Los Angeles & Southern California - Andrea Schulte-Peevers [304]
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ACTIVITIES
Cycling
Joshua Tree National Park is popular for biking, though bicycles must stay on the roads and trails. A mountain bike or, at minimum, a hybrid bike is necessary for the many unpaved roads.
Two favorite bicycle routes are the challenging Pinkham Canyon Rd, which begins at the Cottonwood Visitor Center, and the Old Dale Rd, which starts 6.5 miles north of there. The Queen Valley road network is a more gentle set of trails and has bike racks along the way so people can lock up their bikes and go hiking.
Bikes are a great means of transportation in this region: hop on your two-wheel steed to get from your campground to any destination and you’ll have gorgeous scenery along the way. Click here for information about bike hire.
Hiking
You should leave the car behind to appreciate Joshua Tree’s trippy lunar landscapes. Visitor centers provide maps and advice about the 12 short nature walks (which range from 0.25 miles to 1.3 miles) and six hiking trails that focus on different features of the park (for the kids, pick up a Junior Ranger booklet and ask which trails are most kid-friendly). Trails include Fortynine Palms Oasis, Hidden Valley, Lost Horse Mine, Inspiration Point, Ryan Mountain, Cholla Cactus Garden and Lost Palm Oasis. If you don’t have a lot of time, the 0.25-mile Skull Rock Loop is an easy walk, as is Keys View Trail, which provides views of the entire Coachella Valley.
Overnight backcountry hikers must register (to aid in census-taking, fire safety and rescue efforts) and deposit the stub at one of 12 backcountry boards in parking lots throughout the park. Unregistered vehicles left overnight may be cited or towed.
The well-traveled 16-mile Boy Scout Trail, on the western side of the park, starts from either the Indian Cove or Keys West backcountry board.
A 35-mile-long stretch of the California Riding & Hiking Trail, administered by California State Parks, passes through Joshua Tree; plan two to three days to hike the trail through the park.
To protect fragile soil crusts (cryptobiotic soil), which allow plant life to grow and keep the desert from blowing away, stay on established trails.
Rock Climbing
From boulders to cracks to multipitch faces, there may be more routes here than anywhere else in the US. The longest climbs are not much more than 100ft or so, but there are many challenging technical routes, and most can be easily top-roped for training. Some of the most popular climbs are in the Hidden Valley area.
Pick up a specialized climbing book from the kind folks at Coyote Corner. They also have route diaries that you can thumb through or buy.
For a day of instruction or for a guided climb, contact Uprising Outdoor Adventure Guides ( 760-366-3799, 888-254-6266; www.uprising.com; per person from $65). Also try Fun Seekers in Palm Springs.
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SLEEPING
There are no lodges in the park, only campgrounds. You can find motels, inns and B&Bs in the surrounding communities of Joshua Tree and Twentynine Palms.
Camping
There are nine campgrounds ( 877-444-6777; www.nps.gov/jotr, www.recreation.gov; campsites $10-15) in the park; Map for locations. Some campgrounds will take reservations; check the websites for details. You can rent gear – from tents and bags to stoves and water jugs – from Joshua Tree Outfitters (Map; 760-366-1848; 61707 Twentynine Palms Hwy, Joshua Tree; )
Of the campgrounds, only Black Rock Canyon and Cottonwood have shared-use water, flush toilets and dump stations, and water is available at the ranger station near Indian Cove. All other campgrounds have pit toilets, picnic tables and fireplaces. None of the campgrounds have showers.
Black Rock Canyon, Indian Cove and the six group sites at Sheep Pass may be reserved; check online for dates and details on individual sites. Campsites at Belle,