Joshua Tree National Park area - recommended hikes

Hi all,
My wife and I are heading out to the Palm Springs, CA area in February. I am hoping we can get in some hiking at Joshua Tree National Park, the Indian Canyons and weather permitting, Mount San Jacinto.

Any recommended hikes for these places and in that general area?

Thanks and best regards,
Marty

Marty,
I used to have to visit one of our Subsidiary companies not to far from there back in the 90's. I always brought my dayhiking gear and planned my trips to include weekends. In Spring 1996, I backpacked across Joshua Tree on the California Hiking Trail over 3 days.

I would recommend an easy hike up Ryan mountain @ 5500 or 5600' for a great dawn or dusk hike (I recall it was about 1,200 feet elevation change over a couple of miles). There were folks on the trail that were complaining about the difficulty of the trail , but I remember thinking it was one of the easiest mountain hikes I ever took and that was in midafternoon heat.

It has been a few years now, but I really liked Arch Rock and the Baker Dam trail (IIRC). Both were very easy short hikes.

There was also a cactus garden that folks were always talking about - I wnet to see it but wasn't that impressed. I was, however, really impressed with Jumbo rocks and went back there again and again - It is also a campground, but there are all these neat rounded rock formations that are a blast to friction climb around.

Lost Palms Oasis, in the southern end of the park, was my favorite hike. Lots of opportunities for exploration and not an excessive amount of people.

Thanks for the tips, guys. Much appreciated!

Marty

I second the idea about Ryan Mountain. It really is quite easy - the people who complain about its steepness must not be used to hiking, at all.

Another idea is to hike the trail to the Lost Horse Mine. As I recall it's about 5 miles roundtrip. Not much elevation gain, and really phenomenal views and the chance to get a good sense of the desert.

Maybe you'll luck out like I did. I was there in March 2001, and it snowed about 3 inches the night before we went into the park. The sun came out in the morning, and the sight of snow on the joshua trees was really something.

And the Indian canyons around Palm Springs are definitely worthwhile.

Cant wait to hear about your trip, Marty. I'll be at Joshua Tree 1st week in March. Keep the good info coming guys!


bob

Sleeping Giant said:

I second the idea about Ryan Mountain. It really is quite easy - the people who complain about its steepness must not be used to hiking, at all.

Another idea is to hike the trail to the Lost Horse Mine. As I recall it's about 5 miles roundtrip. Not much elevation gain, and really phenomenal views and the chance to get a good sense of the desert.

Click to expand...

I was there a couple years back and climbed Ryan Mtn and Lost Horse Mtn & Mine. We also drove to Keyes Point and one of the oasises(?)

While the view from Ryan is spectacular, I like Lost Horse better. We made a loop, going up through more of a valley for the appoarch and down a ridge on the way out. Definitely the way to get a true feel for the desert. The view from Ryan accually reminded me of pictures I saw of Africa. I half expected to see giraffes!

Did San Jacinto on New Years via the tram. Used both snowshoes and crampons, but part of the route we took was a bushwhack. On that particular day if you stayed on the trail about all you needed was crampons, but some didn't have them and nobody died. Since that time there has been some major storms, but the past week as been stable.

Snowshoes may be a bit much to lug for what sounds like mostly desert recreation, but I'd at least bring crampons or stabilizers. Trail on San Jacinto isn't steep, but it can be icy.