THREE EASY HIKES FOR ONE DAY IN JOSHUA TREE NATIONAL PARK
If you are visiting Palm Springs or are anywhere in the area of the south eastern California desert, then a visit to Joshua Tree National Park is a must! When I visited, I was there for just three days for a yoga retreat so my time was very limited, working hikes in during three hours of free time in my days. I researched and found these three short and easy hikes with no elevation gain and they all of course had amazing views with some pretty awesome points of interest!
HIDDEN VALLEY TRAIL
Distance: 1 mile lollipop loop trail
The Hidden Valley Trail has plenty of parking, pit toilets, and lots of picnic benches if you want to take a breather. It was pretty busy but there was so much to explore we had no problem keeping our distance from people. There were tons of Joshua trees, and rock piles, as well as dried trees that my friend was obsessed with. We saw ground squirrels, woodrats, and lots of birds!
CAP ROCK NATURE TRAIL
Distance: .4 mile loop trail
The highlight of this Cap Rock Nature Trail is a huge boulder with a rock precariously balanced on top. It is a very pretty, well managed trail where we of course saw Joshua trees, Mojave yuccas, and even some flowers. We also saw quite a few people with their crash pads bouldering around.
BARKER DAM TRAIL
Distance: 1.1 mile loop trail
The Barker Dam trail was by far the highlight. Of course the views were beautiful, lots of rock piles and yucca trees. If it’s a good rainy year the dammed area is full of water, and you can view a water tank built by early cattle ranchers. When we almost got to the end of the trail there is an interpretive sign that I promise you don’t want to skip.. Up in the rocks there are petroglyphs that the indigenous tribes inscribed in the rock formations. Unfortunately they were desecrated by a movie crew back in the 1960s, but it’s still pretty awesome to see.
To be in the ancestral lands of the Chemehuevi, Serrano, Cahuilla, and Mojave is such a privilege. The Native Americans still depend on the landscapes for their cultural and religious practices so please Leave No Trace and make sure to pack out what you’ve packed in.
We visited at the end of April which made the weather a pretty perfect 70ish degrees, though the sun was pretty intense and the wind got pretty strong in the later afternoon. Just be prepared with your essentials; sunglasses, hat, sunscreen, water, and snacks.
This is just a sampling of the many hiking trails that Joshua Tree has and I can’t wait to go back to explore with Gary and the kids. We definitely will be going in the winter or spring so we can hit some of the longer distance hikes and hopefully catch views of all the wildlife that calls it home!
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