Joshua Tree is a marvelous national park straddling the Colorado and Mojave deserts in south-eastern California. Since a desert does not equal a desert, the park’s location just where the two fragile desert ecozones converge beautifully highlights the contrasts in scenery between the northwestern and eastern sections.

In the Mojave Desert Ecozone, at elevations above 900 meters, monzogranite boulder stacks in odd shapes lie scattered across the desert which is dotted with Mojave yuccas, pinyon pines, junipers, prickly pear cacti, and, of course, the park’s namesake yucca species, the Joshua tree. This is by far the busier half of the park, with most amenities and campgrounds located near the North and West entrances.

It’s much quieter and feels more remote in the east of the park, where the Colorado Desert habitat lies below 900m in elevation and generally appears more barren and desert-like. Unless you visit in spring when the rocky landscape looks surprisingly colorful and vibrant with all the wildflowers in full bloom. Ocotillo, for instance, a spindly desert plant that looks like an extravagant bouquet with long stems will be topped by beautiful red flowers.

Both areas of the park, but particularly the northwestern section, are astounding examples of flora and fauna that have adapted to scorching heat and water scarcity to thrive in this inhospitable environment.

An extensive trail network in the Mojave Desert area of the park makes the desert wilderness accessible to hikers and offers fabulous trails of varying length and difficulty. You could easily spend a week in the park, exploring all the different tracks and sights, but if you’ve only got a day or two, we can warmly recommend our favorite 3 hikes in the Mojave Desert section of Joshua Tree National Park: the Maze Loop, Window Rock, and North View Trails, Split Rock Loop Trail & Face Rock Spur, and Hidden Valley Trail

To make the most of your visit to Joshua Tree (and allow more time for hiking), I recommend camping in one of the park’s eight campgrounds. The most sought-after spots seemed to be Black Rock (on the park’s northwestern perimeter) and Cottonwood (the only campground in the Colorado Desert area of the park), the only two sites with water and flush toilets. 

Don’t worry though, if you can’t snag a spot at either of those two campgrounds, for there are several great first-come-first-serve alternatives. See the information section below for more details.