Joshua Tree: 4 Days of Boulders, Palm Oases and Desert Skies

Pick up a park map, ask a ranger about current trail and road conditions, and buy your entrance pass if you have not already done so online. The center is five miles from the West Entrance, with exhibits and a bookstore.

A flat 1.1-mile loop past boulders and Joshua trees to Barker Dam. The reservoir is dry most of the year and only fills after heavy rain. The trail's highlight is a rock art site; view it from the signed distance and do not touch or climb on the boulder.

Cap Rock sits at the junction of Park Boulevard and Keys View Road, and its 0.4-mile loop threads Joshua trees, Mojave yuccas and granite domes with benches and interpretive signs. There are picnic tables and a restroom at the trailhead, which makes it a natural spot for the picnic lunch you packed in Joshua Tree village. The parking lot is also one of four designated stargazing areas.

A trail through mining history: you reach the remains of a stamp mill and mining equipment, with a fenced-off milling site to admire from a distance. Park pages give varying figures for the full loop (roughly 6.2 to 6.8 miles), so treat that as uncertain. The shorter, consistently listed option is a 4-mile round trip to the stamp mill and back, with 550 feet of gain. This plan uses the shorter version. The trailhead lot is small and fills on busy weekends.

A 2.5-mile loop with 150 feet of gain through washes and boulder gardens on the northern side of the park's boulder country. It is fun for all ages. Bring a map if you link it with the Discovery and Skull Rock trails, which makes an approximately 5-6 mile route.

A lollipop trail from the Twin Tanks lot on Pinto Basin Road: 0.6 miles straight east across sand, then a short 0.2-mile loop with the arch about 0.1 mile in. Going counterclockwise is recommended because the arch is easier to spot from that direction. The trail has no shade and no cell service. Pack a picnic lunch for the trail; there is no food service in the park.

After exiting via the North Entrance, stop at the park's Twentynine Palms visitor center for exhibits, a bookstore and trip advice for tomorrow. It is open 8 AM to 5 PM daily.

A 3-mile round trip with 300 feet of gain in each direction, climbing over a ridge and down into a canyon oasis of fan palms. It is difficult and mostly shadeless, and the oasis itself is a sensitive water source for wildlife, so do not enter it. Go in the early morning: finishing exposed desert hikes before the heat builds is advised. The trail is closed every summer, so if it is closed on your dates, use this fallback: leave Twentynine Palms around 08:00, head south on Pinto Basin Road to the Cholla Cactus Garden (about 09:15), then continue to Cottonwood Spring for Mastodon Peak, or for a full day, the longer Lost Palms Oasis hike listed under options. All three are open year-round and listed on park pages.

Begin at Cottonwood Spring's oasis and take the Mastodon Peak loop of 3 miles with 375 feet of gain, with a scramble option to the peak. The trail has no shade and no cell service. After the hike, the short 0.1-mile stroll to Cottonwood Spring's fan palms is a good cooldown. Cottonwood Visitor Center is a few minutes toward I-10.

The southern gateway stop: exhibits, a bookstore and restrooms about 7 miles north of Interstate 10 exit 168, and it closes at 4 PM, so time your Mastodon Peak hike accordingly. Continue south to I-10 from here.