Joshua Tree National Park encompasses, nearly 800,000 acres of land that touches the heart & soul with its stark beauty.  It can seem even brutal during the dry heat of summer.  One of California's most popular National Parks that Europeans and international travelers hear about and love, the park includes camping, hiking trails, roads to see the park in the comfort of your car, and lots of rock climbing. The desert nights often provide excellent star gazing, as well.

Tourists are warned and advised to keep water with them even in their cars as the enter this desert where temperatures often hover around 105 degrees during summer days.  Strong winds, sudden torrents of rain, and climatic extremes are somehow the norm. Within this seemingly parched environment is a complex ecosystem in which plants and animals depend on their entire system for survival.

Two deserts, two large ecosystems determined by elevation, come together in the park. High and low desert regions (below 3,000 feet is the low desert known as the Colorado Desert (part of the Sonoran Desert), occupying the eastern half of the park. It  is dominated by th creosote bush, spidery ocotillo and cholla cactus.

The higher, slightly cooler, and wetter Mojave Desert is the special habitat of the undisciplined Joshua tree, extensive stands of which occur throughout the western half of the park.

Oasis Visitor Center
Open All Year
8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Located at park headquarters in Twentynine Palms, at the junction of Utah Trail and National Park Drive.

Joshua Tree Visitor Center
Open All Year
8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Located one block south of Hwy 62 (Twentynine Palms Highway) on Park Boulevard in Joshua Tree Village.

Cottonwood Visitor Center
Open All Year
9 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Located eight miles north of Interstate 10 at Cottonwood Spring.

Black Rock Nature Center
Open October through May
8 a.m. to 4 p.m. except on Friday
Noon to 8 p.m. on Friday
Located in Black Rock Campground.

Campgrounds Elevation in feet Sites Fees Group
Sites Group
Fees Horse
Camp Water
Belle 3,800 18 $10
Black Rock 4,000 100 $15 $15 yes
Cottonwood 3,000 62 $15 3 $30 yes
Hidden Valley 4,200 39 $10
Indian Cove 3,200 101 $15 13 $25/40
Jumbo Rocks 4,400 124 $10
Ryan 4,300 31 $10 $10
Sheep Pass 4,500 6 $25/40
White Tank 3,800 15 $10

Joshua Tree was established as a national monument on August 10, 1936 by a Presidential Proclamation signed by President Franklin Roosevelt. In 1994, Joshua Tree was expanded in size and re-designated a national park when Congress passed, and President Bill Clinton, signed the California Desert Protection Act on October 31, 1994.

Natural Features
792,726 acres
585,040 acres of wilderness
Elevations from 536 to 5814 feet
federally threatened  desert tortoise
federally endangered  Coachella Valley milk vetch
 
Cultural and Historic Features
501 archeological sites
88 historic structures
123,253 items in the museum collection

Facilities
88 miles of paved roads
81 miles of unpaved roads
191 miles of hiking trails
32 trailheads
9 campgrounds with 523 campsites
10 picnic areas with 38 picnic sites
10 water treatment facilities
9 solar power stations
4 maintenance facilities
8 employee housing units
95 vehicles in fleet
4 visitor centers

• Photo: Rainbow Over Joshua Tree National Park, California