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Joshua Tree, CA
I
went to Joshua Tree national park three weeks ago. I have just now forced myself
into getting off my butt and write a review of it. Joshua Tree is a home of the
“Joshua Tree” hence the name. This short twisted tree dominates the
landscape, along with fantastic rock formations.
We started our trip from Salt Lake City about 11, I have a tough time getting up
before that. We had to take the obligatory cruise through the strip in Vegas,
but made it down there in 10 hours. If you can, time this journey with a daytime
trip through the Virgin River Gorge.
Once at Joshua Tree we found that 12 at night on a Saturday all campgrounds were
full. We ended up staying at a hotel in Yucca Valley. The Desert View is not a
hotel I can recommend. I felt sorry for the people on the floor below us, as the
shower leaked into a large hole between the shower unit and wall. The
complimentary coffee was much appreciated though.
The small restaurant located at the corner of the park entrance in Yucca Valley
is fantastic. This eatery is run by a woman who left the computer industry to
live in Yucca Valley. Although you may have to wait in line out in the driveway
it is worth it. You will find yourself waiting with the local people who live
here, once you get in you will see why. This restaurant is tiny but makes a mean
breakfast, large plates of food come with every order.
Now onto the park, we came here to climb and found all we expected. First I will
cover the camping scene…
My wife and two year old love to go camping and were not disappointed here. We
stayed in the Belle campground, in site #4. This site gave us sun in the morning
and shade in the afternoon. All of the campsites in Joshua Tree have picnic
tables and fire pits. The outhouses here are not too bad, I have never been in a
nice outhouse but these are not among the worst. Coyotes are plentiful in the
park and you will hear them as you go to sleep. Please do not feed them as “a
fed coyote is a dead coyote”. Hidden Valley, Ryan and Jumbo are not good if
you want to get away from the crowds. Hidden Valley is a hard spot to get a
campsite, this is the site of the climbing crowd. The campsites are free, but
there is a 14 day camping restriction. This Park is a favorite of the retired RV
crowd. The Belle campground was full of friendly retiree’s in motorhomes. Both
Twentynine Palms and Yucca Valley offer grocery stores to replenish the
campsite. Make sure you put everything away, the ravens and other critters will
try and ransack you while you are gone.
If you come here to climb you will not be disappointed . Many of the top
climbers learned to climb on the granite of Josh. John Long took his first
climbing lesson here. At the Hidden Valley campground you will find climbers
from the entire world. Josh has become a worldwide climbing destination. Randy
Vogel’s guidebook is the best guide to climbing here, like any guide it takes
a while to figure out where you are. This guide offers the most straightforward
locations of any guidebook out there. The best climbing and bouldering spots are
centered around the Hidden Valley Campground, but to get away from the crowds,
it is best to climb in some of the more remote areas.
There are a couple dirt roads in this park, they are called 4 wheel drive roads
but I don’t think they really qualify. There are some good hiking trails in
the park but you don’t really gain any better scenery then you can see from
the road. The trails into the Hidden Valley are the best.
This was a park my entire family enjoyed immensely. My two year old has been
raised on camping and considers the open sky his bedroom. Great weather and
fantastic scenery make me consider this as one of my better vacations.
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