Spotlight: Joshua Tree National Park

With a stunningly stark, bewitching beauty, it’s easy to fall under Joshua Tree’s spell. Whether you’re looking for a sense of peace, a strenuous adventure, an Old West–inspired getaway, or the best music this side of the Sonoran, Joshua Tree National Park and its surrounding area deliver plenty of delights.

Before visiting the park, check out your options for entering. In addition to the heavily used west entrance near the Joshua Tree Visitors Center, there is also a north entrance, near the Oasis Visitors Center in Twentynine Palms, and a south entrance, near the intersection of Box Canyon Road and Interstate 10, which leads to the Cottonwood Visitors Center. To enjoy your time in the park with sparser crowds, visit Joshua Tree midweek.

Explore Indian Cove Nature Trail

The walking trail at Indian Cove is one of the best places to enjoy the park’s namesake flora. Its official name is Yucca brevifolia, but it’s better known as the Joshua tree. Accessible from the east end, this 0.6-mile path is surrounded by boulder formations. Keep an eye out for wildlife, including bighorn sheep and desert tortoises.

Rock climb at Echo Cove

With more than 8,000 known climbs and 400 unique formations, it’s little wonder Joshua Tree is a dirtbag’s paradise. Echo Cove has plenty of routes great for first-timers and advanced climbers alike. BYO gear or rent everything from shoes to chalk at Nomad Ventures. The friendly local shop has been in business since 1980.

Hike among giant boulders on Arch Rock Trail

Millenia of whipping winds and rushing water have served to sculpt some incredible designs throughout these deserts. One of the most miraculous, the 30-foot-tall Arch Rock, is easily accessible thanks to a 0.5-mile out-and-back trail starting just outside White Tank Campground and the Twin Tanks parking area. There is no parking for the trail inside the campground.

Walk among cacti in Cholla Cactus Garden

Mother Nature’s majesty and her mischief are both on full display in this organically occurring cacti grove. Stay the course on this 0.25-mile loop and you’ll be treated to one of the world’s densest concentrations of the lovely-but-dangerous cholla cactus.

Relax and rewind at the Pioneertown Motel

Utilitarian chic meets Southwestern Americana at the Pioneertown Motel. A former live-in motion-picture set founded in part by Roy Rogers and Gene Autry, Pioneertown still looks like it’s straight out of an old Hollywood Western. The motel allows visitors to sense the area’s history in a modern context: The rooms are outfitted with such Old West standbys as cowhide rugs and Aztec blankets. 

Kick back to live music at Pappy & Harriet’s

Just down the street from the Pioneertown Motel, Pappy & Harriet’s Pioneertown Palace is a musical oasis in the middle of the desert. Part honky-tonk, part roadhouse, part premier venue, the always-packed Palace is a truly unique experience. Fill up on the bison burger or the 18-ounce ribeye as you listen to live jams. Pappy’s has hosted everyone from Paul McCartney to Vampire Weekend on its intimate stage.

Experience sunset at Keys View

The highest point in Joshua Tree, Keys View offers round-the-clock breathtaking vistas. Nighttime serves up sparkling splendor; and during clear days, visitors are treated to sweeping views of the Coachella Valley, Palm Springs, and the surrounding peaks that stretch all the way to Mexico. But Keys View is at its very best at sunset, when bright oranges and blistering reds saturate the desert sky.

To most people, life in the desert seems harsh and desolate, but to rancher and miner William F. Keys, it was home for nearly 60 years. Bill Keys was hired to run the Desert Queen Mine in the early 1900s, but when it closed in 1917, he stayed in Joshua Tree until his death in 1969, homesteading on a patch of land that he called the Desert Queen Ranch. Keys owned at least 30 mining claims, where he dug for gold and gypsum. He also operated a stamp mill and crushed ore for other miners in the area. In this remote and rocky canyon, he and his wife Frances brought up five children and built a ranch house, schoolhouse, workshop, and store. They raised goats, chickens, and cattle and grew a fruit orchard and vegetable garden. They dug deep wells for water, built windmills, and dammed up the rocky canyons surrounding the ranch to create a lake. They were—in a word—pioneers.

Ranger-led 90-minute walking tours (on hiatus during summer) visit still-standing ranch buildings, left-behind mining equipment, and other relics of the Keys’ remarkable life in this desert enclave. 

J-Tree is a belt-notch on many a rock-climber’s belt, and a great place to try the sport—or at least watch others clamber up the park’s signature boulders. More than 100 million years ago, seismic activity from the San Andreas Fault forced molten liquid upward from the earth’s crust. It cooled and hardened below the earth’s surface, and over time, flash floods washed away layers of dirt and exposed towers, domes, and spires of monzogranite, creating an otherworldly landscape that just happens to be a playground for climbers. Today the park’s more than 8,000 established climbing routes present diverse challenges, ranging from easy beginner slabs and boulders to extreme vertical cracks, especially near the Hidden Valley and Ryan campgrounds, and at the vast Wonderland of Rocks. For guides, stop in at local climbing gear shops, like Nomad Ventures or Joshua Tree Outfitters, in the town of Joshua Tree, on the park’s north side. 

At Joshua Tree, there’s camping to fit any style. Looking for family-friendly car-camping? Find a site near mounded boulders perfect for kid-clambering. Feeling adventurous? Pack in, on horseback or on foot, to set up camp almost anywhere in the park’s 800,000 acres/323,749 hectares (a few restrictions apply).

The park has nine established campgrounds, six with first-come, first-serve sites. (Note: some campgrounds close during summer, and springtime weekends can be crowded, especially when wildflowers bloom.) Jumbo Rocks Campground is justly popular; its 124 sites are scattered throughout a maze of granite boulders, and there are ranger-led talks on weekend evenings. The camp is especially popular with astronomy groups and 4WD fans. Black Rock Campground on the park’s west side is popular with families and groups thanks to running water, flush toilets, and slightly cooler temperatures. Cottonwood Campground, near the park’s southern entrance, also has drinking water and flush toilets.

In 1946, Pioneertown was founded by a group of Hollywood investors, including actors Roy Rogers and Gene Autry. They dreamed of creating an Old West set 125 miles east of Los Angeles that was actually a town worth visiting, with 1880s-style false-front facades but interiors that had stuff for visitors to see and do too. Up went (from the outside) frontier stables, saloons, and jails; inside, they housed ice cream parlors, bowling alleys, and motels. It wasn’t a place just for tourists to enjoy though; more than 50 films and television shows were filmed here in the 1940s and ‘50s.

While location shoots here have dwindled in the years since, you can still see mock gunfights on Mane Street. But the most happening place by far is Pappy and Harriet’s Pioneertown Palace, which hosts surprisingly big-name live acts—Robert Plant and Leon Russell have played here, and more contemporary bands like Iron & Wine and CHVRCHES pass through as well. This must-see desert find also serves up awesome ribs, plus classic Santa Maria barbecue, burgers, sandwiches, and salads. Check out their calendar of upcoming events.

Though it’s always been a destination for those in the know, in recent years the town has been experiencing something of a renaissance—artists, entrepreneurs, and just regular folks looking to escape city stress are finding their way here. Longtime standby the Pioneertown Motel, a rustic, single-story 20-room inn, has been updated with fire pits, an outdoor bar, and hammocks; it and La Copine, an upscale eatery in nearby Flamingo Heights are contributing to the area’s newfound reputation as a hip getaway.

Stroll along Mane Street and you’ll find MazAmar Art Pottery gallery and shop, and the vintage-vibed Pioneer Bowl. Other popular restaurants nearby include Giant Rock Meeting Room & Coffee House, near the aforementioned La Copine in Flamingo Heights, and Frontier Café, four miles down the road in Yucca Valley.

Insider tip: Be sure to book at stay at the Pioneertown Motel far in advance, especially if your visit coincides with area events such as Coachella, Stagecoach Festival, or the Desert Stars Festival.