool hike because it gives you a little bit of everything of Joshua Tree. The first part is all through Joshua Trees, then you make your way in between large rocks and canyons. If you are tight on time, this could be one that you leave off the itinerary.

Yucca Valley/West Side of the Park

Black Rock Canyon/Panorama Loop Trail

The west side of the park is less popular, but this hike is pretty cool. It is not a must-do for a short trip, but if you are in the area and have some extra time it is worth checking out.

Where To Stay?

It depends on what you are looking for really. There are plenty of places that you could stay that would all do the trick, with some having benefits that others might not.

Joshua Tree:

This is the area that has the most tourists who are visiting the park (naturally). There are a ton of cool AirBnB’s around here. The town is not that big, but there are some good restaurants along the highway, and you are close to the Joshua Tree entrance to the park.

• Joshua Tree Saloon is a popular spot. Has a huge outdoor area, with a good selection of drinks and a decent menu. We did not eat here, but it was a great place to grab a beer after a day in the park.
• Crossroads Cafe is another popular spot right along the highway here. Breakfast and lunch were both good here.
• Sky High Pie had some good pizza and what should have been a good beer list, but they were out of most when we went. We would recommend for the pizza though.

29 Palms:

If you go a little further east, about 20 minutes, you get to 29 Palms. This is a little bit bigger town (still not very big) that has hotels and some nice AirBnB’s also. There are more restaurants here, so it may be a good place to go eat even if you are not staying here. Here are some of our favorite places to eat when we were living there:

• Kitchen in the Desert is really good, and has a cool outdoor vibe. The cocktails are excellent, and all the food we had was really good also. It is Trinidadian food, which was new to us, but worth a stop for sure. It is popular, so make a reservation.
• Grnd Sqrl is another good spot. This is more of a gastropub vibe. Really relaxed environment, with a good beer selection and a solid menu also. The Jalla is one of our favorite “non-meat” burgers we have found. They have live music occasionally, and trivia on Thursdays!
• Campbell Hill Bakery for breakfast, no doubt. They have an awesome selection of baked goods, breakfast sandwiches, juices, and more. Get there early, it sells out quick.
• Thai Cafe was really good if you are looking for some curry or noodles.
• Jelly Donut is known for their pho. For us, it all depends on the weather. I do not want hot pho when it is 100+ degrees outside. But, the pho was really solid.
• Nydia’s or Taqueria 29 if you are looking for some tacos. Both very good. Highly recommend the quesabirria tacos.

Yucca Valley

You will drive through Yucca Valley to get to Joshua Tree on Highway 62 from I-10. It is another “bigger city” compared to Joshua Tree. The biggest benefit here would be that you are not too far from Palm Springs if you wanted to venture down the hill. This one kind of puts you in the middle, which could be nice if you want to do both the park and Palm Springs. We did not spend as much time here, so we do not have many recommendations for food. We heard The Tiny Pony is good, and Frontier Cafe was a good spot for lunch.

Palm Springs

If you want to drive a bit, Palm Springs has pretty much everything you could want. It is really nice, and has affordable and fancy options. There are tons of great spots for food and drinks also.

• Sandfish was one of our favorite sushi experiences (in the desert of all places), but is expensive.
• Boozehounds is a great place for a cocktail or brunch, and very dog friendly.
• 1501 Uptown Gastropub is another great spot with an extensive beer list and great food.

What To Do Outside The Park?

Here is some extra stuff you can do in the area if you have some extra time or want to do something different than just the park.

• Pioneertown: The set for old western movies where they would drive in from Hollywood to film has turned into a popular spot to grab some food or drink and see a show. Pappy and Harriet’s is super popular, and there is always a wait (we never made it because we did not want to wait). We just went to Red Dog Saloon and had some of the tasty tacos there.
• Check out the interesting houses: There is the “invisible house” that Netflix made popular, that is near the Joshua Tree entrance, a UFO house that gets rented out on AirBnB, and the Kellogg Doolittle House. You can only get so close to them, but they are kind of cool to check out.
• Art exhibits: There are tons of artists out in the desert, with very eclectic styles. You can find a few different art exhibits that are free and are pretty interesting.
• Day trip up to Big Bear: Depending on where you are staying, Big Bear Lake/Mountain are only 1-1.5 hour away.
• Painted/Ladder Canyon: If you want to do a hike in a totally different area, this one was awesome. Super unique hike that takes you through slot canyons, with ladders used to maneuver your way through them. It is a bit of a drive, unless you are staying in Palm Springs. But, we drove through the park from 29 Palms when we did it, so we got to see the whole park that way.

Joshua Tree is such a fun and unique place to visit, it really does feel like a different planet the first time you get to see it all. We loved our time there, and hope you can do the same with some of our recommendations!

EA

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