3 Quick Hikes at Joshua Tree

The unexpected thing about Joshua Tree is it's size--it's actually bigger than the entire state of Rhode Island! So driving in and around the park takes up a surprising amount of time. But, a lot of the trails are short and easy--more "nature trails" rather than actual hikes, which allow you to experience a lot of the park's features without requiring a whole lot of time. We only had a few hours before it got dark so we only got to check out three trails, but I feel like we saw a lot--would definitely recommend these if you only have a half day to spend at the park.

Arch Rock

Arch Rock is a short, not even half-mile there-and-back trail that mostly features a bunch of cool, prehistoric-looking rocks. Walking around here totally made me feel like I was on the set of The Flintstones or something. The trail starts at White Tank campground and the main feature is a cool, arch-shaped rock. I wasn't brave enough to climb onto it so here is a picture of my fiancé being a goof.

Cholla Cactus Garden

You can see chollas all over the park, but nowhere so magnificent at the Cholla Cactus Garden. The coolest time to see them is when the sun is lower in the sky, because it kind of illuminates them and gives them a nice glow. The trail isn't too exciting but it's a nice place to take some pictures. In the spring, you do have to worry about bees pollinating.

Wall Street Mill - Wonderland of Rocks Ruins

We actually walked around in circles before finding this place, and barely got there before it got dark. It's right off of the Wall Street Mill trail, so we parked at the Barker Dam lot. The instructions I found online on how to get there said it was only about a-tenth of the way into the trail, which is why I kept thinking we had passed it. But we had started on the trail from the paved parking lot. There's actually a dirt overfill lot that is much closer to the ruins. And if you start on the Wall Street Mill trail from that parking lot, you only have to walk a few minutes before seeing a trail off to the left that leads to the ruins. The trail is quite wide and well-traversed so you can't really miss it. And you can even see the ruins from the main trail. Not really sure what this building used to be (someone told us it was possibly an old dairy house), but the ruins are pretty cool!