Joshua Tree has always been a favorite National Park as it was a place that my family and I would spend many summers; camping, hiking, and spending time with friends and family. Sean, my brother, and I have always wanted to go back to Joshua Tree in order to relive our memories and make new ones, so the trip was a childhood re-imagined.
My Tips for Winter Camping: Joshua Tree NP
#1 : Don’t give up; always check back to see if people have canceled their reservation.
#2 : Make sure to use a bush or rock to shelter your tent as the wind and temperature in      Joshua Tree can be below freezing.
 #3 : Head out early to beat the crowds on the nature walks or easier hikes.
#4 : Don’t forget food and water on any type of hike because you WILL become hungry and thirsty.
We decided to utilize Sean’s days off over the Thanksgiving break and camp for 3 days and 2 nights starting the day after Thanksgiving (November 29, 2019). Since this was a last minute idea, we were unable to reserve a campsite at Jumbo Rocks – the most popular campsite and where we camped when we were kids – and so our plan was to drive to the NP really early in the morning on the Friday and look for a site in one of the 6 non-reservable campsites. However due to rain on Thanksgiving Day, I checked back on the reservation website (https://www.recreation.gov/) and was able to find one site in the Jumbo Rocks Campground that was open for the days we were planning to be camping. What luck! TIP #1: Don’t give up; always check back to see if people have canceled their reservation. So with our campsite reserved, we were able to make a more relaxed drive up to the National Park, and were able to get our National Park passport stamped without worrying about having to find a campsite!
We headed into the park, all the while remembering funny memories of our time spent here as kids and arrived at site #70. This site was specifically designed for tent camping and so we were able to back the truck up to the site and use the tailgate as a table for cooking. Until we had stepped out of the car, we had not completely realized exactly how windy it was and so setting up the tent took much consideration and planning before we were able to place it in a spot relatively out of the wind and close to the fire pit. TIP #2: Make sure to use a bush or rock to shelter your tent as the wind and temperature in Joshua Tree can be below freezing. With the tent set up and the sun starting to set we headed off on our first hike/walk of the trip; to Skull Rock.
Skull Rock is, I would say, the most famous of the trails in Joshua Tree as the final location is very accessible to everyone. It is right off the main road. This was a highlight during our childhood and seeing it again definitely brought back memories. However with the increase of visitors to National Parks and the proximity to the Thanksgiving Holiday, Skull rock was very packed during the time we were there and so we decided to spend the rest of the afternoon exploring the rock formations surrounding Jumbo Rocks. Sean and I climbed and scrambled our way across the rocks as we headed back to our campsite for some veggie burgers and s’mores.
The next morning we headed out for a very busy day hiking 3 of the trails around the park. The first up was Barker Dam Trail, which was a nature walk to an old dam created by some of the first settlers of the area for a source of water in a barren desert. Hike 2 was the Hidden Valley Trail, which is a popular site for rock climbers so it was amazing to watch them tackle a blank rock face. These hikes are very family friendly so TIP #3: Head out early to beat the crowds on the nature walks or easier hikes. Finally the third hike of the day was a 3 mile climb up Ryan Mountain situated at the heart of the Joshua Tree National Park. This hike is a definite requirement while staying in Joshua Tree as it will give you 360° views of the surrounding desert landscape to the soaring mountain peaks that make up Southern California wilderness.
The final day we were in Joshua Tree NP, we decided to hike a trail that neither Sean nor I have done before, which was the 6.2 mile Lost Horse Mine Trail. This was an awesome hike that lead past an old gold mine and ran past a dried river bed where we were able to see rabbit and big horn sheep prints on the snow. This is a long hike and it took us 4 hours to complete so TIP #4: Don’t forget food and water on any type of hike because you WILL become hungry and thirsty. We also stopped off at the Cholla Cactus (Jumping Cactus) Garden on our way out of the Park and had fun walking around these sticky plants. This brought back memories of when we were younger and had taken the Jumping Cactus name literally so were scared stiff that the plants could jump on us at any point of time. Ahh to be so young...
So there you have it; a quick walk through memory lane while making memories for the future. Joshua Tree is definitely a place that needs to be on your bucket list as it is both family-friendly and for the adventurous adult. It is a place where you can camp in the winter (but needs preparation); walk nature trails; hike mountains; and just relax in a sandy playground!
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