Best of Joshua Tree National Park, CA

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Just two hours inland of LA, Joshua Tree National Park is popular with daytrippers and backpackers alike. Featuring a variety of landscapes from wide arid desert to striking rock formations and oases of hardy plantlife. Though a very popular destination, you can still find your own peace of solitude here. If you're lucky you may even spot desert bighorn sheep, particularly on the cusp of daylight.

We've hiked all of the most popular day hikes in the park. We list some favorites below, or you can scroll down to our free Map Pack which includes for ALL our trail reviews in a single download for offline route finding.

	5★ Wall Street Mill 2 mi · Easy · Gain 100ft The best short trail and is highly representative of the park. Very popular, so arrive early if possible. Shares trailhead with Barker Dam nature trail.
	5★ Lost Horse Mine 4-7 mi · Moderate · Gain 550-1,090ft One of the best preserved mills on National Park property. Excellent views from the top of the hill. The shorter out-and back route is best, but there are joshua trees on the longer looping trail.
	5★ Split Rock Loop 2 mi · Easy · Gain 260ft Sublime two-mile looping tour of otherworldly weathered stone landscape made even better at dawn or dusk. Quieter and possibly better than the neighboring roadside skull rock & jumbo rocks.
	4★ Skull Rock Nature Trail 2 mi · Easy · 140ft Pleasant and mostly flat trail that provides a scenic park overlook as well as a trip to the extremely popular Skull Rock.
	4★ Ryan Mountain 3 mi · Moderate · Gain 1,070ft Hike up one of the most prominent mountains in the park for the excellent view. Especially hard on the knees though.
	4★ Barker Dam Nature Trail 1 mi · Easy · Gain 70ft Easy trail featuring typical joshua tree park landscapes, historic features, great interpretive nature signs and even ancient petroglyphs.
	3★ Hidden Valley 1 mi · Easy · Gain 110ft Sample the best of the park on this shortest of trails in the heart of the park. Encirled by rock on all sides, cattle rustlers used to hide their bovine hoards in here.

Trailspotting Map Pack

MAP PACK:  CA Joshua Tree Download · Instructions

Map Packs provide a single smartphone download of all the region's trails, with trail reviews and route navigation. Free for personal use and even work when you're offline. The diamonds indicate where you can buy a park pass.

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• 4+ Star Hikes	0-3 miles   3-5 miles   5-7 miles   7-10 miles   10+ miles

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