Hikes in Joshua Tree National Park

Spring is the perfect time to visit Joshua Tree National Park. The temperatures are accommodating and the desert comes to life with wildflowers. The desert in bloom is something any outdoor enthusiast in California should see. Most of the wildflowers below were photographed near Eagle Mountain and Lost Palms Oasis in April of 2008. Photos from other areas of the park taken in April of 2010 and later. ...Read more.

The hike to Lost Palms Oasis departs from Cottonwood Spring on the east side of Joshua Tree. A smaller oasis, Cottonwood Springs Oasis, is actually right at the trailhead. From there, the trail heads east on a 7.2-mile round trip track to Lost Palms Oasis. The trail leaving Cottonwood Springs Oasis The short trek to Mastodon Peak can be visited in combination with this hike as they share the same trail for half a mile. ...Read more.

Cholla Cactus Garden is one of Joshua Tree National Park's one-of-a-kind features. Located at the merger of the upper Mojave Desert and the lower Colorado Desert, this level quarter-mile loop provides access to an intense concentration of cholla cacti. The trail through Cholla Cactus Garden Perhaps the cutest cactus on the planet, the cholla has been nicknamed the teddy bear cactus, but this is one teddy bear you do not want to hug! ...Read more.

The ten-stamp mill and foundation of Lost Horse Mine stand at the end of a gradual 4-mile round trip trail. Lost Horse Mine has one of the best-preserved mills under National Park protection. Unlike less fortunate nearby efforts, Lost Horse Mine was one of the few mineral speculations in Joshua Tree National Park to be productive. According to the NPS, The mine yielded approximately 10,000 ounces of gold and 16,000 ounces of silver. ...Read more.

Ryan Mountain offers a fairly straight forward out and back hike to a round summit at the center of Joshua Tree National Park. The 3-mile round trip trail climbs 1,050 feet up a dirt trail with numerous stone steps. The sun-exposed trail crowns a 5,457-foot mountain with impressive panoramic views of the jumbled rock formations and Joshua tree forests that surround the peak. ...Read more.