Joshua Tree
A.K.A. Parents Of The Year
“Stop! Stop!” we shouted as our 4-year-old launched himself across the gap between two massive boulders, seemingly oblivious to the 10 foot drop below him. He managed the jump well, then rushed onward after his two sisters, despite our pleas for him to stop and wait for us.
This came after a brief spell in which we lost sight of him in the desert and ran around yelling his name for 5 minutes. Truly not our best moments as parents.
I’m not proud to admit that we’d had a similar experience the day prior, with our kids basically running amok. Our oldest, Magnolia - almost 8 years old - managed nearly all the climbing with skill and caution (there was one rescue I had to undertake over by Barker Dam, which I am rather proud of…) But 4-year-old Rosie couldn’t resist the urge to follow in her big sister’s steps, and of course her twin Dominic wasn’t going to be the only one left behind. So, while we chose two short, easy hikes (Barker Dam and Hall of Horrors), much of our time in Joshua Tree was spent chasing after children who were too excited to care about our admonitions. The climbing was fantastic. The complete defiance of our kids was irritating. And we got a healthy dose of adrenalin as we helped them up and down various treacherous climbs.
Magnolia at the Hall of Horrors
Our family was overdue for sunshine and adventure after a long Montana winter, and Joshua Tree offered us just that. Despite the challenges getting our children to listen to us, and our near scrapes with injury (and numerous actual scrapes), we ended up really enjoying our time in Joshua Tree. The park is small and easily accessed from Yucca Valley, where we rented an adorable, retro AirBnB.
In addition to the Barker Dam and Hall of Horrors hikes, other short loop hikes that came recommended for families with young children were the Discovery Trail and the Hidden Valley Loop. We traveled the final week of March, which is spring break in many communities, but we still managed to find parking after 9am on both Sunday and Monday mornings. I would recommend aiming for a 9/9:30am arrival time this time of year as the parking lots were full by 10am, and there were long lines at the entrances when we left the park around 12pm both days.
One day, we took the north entrance out of the park and stopped in Twentynine Palms. where we had a delicious kid-friendly lunch at Grnd Sqrl. They had an excellent selection of beers (including two NA options), hearty salads, meaty burgers, truffle fries, and a kids menu. Twice, we grabbed lunch to go from RoadRunner Grab & Go next to the Joshua Tree visitor center in downtown Joshua Tree - very easy and well-priced! I loved the chickpea and kale coconut curry over rice, mac n cheese, and Italian sandwiches. They also offered ice cream, juices, chips, and assorted healthy salads.
Downtown Joshua Tree was also a treat. Lots of funky vintage shops, great jewelry, handmade clothing, used books, cool rocks and artifacts, and local artwork. All the merchants were quite friendly and helpful. I bought a beautiful deck of Tarot cards with desert designs on them - absolutely gorgeous! And a bunch of used books, some cool rocks, and Joshua Tree sweatshirts for everyone.
We mostly cooked dinners at home in our AirBnB, but one night we got pizza from 2 Guys Pies and it was excellent! We also enjoyed ice cream from La Michoacana and smoothies from Juice It Up!
A couple of pointers for families with young children considering visiting Joshua Tree:
2-3 visits to Joshua Tree (morning is recommend) is probably sufficient for families with young kids who aren’t ready for longer hikes
The Yucca Valley is at a higher elevation and therefore cooler and windier than nearby Palm Springs. If you’re looking for pool weather, you’re likely to enjoy staying in Palm Springs more than Yucca Valley if traveling in around spring break
Many of the homes here in the Yucca Valley/Joshua Tree have water trucked in and therefore don’t offer some amenities - like bathtubs and washer/driers - that are water intensive. We didn’t do our homework to learn this before our trip and ended up having to hand wash and line-dry numerous clothing items, which of course I felt quite guilty about!
