Your Guide to Joshua Tree National Park and Camping Location

When our plans to travel in the summer led us to California, I knew that Joshua Tree National Park would be on my list of places to visit. I didn’t know much about this park but as I kept seeing pictures on Instagram or Pinterest I was intrigued by the uniqueness of the trees. They remind me of something Dr Seuss would have created.

National Park history

So onto our list this park went. I knew I would love the trees even more in person and I really did. I find nature so beautiful. Each tree within each national park is so different. Each park gives you so much land to explore and so much diversity of what it has to offer. I may not be this scientific person that can name all the plants or trees, or someone who can write long posts about the history of an area. But I do know, that whatever I see and love is what I want to spend more time visiting.

If you are just starting on your travel journey of visiting national parks, or you have been to most of them already, I am sure you can agree that each national park brings on such curiosity and fascination as you take in the beauty of each space you visit. Wether it be mountains, unique trees, rock formations or just to view the stars, each park brings its own sense of peace and solitude.

Joshua Tree National Park

Joshua Tree did not disappoint my love of national parks. To be honest we did not do many hikes at this park. Only due to the fact we went in the summer months when it is the hottest. My teens were not thrilled about hiking in the heat. I am sure if we could go when it is cooler there would be many more hikes we would enjoy. But, I got to see the Joshua Tree’s and that made me happy!!

**Hikes we took was the Hidden Valley trail, the Cholla Cactus garden and a short walk to Skull Rock.

Joshua Tree National Park

Hours: This park is open 24 hours a day/ 365 days a year.

Visitor Centers:

• Joshua Tree Visitor Center hours (west entrance): Hours: 7:30am to 5 pm daily

• Cottonwood Visitor Center hours (south entrance): 8:30am to 4pm daily

• Joshua Tree National Park Visitor Center located in 6533 Freedom Way, Twentynine Palms (outside of the park). Hours (north entrance): 8:30am to 5pm daily. We had trouble finding this visitor center at first. It is not on the road that leads into the park.

• Black Rock Nature Center. Hours: 8:00am to 4:00pm. Limited hours in the summer.

Cost: $30 for private vehicle, pass is good for 7 consecutive days. FREE with America the Beautiful National Park pass.

Cell signal: minimal to non-existence. Download map or pick one up at the visitor center. If you purchase tickets online, download a copy in case you have no signal at entrance.

Things to do: hiking, backpacking, stargazing, birding, camping, climbing, biking, horseback riding

Pets: are not allowed on trails, back country, or in buildings

Map of Joshua Tree National Park, see below.

I wear a fannypack to carry my keys, phone, and any other necessities while hiking. You could also use a backpack for the same purpose.

Hidden Valley Nature Trail

Look at the Joshua tree’s above. They are so unique? We took the Hidden Valley nature trail to view the multiple trees. This is a 1 mile round trip hike around the popular Joshua Tree’s. I loved this walk!

Skull Rock

Skull rock below. It’s amazing how years of being out in the weather can create such character in rocks. This one is similar to a skull as it is titled.

Skull rock is located right along the roadway so it is easy to get too. There is a 1.7 mile round trip trail around this area. This is a 1-2 hour hike. We enjoyed climbing among the rocks while here.

As you can see from the picture below, there are a lot of large boulders to climb on in this area by skull rock. My youngest son loved climbing in this area. We spent some time here just letting him climb around. It was fun to watch him problem solve how to climb over a boulder or climb down from one.

Cholla Cactus Garden

Cholla Cactus Garden. A .25 mile round trip walk on flat land seen below. This will take about 15-20 minutes. These Cholla cactus are beautiful but very sharp. Watch young kids so they do not touch the cactus.

Camping in Joshua Tree National Park

Camping is available within Joshua Tree National Park. To see more details of each campsite click HERE. There are 500 campsites within this park spread out over 8 campgrounds. Some are reservable ($20-25 a night) and others are first come/first served ($15 a night). Most campgrounds are open year round.

Gas prices in California

Before we headed to our camping location I decided to get gas. We were on the Nevada-California border and the gas price was $6.96 a gallon. This was the highest we saw on our travels. You can see the total was $127.79, UGH. Gas prices in California were $2 higher than any other state we passed through.

I chose to camp out of Joshua Tree so we didn’t have to pay for camping.

Boondocking off Kelbaker Road

We camped off of Kelbaker Road near highway 40 in California. During our travel to this area temps rose to 114 degrees. I was getting a little nervous but by the time we got to this camp area the temp was much lower and got down to 80’s at night. This area mentioned being sandy in some spots so get out and look before you park so you do not end up getting stuck. Bring traction boards just in case you get stuck.

Cost: This is a FREE boondocking location and we had the place to ourselves.

Amenities: rock fire ring. No shade.

GPS: 34.74570, -115.65200

Cell signal: Yes, Verizon (1-2 bars)

Location to Joshua Tree National Park: 1 hour 8 minutes

And a campfire to sit by at night before bed and of course, to roast marshmallows by. Such a fun time. The kids could enjoy climbing the large boulders as well while we waited for the night to end. Don’t forget your roasting sticks for your campfire goodies.

You will defiantly enjoy this park. I recommend going here when the weather is cooler so you can enjoy more of the trails. What is your favorite national park in California? Comment below.

Enjoy your next journey,

Follow my journey on Instagram to see more travel ideas and pictures. @adoptinglifesjourney

---