Returned to Joshua Tree for a second stargazing trip, and despite unpredictable cloud cover, the…read morenight sky delivered an incredible show. Sunset at Keys View: The view was great, but parking is extremely limited and poorly managed. Someone parked directly in the middle of the roadway, blocking traffic and leaving everyone else stranded. Camping & Stargazing: Set up camp at Ryan Campground, had dinner, and spent the night stargazing right from the picnic table. The Milky Way was directly overhead, and we caught numerous meteors and shooting stars throughout the night. Drawbacks: The main issue was a total lack of etiquette from other visitors. People were driving around late at night and shining bright white flashlights everywhere past 10 PM, completely disregarding designated quiet hours and ruining dark-sky adaptation. Overall, it is a phenomenal spot for astronomy, but fellow visitors lacking basic night-sky common sense can dampen the experience. Note: On the way back home morning, the park rangers check the annual pass / ticket as they are not when we went around 6.3O PM

"Incredible scenery, but plan ahead!"…read more Joshua Tree is absolutely breathtaking and truly feels like being on another planet. The unique rock formations and iconic Joshua trees make for amazing photos and fun, casual scrambling. We loved walking around the trails near Skull Rock and Cap Rock--the landscape is unlike anything else in Southern California. Knocking off one star mainly due to logistics: Cell Service: There is virtually no cell reception once you enter the park, so make sure you download your offline maps and trail info beforehand. Crowds & Parking: Parking at the popular trailheads (like Hidden Valley and Ryan Mountain) fills up very quickly on weekends. Try to get here early in the morning to beat the rush and the heat. Overall, it's a must-visit national park, just be sure to come prepared so you can enjoy it smoothly!

Ramona & Conan made our experience unforgettable. The walk/hike portion was very educational about…read morethe land we were on, its history, etc. The sound bath was in a special cave with immense energy. It opened our minds & hearts in an unexplainable way. A true off the grid experience. This is not for everyone but if you feel called, do it! A very worthwhile experience. The land is precious and full of wonderful energy.

I recently went here to get away from everything, it turned out to be just what i needed. The…read moregrounds here are beautiful, they gave us a tour and really explained in detail the history of the place from the petroglyphs, to the plants, and wildlife. The sound bath with Ramona was other worldly, it was held in a Cave made from an ancient rock structure, it was very powerful. It feel like a prehistoric wonderland. I was able to camp in my truck tent, but there are super cool tents and structures you can rent. I highly recommend to going here to detach from the normal fast paced life, its an enchanting experience.

I could rave and rave about this hike. I almost didn't do it because it's a little out of the way -…read morethe trailhead entrance is off the main road past the first entrance if coming from Palm/desert hot springs. The hike itself probably only took me 45 mins or so to get to the oasis, and BOY was it worth it!! It's a shallow step/Rocky path most of the way, and right at the end you suddenly emerge over this hill and get an incredible view of a valley full of California fan palm trees! I came on a clear day with mild temps in the mid 70': and it was comfortable, and TOTALLY stunning. The volunteer @the welcome center said in summer they get some rain and it doesn't drain fast so water can pool and make it like a true oasis (don't swim in or drink that water). Overall, between Ryan mountain and this hike - it truly MADE my experience @J tree. Anybody going to visit the park I would recommend doing this trail :)

Frail is easy to follow. It isn't too steep and it's a solid 1.6 miles to the spot from the parking…read morelot. Once at the palms, the temperature cools out dramatically under the shade. Pretty neat!

Easy and idea spot for light hiking just after you park your car. Trail leads to some key spots in…read morethe park including the the remnants of the Barker Dam that once served the area. Surrounding area are steep cliffs and bluffs offering some really epic views. Be sure to keep an close eye out for infamous Big Horn Sheep that often adorn the sides of the canyons on top of rocks and steep terrain.

Hiked Barker Dam Trail in January 2026 and it ended up being one of my favorite spots in Joshua…read moreTree National Park. The dam was filled with water (which apparently isn't always the case), and I had most of the trail completely to myself. Peaceful, scenic, and classic Joshua Tree views the entire way. Easy hike, big payoff, and felt like discovering a hidden gem. Loved it.

TLDR: site 29 is the best in my opinion. there's cool wildlife if you look for it. flush toilets…read moreand running water. potable water free and many faucets around campground. hiking trails within walking distance. black rock campground was a great in-between for glamping and regular camping. I think the most defining features of this campsite are the flush toilets and running water in the bathrooms. however there are no showers. there is potable water faucets scattered about the campground. there are many sites to choose from but after walking around the campground, the best ones are furthest from the entrance (like where we stayed at site 29) highly recommending site 29!!!! very secluded and not crowded next to your neigboring sites. close to the bathroom with no smell. the campground has a nature center open 8am-4pm on the weekends and has a Ranger present as well as other staff. there are hiking trails about 0.75 miles from the campground at High View Trailhead (walkable or can drive there since there's a parking lot at trailhead)

+ Decentely remote venue to go camping with folks. + Nice…read morethat there's a visitor center in the center of the campground for our convenience. . The camp sites are close together, so you can see and hear your neighbors. Not so secluded. If you want more privacy, maybe you'll prefer a different campground. Deserts, man. So dry and often warm.

Elizabeth was an amazing yoga instructor. We organized a private session as a birthday surprise,…read moreand her energy, yoga style, and sense of humor were an excellent addition to our weekend in Joshua Tree. Everything from early communication to the actual yoga session was handled professionally and she was friendly and supportive every step of the way. I highly recommend Elizabeth and Sacred Spiral Adventures to anyone making the trip out! Next time, we'll go scrambling, too!

We booked a yoga under the stars experience with Sacred Spiral and it was truly one of the…read morehighlights of our trip! Elizabeth took us into a remote part of the park that we could have never navigated on our own to a perfect spot for yoga just as the sun was setting. From there she led us on an off-trail hike under the stars that was just spectacular (don't forget your headlamp!). No way we could have ever had this experience on our own. Elizabeth is warm and friendly and very knowledgeable about the park, it's geography and the flora and fauna in the area. I can't rate her or this experience highly enough!

Quite simply outstanding. We signed up for the Sunset Hike and the Night Sky Presentation. Kelly…read moreof Joshua Tree Excursion was truly amazing. He has a vast knowledge of the entire park. He shared the parks rich history, the eco system and geology. He exceeded all my expectations. Especially noteworthy was Kelly's ability to interact with my 5-year-old son and 9-year-old daughter. He was very attuned to their questions and request. To an outside observer, he would have seemed like a loving uncle. This is something you can't put a price on. Kelly took our family on a kid friendly hike to Barker's Dam. On our hike he shared his knowledge of the vegetation along the trails. We went looking for the Big Horn Sheep and saw many of the local animals. Along the way, Kelly helped out other hikes find their way and he even took steps to pick up some rubbish left behind by some uncaring hikers. I can say without a doubt, Kelly is someone who loves his job and enjoys sharing his vast understanding of Joshua Tree with others. After our hiking was over, he took us out to a remote location to watch the sunset and enjoy an alfresco dinner. His cooking skills was right what the occasion called for...delicious. The second part of our tour was star gazing with "Starman" Steve. He has to be an expert among experts. He brought out his high-power telescope. With his telescope we able to see the moon up close, see Jupiter in high detail, see Saturn with it's rings and distant star clusters. During his presentation his gave us a tour of the constellations. Once again, the interaction with my kids was amazing. My kids came up with every "kid question" that they could think of and Starman couldn't have been kinder to them. I can't wait until I have a chance to visit Joshua Tree again and book another excursion with Joshua Tree Excursion.

Just took a Joshua Tree morning tour with Wendy. She was excellent and patient with my family…read more Since we got into the park a little after 8am, we were constantly ahead of the crowds. Overall we really enjoyed our experience and would highly recommend using them. And we paid about $100 per person for a private morning tour. That's pretty good value IMO! The selection of different activities was very low but that was because we booked the busiest time of the season, and only about 3 weeks ahead of time. Booking process was very smooth. The only issue I had was they were unresponsive to any type of communication beforehand. After I booked online, I wrote them and email asking for confirmation, as well as called them and left a voicemail. I received no reply. I almost thought I might have been scammed! Thankfully that wasn't that case.

We had an exciting adventure instead of a drive and a walk in the park. Mike and Hayley took us…read moredirectly to a great feature and guided us safely through our ascent. We had a great time and had a fun descent and a super view while on belay. They helped us get familiar with the layout of the park as well. We felt very safe the whole time as these guides are very professional and well equiped. We did not need to have any of our own gear . If you're looking to have some fun and scare yourself just a bit these folks are great.

My friend and I didn't really know what to expect when we signed up for the rappelling class with…read moreMike. It turned out to be the highlight of our trip to Joshua Tree. We had a detailed training and practice session before rappelling down the 200 feet cliff. Mike was really personable, professional and encouraging. He took great care of us and made sure we had fun and were safe. We definitely reccommend rappelling with Mike!

First-come, first-serve. No showers at campgrounds within the park. Brush up on bird baths before…read moreyou go. Weekend campsites are tough to score during spring peak season (March-April). Get there on a Thursday if you can swing it. If you can't, get there at the crack of dawn on Friday. Campsites will probably be full, but if you have faith and perfect timing, you'll whine/pout in the car for awhile until you snag one as someone else is leaving. This ended up being the case around 6:30 am, when we tested our luck at Ryan Campground after Jumbo Rocks was full. Ryan Campground has 31 campsites. If a post has an orange envelope clipped to it, the site's taken. Otherwise, it's yours. Sites are fairly spacious and surround a cluster of boulders. We snagged #16 for $15/night. If it's a weekend, it's a guarantee people will be circling the grounds each day in search of a site and asking if you plan to leave. They will also approach you at night and ask for advice on a place to camp. If you're feeling altruistic, keep in mind it's 2 vehicles per site. Make sure to consult the weather forecast beforehand--what we thought would be a little breeze ended up being 30 MPH gusts of hell. We took the ominous warning from the state park ranger lightly, who devilishly giggled after saying "no, you won't blow away." We didn't, but our tent collapsed, as did 80% of the tents surrounding us. Amidst our elemental battle, a couple pulled up to ask if we were leaving. We weren't, but invited them to share our site with us. The 4 of us combined couldn't keep our tent upright against the wind. An hour later, a torrential downpour forced us to throw everything into the car and sleep in a hotel. We returned the next morning when the wind died down. The weather didn't deter anyone, the sites were still full. Our tent dried out during the day and we were able to have a great experience. Highly advise a night hike to Ryan Ranch, but bear in mind you may encounter desert stragglers who've ingested hallucinogenics. It's entertaining. No matter your experience of Ryan Campground, you're sure to come away from it with a good story.

Review is for the hike, the payoff is an abandoned adobe homestead with the main structure still…read morestanding and old parts strewn around the base of Ryan Mountain. Joshua Tree will always have a special place in my memory. I came camping here for the first time as an elementary school kid and my friend's father taught me how to pitch a tent, spot constellations, and different types of rocks. Luckily, my kids seem to have inherited the same feelings and loved their time at Ryan's Ranch. Hike is an easy 1.1 miles out and back but you can spend much more time scrambling on the rocks which we did. There are Joshua Trees everywhere you can walk right up to. My favorite part was total freedom to explore. It's not like many hikes that have a set path and barriers to stay in, a lot for the rock scrambles are very close to the trail and there is easy visibility so you won't get lost if you don't wander too far.

The Lost Horse Mine Trail is a hike in Joshua Tree National Park where the end destination is the…read moresite of an old gold mine. It was named after a man who was trying to find his lost horse. There's a long dirt road to the trailhead and there's not much parking. If you want to only go to the gold mine and back it's about 4 miles total. If you want to do the whole loop it's 6.2 miles. It's a long trail with no shade so bring plenty of water and take breaks as needed. Unfortunately the gold mine is fenced off for safety but you still get to read about the history of it. Out of all the hikes and trails we did this was my favorite. It's the most like a traditional hike and has a pretty unique end destination.

What a fun and well-marked hike in Joshua Tree national park! From the parking lot it's 2.2miles…read moreto the mine ruins (4.4 there and back) or 6 miles to do the entire loop. I would say this is a beginner hike, but there are certainly a few hills that will get the heart rate going! The trial itself is super scenic- full of rolling hills, rock formations, Joshua trees and depending on the season there lots of wildflowers. What's keeping it from a perfect review is the super small parking lot, with maybe 15 spots, which fills quickly. Due to its tight nature, turning around in the lot is near impossible (though we saw a few cars try). Pro tip: you can park at a turn out just short of the lot and walk in via dirt road or side trail. It gets you there all the same!