The least favorable of the three entrance portals into Joshua Tree (the other two being Joshua Tree…read moreVisitor Center & Joshua Tree NP Cultural Center). - No potable water refill station at this visitor center; the staff told me to go to the restroom to get it. yike. My stomach's more sensitive despite having already exposed it to plenty germs, so I still have to prefer the more filtered water. - Less to see at Cottonwood Spring visitor center. Less displays and amenities. Smaller than the other two.

One of the best spots in Joshua Tree National Park for wildlife - especially birds! I've never seen…read moreso many quails on a trail in all my years birding - it was wonderful! And I saw a gorgeous Black-throated Sparrow for the first time here too! The short, flat, sandy trail is easily accessible but there are several other trailheads in this spot if you want to extend your explorations. The Cottonwood Spring is actually a result of earthquake activity. And while I didn't see any water and the wash was dry, there were plenty of signs indicating water is somewhere nearby. There are huge stands of native fan palms and wispy, beautiful Cottonwoods all throughout the wash - along with tons of bugs, bees, and all the other thirsty creatures. Apparently in heavy rains the dry sandy wash becomes a flowing river with a waterfall! The spring season brings wildflowers and the autumn brings the fall colors for the Cottonwoods. Local Cahuilla people called this area home for centuries and you can still clearly see the bedrock mortars they used along the trail in places. Prospectors and miners also used the spring as a water stop on their way from Mecca to northern mines. This spring area was first mentioned in a gold mine claim filed in 1875 so there's lots of history here surprisingly. There are three main trails originating in this area- the short and flat Cottonwood Springs wash loop, the longer and more elevated Mastodon Peak, and the even longer and harder Lost Palms Oasis trail. Due to time constraints I was only able to spend a couple of hours here but definitely would've loved to have more time to explore - especially Mastodon Peak. Cottonwood Springs is located just down from the visitor center at the south entrance - so you won't see any Joshua Trees as those are all in the northern parts of the park. But it's still definitely worth exploring. And there's a campground about 1/2 mile away with picnic tables and bathrooms. There are also portapotties at the visitor center nearby. The roads in this area are paved, well maintained, and there is plenty of paved parking at the trailhead. The National park charges a fee to enter with pay stations on the way into the park and a nice gift shop in the visitor center.

This review is for Ladder Canyon & Painted Canyon Trail which was a ~4.4 miles round trip that took…read more~2.5 hours to complete. Ladder Canyon & Painted Canyon Trail was a popular and crowded hike near Mecca, California. Trail was flat and sandy while you're at the bottom of the canyons. Started the loop clockwise; look for the ladder on your left. Requires a little bit of rock scrambling at this part and some ladders to get to the slot canyons. Trail becomes a bit more rocky with a slight incline towards the top of the canyons. Furthermore, there was a rope and ladder near the end of the loop. Overall, this was unique trail with stunning views throughout the hike! Required to drive on a well maintained dirt road for ~4.6 miles. Low clearance cars could make it; go slow and dodge the bigger bumps as you get closer to the parking. No restroom at the trailhead! Short video of the hike for those interested! https://youtu.be/7HECQHARzvs

I went there on April 6, 2025. There's 7 cars at parking area. I ran into 6 hikers while I was on…read morethe trail. It's quiet and really enjoyed the nature. Gloves and hiking boots are game changers. Last 2 miles are very rocky and sandy, so it's hard to walk. I forgot my sunscreen and sunglasses.

Gorgeous and challenging to access mountain. You will be one of the only people summiting, whether…read moreyou come on a weekday or weekend. It's just not easy to access and there are no trails going up this mountain. It's a rock scramble that you'll have to navigate yourself. This past weekend, I ended up going up Martinez Mountain and Sheep mountain. We started at the Cactus Spring Trail and hiked to Horsethief Creek. We were able to filter a good amount of water at the creek with a decent water source and from there hiked to Cactus Spring (about 5 miles from the start of the trailhead). Martinez Mountain was about 8 mile round trip back to Cactus Spring. It was quite a feat to traverse and required some class 3 moves to get up to the summit. Quite a thrilling adventure. Coming down the backside of the gully was not for the faint of heart; I definitely got some injuries I wish I didn't get...if I do this mountain again, it would probably be an out and back, although you can hit Sheep the same day (I ended up doing Sheep the next day). All in all; it's quite a challenge and you probably won't see a soul up here, but it's worth it for the adventurous-minded!

On April 27th, 2014 Lindsay, Kate and myself set off to climb Martinez Mountain. We drove up the…read more74 and parked the truck near an old mine. We started about 8 am, and the hike lasted almost 12 hours. All of us are in great shape but this turned out to be a brutal day hike. Starting point is located up the 74. Make a left on the dirt road right after the sugarloaf cafe. Then after the cactus spring trailhead sign, drive down and to the left to get the closest start. Exact location: Latitude: 33.5767109413 Longitude : -116.4422111493 The elevation was 3922 ft The hike starts off descending and you go cross a small stream about a half mile in. At 1.7 miles in and 3400 ft, we crossed Horse Thief Creek, which surprisingly had a good amount of water flowing. No water after that. After 1 mile of good grade it leveled out and we followed a wide wash, making out way to the mountain. We met another hiker who knew the area well and told us where the trail we needed connected to the wash. At 4.97 miles from our start, we took the trail to the right and headed to the saddle just west of Martinez Mountain. It could easily be missed without keeping an eye out. 1.35 miles after leaving the wash, we made it to the saddle and stopped for lunch. We could see Jacinto, Santa Rosa Mountain, and the south side of the Martinez. From here, there is NO TRAIL to the top. Making out way up the ridge was a scramble. It was a lot of work, and there are large boulders and overgrown bushes. Its steep and you will need to be in great shape. At 7.64 miles from the start, and 6543 ft up, we summited! The summit is a group of large boulders and you will need to be able to lift your own bodyweight to get up. We found the summit sign in ammo box, which only had about 100 signatures in the last ten years. On our way down we decided to go a more direct way down, which was very steep and slow moving. Our knees really took a beating jumping down rock to rock. We then got back on the trail in the wash and headed back to the start. In total, we hike 14.8 miles. We had a great time and want to explore this area more!

If you've driven Interstate 10 between Desert Center and Blythe, California, you've probably seen…read morethe Corn Springs exit. You may have then asked why? There's no gas station, no houses, no ghost town, no structures of any kind -- nothing. If you have time for a little adventure before you head to wherever it is that you brought you to Interstate 10 in the first place, then stop on the south side of the Corn Springs exit and take the Corn Springs dirt road for eight miles into the mountain valley. (Any car can handle it.) There, you'll find a thirsting remnant of a once vibrant oasis that was home to the Cahuilla people. In short order, you can check out the petroglyphs and the cluster of palm trees that have seen better days. Most of the petroglyphs here are abstract, but if you look carefully you might see some primitive hunter-and-bighorn sheep images, too. Layered over and near some of these images are unfortunate instances of more modern day graffiti. There are no brochures or park rangers here; just a few plaques and numbered poles that don't provide enough clues to put the pieces together. If you have time to spend the night, a Spring evening here is beautiful as the sun sets. It's very peaceful, too, unless some redneck is shooting up a metal sign or beer cans or liquor bottles. Waking up the next morning to the calls of many different birds is refreshing. A short hike in the vicinity of the palm trees and petroglyphs reveals occasional bursts of colorful flowers. July, when the temperature easily reaches 108 degrees and touching the rocks will burn your skin off, is not the best time to see Corn Springs. The heat blazes, there's no water, little shade, and even the large campground is empty. Your vehicle will melt into the ground. If one of the Border Patrol/military aircraft that routinely flies this area sees you, it may circle above you for a while until it realizes you're just a dumb gringo. (Yeah, that was me.) Corn Springs frustrates my curiosity because the area has a haunting residue that suggests so much more went on here than the few details left can now tell us. Well, now you know why there is a Corn Springs exit. You have time for this. You really do.

Corn Spring/Springs (it's spelled both way on signs) is an easily accessible BLM campsite whose…read moredominant feature is a stand of palms that have seen better days. Some kind of disease seems to be slowly stripping them of their fronds but the campsite remains a fine place for car and tent camping that puts you within about an hour of the Cottonwood Springs entrance to Joshua Tree National Park. A wide, smooth dirt road takes you to Corn Spring about eight miles into the Chuckwalla Mountains to the west of Interstate 10. There are about 10 individual campsites with fire rings and pole-mounted charcoal grills. Some sites have nice metal canopies over a concrete picnic bench; you definitely want that while desert camping. There are two septic tank bathrooms that are absolutely five-star facilities in the world of BLM camping. They're clean, well-maintained and odorless. Someone is obviously taking good care of these babies. The other notable feature of Corn Spring is, of course, the petroglyphs that can be seen among the rocks lining either side of the dirt road as you approach the campsite. They're most easily seen on the western side. Apparently there are better petroglyphs among the rocks to the east if you do a little boulder scrambling, but we didn't try. They're interesting, not too spectacular and are unfortunately mixed in with latter-day petroglyphs along the line of "Mike" and "George R 43." No one has yet tried to bomb them with spray paint. There are no interpretive signs so you'll have to do your own research. Maybe their origin is unknown. This is the first desert campsite I've used where I have actually come upon bighorn sheep. There were four of them standing on the ridge line along the dirt road on a November afternoon, gazing down upon us like they owned the place. Which they did. It's also the only desert campsite where, at 1 in the morning, I was awakened by the rumble of engines that seemed to surround us like a raiding party. After hearing the collective idle of engines outside our tents for about five minutes, I opened a flap to discover the military had invaded Corn Spring. Or at least a National Guard contingent on night maneuvers. There were about five armored Humvees, each with a large automatic machine gun atop, all accompanied by militarized ATVs. it was cool and a bit scary at the same. Apparently they were taking a potty break, using the aforementioned great bathrooms. We've camped at Mojave National Preserve, Death Valley, Panamint Valley, Rainbow Basin near Barstow, Valley of Fire east of Vegas, Whitney Pockets east of Vegas, Afton Canyon in Mojave and several other places. Corn Spring stacks up well as desert campsite, with ample opportunities for hikes, wildlife viewing and general desert exploration. I highly recommend it if Joshua Tree sites are full or when the weather's cold at the National Park. It's $6 a night per vehicle, payable via envelopes and metal mailbox. There's good-tasting water available via a hand-operated pump. Quite charming. Services are available about 25 miles away at Chiriaco Summit, west on I-10

The Salton Sea is really unbelievable. Haven't really ever heard of it before my mom moved to La…read moreQuinta 14 years ago. But after hearing the stories, I had to go. Recently, it finally came true. When you finally get your sights on it, it's more unreal. The lake is about 15 by 35 miles at its widest and longest. So, it's HUGE, and there's a hell of a lot of water. Sure, it's getting smaller, but still. If you go, you should decide to go on the West or East side...because it's very far to go all around. My mom and I went east, but I think there's more to see on the west side (which has Salton City, Desert Shores, Salton Sea Beach). What we did see was a few "campgrounds", former structures, and the highlight -- Bombay Beach, an little town with some artistic endeavors, but mostly low income and off-grid living. It's just not healthy to live nearby this. It has a little market and an old motel, the Ski Inn, that is now a coffee shop and dive bar. It wasn't very smelly on a 75 degree day, but I'm sure it is in the heat of summer. It's both marvelous and a engineering disaster. I asked Siri a million things while driving, but I'm left with more questions than answers.

It's my second time to visit this desolate place in two years because of its art installations. The…read moreart is amazing and quirky that makes Salton Sea Beach a nice getaway spot and admiration. Unfortunately, the sea is receding fast, nevertheless its environment is breathtaking! As long as interesting and quirky art installation continues, Salton Sea Beach will never be a desolate place.

Clean park! Safe for toddlers and big kids & a lot of space for them to run around! :)read more

The park was not the issue. The park has a beautiful walk way with pickleball courts that are…read moregreat. The problem was during a walk this afternoon, I take a seat to rest. A lady comes up to me & says "they're looking for you". I don't understand & walk back to say oh they found me they're looking for you as well. "Jackie" states " I have papers nothing to worry about" while her friends let out a great big laugh. To say this to someone who is minding their business sitting down is unacceptable & wildly inappropriate. While people are losing families "Jackie" thinks it's okay to make jokes of the issues going on. Bravo to you, Please be on the lookout for this woman on your walks here. 2:30pm April 1st

Love the soccer fields and decoration great place to play. Its always clean and alot of shade will…read moredefinitely recomend my go to place for a soccer match with family and friends

This park is nice very quiet I always enjoy my time just being here at rancho las Floresread more

Nice hike...about 3 miles from the side of the road and up to the top and back down. If you choose…read morethe flatter route around the oasis it will take much longer as it is a farther loop and not as fun. Views from the top on a clear day made the trek worth it. Fun with a group and be sure to wear sunscreen and bring water.