John Cletheroe's
USA and Canada Holiday Hints

Joshua Tree National Park, California

Location

In southern California, southeast of Los Angeles, north of I-10.

Size

When Joshua Tree was a National Monument it had an area of 875 square miles. I suspect that its area was increased when it was upgraded to a National Park. For comparison, the size of the English county of Cheshire is 899 square miles.

The official National Parks Service leaflet quotes the size of the Park as "nearly 800,000 acres", which equates to 1250 square miles. For comparison, the size of the English country of Lancashire is 1,185 square miles.

What to See and Do

Joshua Tree National Park, fairly recently upgraded from a National Monument, is at the place where the Mojave Desert and the Colorado Desert meet. The Mojave Desert lies above 3000 feet and is slightly moister and cooler than the Colorado Desert which lies below 3000 feet. The Colorado Desert occupies most of the eastern section of the Park.

In summer the intense heat and dryness of the desert contrast greatly with the normally relatively cool and overcast weather of Los Angeles. The Park's wilderness also contrasts with the heavily built-up urban sprawl of Los Angeles.

All the main roads through Joshua Tree National Park, including the through road from I-10 to Twentynine Palms and the spur road to Keys View, are paved.

At the Cholla Cactus Garden there is a short, flat trail through the cacti. Be careful not to touch the cacti spikes as they are very painful and difficult to extract. In summer it is extremely hot here and a wide brimmed sunhat is highly recommended.

On a clear day Keys View provides an excellent view over the Coachella Valley (through which I-10 runs, and in which the towns of Palm Springs and Indio lie) and the mountains beyond which lie to the southwest. Sadly the view is often diminished by air pollution from Los Angeles. Although an excellent view is to be had from the parking lot, the short climb to the upper vantage point is well worth the effort.

Various weird eroded rock formations such as Jumbo Rocks can be seen from the road or explored closer up via trails.

The desert vegetation is always interesting, especially the Joshua Trees after which the park is named. The trees derive their name from the way their branches resemble Joshua with his arms upstretched, as described in the Bible.

Rather than in the heat of summer, a visit to this park in spring or autumn (fall) may be more pleasant and allow for more walking. Winters are very cold here.

Entrance Fee

Entrance fee for a normal car, including the driver and all passengers, for seven days: $10 (Apr-01).

Some Ideas for Places to Stay

Twentynine Palms, on California State Highway 62 north of the park. This is a small, very pleasant town.
There are several medium sized towns on I-10 south of the park. However, these tend to be very much more expensive and less pleasant than Twentynine Palms. In particular, avoid Indio at the weekend unless you have a motel reservation, as its casinos attract numerous visitors so the motels are often full up or charging very high rates.

In the Area

Anza-Borrego Desert State Park
Mojave National Preserve
The town of Palm Springs is worth driving through for a look
Salton Sea

External Links

Loyola Marrymount University Biology Department - Southern California Natural History - an excellent source of information on the plants and animals of the region, together with a large number of high quality photographs. Checked Sep-98.

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As with all the other pages on this personal web site, all the information on this page is solely the opinion of the author, who has no connection whatsoever with any of the companies and organisations mentioned other than as an actual or potential customer.

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Most recently modified 29-Mar-02