Joshua Tree: Park Boulevard

Good to know before you go

• Joshua Tree: Park Boulevard — start

  Signal drops to nothing across most of the park, so download your maps, your passes, and this audio before you reach the entrance — you can't count on wi-fi or cell service once you're inside.

• Hidden Valley

  A dirt lot sits right at the trailhead, and it fills fast on weekends and holidays. If it's full, roll on to another stop and swing back later when a space opens up.

• Keys Ranch

  Book well ahead — tours are small and fill quickly, especially in the cooler months. Bring water, a hat, and sun cover; you'll be out on exposed ground the whole walk.

• Barker Dam

  A small trailhead lot sits off Barker Dam Road, at the start of the loop out to the dam. Like most lots in here, it's calmest early and packed by midday on a busy weekend.

• Lost Horse Valley

  No trailhead here — this is a windshield-and-pullout stretch, so just ease off the gas. The Joshua trees show best in early or late light, when the low sun throws long shadows across the flats.

• Ryan House and Lost Horse Well

  A small pullout serves the old ranch road that leads to the ruins. It's an easy, mostly flat out-and-back along the roadbed.

• Ryan Mountain

  The trailhead lot sits along Park Boulevard between Sheep Pass and Ryan Campground. It's popular, so it fills early on cool-season mornings — arrive ahead of the crowd.

• Desert Queen Mine

  Stay outside the fenced area to protect the millsite and mine, the Park Service asks — and for your own safety. Old shafts and unstable ground make wandering off-trail a real hazard.

• Twentynine Palms

  The Joshua Tree National Park Visitor Center sits in downtown Twentynine Palms with flush toilets, a water bottle filling station, and EV charging. It's a good place to pull in and regroup before the last push.