Joshua Tree National Park

The desert is always an amazing place to visit to those with an eye for nature and respect for the  power of the elements. Joshua Tree National Park is probably one of the most interesting desert areas --- a place where two ecosystems come together. The contrast of the Mohave Desert, the high desert, with it's moister and cooler air, home to the Joshua Tree and Fan Palm on the western side of the park meets the Colorado Desert, the low desert below 3000 feet, an arid land with stands of ocotillo and the "jumping Cholla" cactus. 

Now, it is a space of 800,000 acres where you can enjoy clean air, great starry skies, tranquility, peace, and the opportunity to reflect on the kaleidoscope of nature's appearance. Spring time with adequate rainfall brings the flowering of the desert dandelion, lupine, chia, phacelia and many other wildflowers that completely change the look of the park. The hills, flats, canyons and washes are home to the Mohave yucca, creosote bush, jojoba, holy cross cholla and bladderpod. There is also Ironwood, palo verde, smoketrees, brittlebush and ocotillo. There is the Cholla Cactus Garden with a self-guided nature trail.

Verdant palm oases, springs, and man-made water impoundments help the wildlife survive the arid conditions. The birdlife includes species of quail, pelicans, grebes, loons, herons, ducks and geese, hawks and vultures, falcons, doves, cuckoos, owls, kingfishers and woodpeckers, flycatchers, swifts, swallows, jays and crows, wrens, thrushes, nuthatches, starlings, warblers, tanagers and more. Wildlife includes coyote, jackrabbit, kangaroo rats, bobcat and antelope and bighorn sheep.

There are hikes, remnants of the gold mining eras to explore, a tour of the Desert Queen Ranch (an early 1900 ranch), scenic drives for mountain bikes and 4-wheel drive vehicles that take you to Joshua Trees, Jumbo Rocks, pinyon pines, and views of Palm Springs and the surrounding mountains, old mines, the Eagle Mountains  and more. There are nine campgrounds.