Joshua Tree

Joanie Foley
Oct 16, 2021
3 min read

As we were heading to our AirBnB in Joshua Tree, the clouds rolled in- and just as we arrived that night - the skies opened up for torrential rain and 50 mph winds. It seemed like it was raining dirt! We love a good rain storm in the desert!

We had a great space to stay - Vida, our host, was fantastic and the place was on 2 1/2 acres and had a hot tub for soaking and dark skies for spectacular star gazing.

https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/3994582?source_impression_id=p3_1634433473_h%2FmUw20c%2F8EYR7v6

Joshua Tree Rocks!

We woke to clear skies and headed out super early for a sunrise hike to arch rock and skull rock. We had the entire trail to ourselves thanks to the early hour and had so much fun playing around in the rocks! It felt like we were in a prehistoric movie set!

Cottonwood Spring Oasis

The Cottonwood Spring Oasis was so cool. The spring that was created by earthquake activity supplies the moisture needed for the growth of Fan Palm Trees ( some of these nearly 100 years old) and the Cottonwood trees. We were lucky to be here in October when the Cottonwood leaves are yellow, providing a great color contrast to the green Fan Palm leaves. We really enjoyed this oasis in the desert!

Ocotillo Patch

While driving along Pinto Basin Road there is a distinct patch of Ocotillo plants.

Hill Trail from Queen Valley Road

We did the Hill Trail from Queen Valley Road after reading the description on All Trails. https://www.alltrails.com/trail/us/california/hill-trail-from-queen-valley-road?ref=result-card

This is NOT a marked trail and very steep going up and scary steep coming down this rocky hill. That being said, the view at the top... does provide a 360 degree BEAUTIFUL view of the park and as it is "off the beaten path" we were the only two idiots attempting it and had the entire trail to ourselves! The views were great but would not recommend - we spent a good deal of time making sure we came down safely and we are still pulling cactus needles out of our boots!

Barker Dam Trail

We did the short Barker Dam Trail - an easy loop trail ~ 1.1 miles. The trail has many big boulders and one of the main features of this hike, a dam constructed in 1900 to supply water for cattle. On the southwest edge of the trail there are a dozen or more pictographs and petroglyphs in a wind carved cave. Unfortunately, a film company painted over some of them to make them show up better on film- what an idiotic thing to do!

Cholla Cactus Garden

We were able to stroll through the Cholla ( aka "Teddy Bear") Cactus Garden during the "golden hour" - beautifully lighting up this unique little guys!

Hidden Valley Picnic Area

We had lunch at the Hidden Picnic Area. After lunch we did a little scramble to get behind the picnic area and had the whole area of Big Boulders and Joshua trees to play in!

Keys View

We caught the sunset at Keys View, situated along the crest of the Little San Bernardino Mountains, which has panoramic views of the Coachella Valley . The views were fantastic, the sunset stunning. This is a very popular spot - so if you go be ready to share the experience with your fellow travelers!