Joshua Tree National Park, about a three-hour drive from the city of Los Angeles, is home to Joshua Trees. If you have a day to spend, I would recommend a hike followed by the viewpoints.

Joshua Tree National Park at dusk
Joshua Tree National Park at dusk

We started from the south entrance and went northwards, here’s what we did

  1. Lost Oasis Trail – An easy ~7.5 miles 3-hour hike close to the south entrance and you see a dead Oasis at the end

    Lost Oasis Trail
    Lost Oasis Trail
  2. Porcupine Wash – A small stop along the way

    Porcupine Patch
    Porcupine Patch
  3. Ocotillo Patch – Ocotillo is a desert plant with red-colored flowers
  4. Cholla Cactus Garden – A small passage to walk around in the midst of Cactus

    Cholla Cactus Garden
    Cholla Cactus Garden
  5. White Tank – You can do some nice scrambling here

    White Tank
    White Tank
  6. Twin Tanks – very similar to White tank and is reachable only via a dirt road. Feel free to skip.
  7. Cap Rock – Isn’t something majestic but looks beautiful at night

    Cap Rock
    Cap Rock

What we skipped

  1. Hall of Horrors – This is gorgeous but it was already dark. I would highly recommend prioritizing this.
  2. Barker Dam – The view isn’t very different from the Lost Oasis Trail, so, feel free to skip.