When we started looking for things to do in Joshua Tree with kids, we knew we wanted more than a quick stop at Skull Rock and a few roadside viewpoints. We were travelling with our kids, aged 4 and 6 at the time, and planned to spend four days exploring Joshua Tree National Park at the start of peak season in mid-February.
Joshua Tree ended up being a great fit for our family. The desert scenery is completely different from other family-friendly US national parks we’ve visited, and the combination of short hikes, giant boulders, unique Joshua trees and easy scenic stops worked really well with young kids. Our kids especially loved the rock scrambling, which turned many of the hikes into their own little adventures.
That said, Joshua Tree is still a desert national park, so it helps to plan ahead. Some hikes have very little shade, food options are outside the park, and driving times between stops can add up. In this post, I’ll share the Joshua Tree hikes, viewpoints and family-friendly activities we enjoyed most, plus practical tips on where to stay, when to go and how to make your visit easier with kids.
Be sure to keep reading, because we’ve also included our video from visiting Joshua Tree with kids so you can get a better feel for what it’s really like before you go.
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Is Joshua Tree National Park Good for Kids?
Getting outside and enjoying nature is one of the best ways to connect as a family. America’s national parks are special places that are full of adventures just waiting to happen.
Joshua Tree National Park gets its name from the unique trees which thrive in the park. But let’s be honest: adults may appreciate the unique beauty of the trees, while most kids probably won’t be all that impressed by the Joshua trees themselves.
What makes Joshua Tree good for kids is the adventures. Joshua Tree National Park has a unique landscape dotted by large rock formations. Exploring the areas around these huge boulders is one of the best things to do in Joshua Tree with kids.
The boulders in Joshua Tree have a jagged texture which makes them really easy to climb. If your kids are monkeys who love climbing rocks (like ours!), they will love exploring Joshua Tree National Park. The boulders are usually scattered in close proximity, making it an adventure for kids to explore the tight paths between the rocks.
There are many ways to enjoy the boulder formations in Joshua Tree. Camping is a fun place to start as many of the campgrounds are nestled inside the unique rock formations. There are also many great kid-friendly Joshua Tree hikes that lead you through the most beautiful places in the park.
Before you head out, read our best tips for hiking with kids and see what we actually pack in our guide to hiking gear for kids.
The 9 Best Things to do in Joshua Tree with Kids
1. Hiking Ryan Mountain Trail
Ryan Mountain Trail is one of the best hikes in Joshua Tree National Park. This enjoyable hike leads hikers to the summit of Ryan Mountain, the second tallest mountain within the national park.
The walk to the Ryan Mountain summit is a very scenic one. Aside from the namesake Joshua trees, there are few trees to block your views as you climb higher up the mountain.
The 360-degree views from the top are outstanding and really give you a sense for the rocky desert landscape within Joshua Tree National Park. It’s no wonder that Ryan Mountain Trail is also one of the most popular hikes in Joshua Tree National Park.
Read more about hiking the Ryan Mountain Trail with kids.
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2. Hiking the Skull Rock Trail
The Skull Rock Trail is one of the best easy hikes in Joshua Tree National Park.
Skull Rock is a very most popular roadside attraction in Joshua Tree National Park, featuring a huge boulder which looks like a human skull. The vast majority of people who visit here park their car, walk a few feet to take a picture of Skull Rock and then hop back in their car.
That’s a shame, because there’s a fun, family-friendly hike that passes right by Skull Rock! The Skull Rock Trail is one of the best hikes in Joshua Tree National Park for kids.
3. Hiking the Split Rock Trail
Another easy Joshua Tree hike is the Split Rock Trail, which is an enjoyable alternative or companion hike to the Skull Rock Trail. The trailhead is just a few minutes down Park Boulevard from Skull Rock, so the terrain for both hikes is very similar.
Split Rock gets its name from the gigantic cracked rock at the trailhead. This kid-friendly Joshua Tree hike is a bit longer than Skull Rock, but you’ll be treated to more scenic variety.
4. Keys View Lookout
Keys View is a popular roadside attraction offering amazing views over the Coachella Valley.
It’s a short, slightly uphill walk along a paved pathway to the viewpoint. It’s an easy stop while visiting Joshua Tree with kids.
5. Cholla Cactus Garden
Another popular thing to do with kids in Joshua Tree National Park is the Cholla Cactus Garden. The cholla cactus almost glows in the brilliant California sun and getting to see thousands of them growing side-by-side in a huge garden is a pretty impressive sight.
6. Hiking the Arch Rock Nature Trail
Want to see a little bit of Arches National Park within Joshua Tree National Park? Try the short Arch Rock Nature Trail to see a small, but impressive natural rock arch.
After seeing the arch, give the kids time to explore the surrounding rocks, they will love it!
7. Hiking the Panorama Loop Trail
For our final day in Joshua Tree National Park with kids, we decided to do one last big hike in the Black Rock Canyon area, a region of the park we hadn’t yet explored.
The Panorama Loop Trail offers hikers a variety of terrain and scenery. It begins through a forest of healthy Joshua trees, before transitioning to a rocky, well-treed valley.
The southern leg of the Panorama Loop is the highest point on the hike and offers nice views of the Coachella Valley as well as the surrounding hills and mountains.
The NPS rates the Panorama Loop hike as “strenuous”, but it’s one of the easiest “strenuous” hikes we’ve ever done. Despite being out of the main area of the park, we felt the beauty of this area makes it one of the best places to visit in Joshua Tree National Park.
For more information, read our post about hiking the Panorama Loop in Joshua Tree with kids.
8. Oasis of Mara
I watched Looney Tunes as a kid, so I really wanted to see a roadrunner. We asked a park ranger for help and they told us the Oasis of Mara is one of the best spots to spot a roadrunner in Joshua Tree National Park.
The Oasis of Mara Trail is located in Twentynine Palms near the Oasis of Mara Administrative Site on the east end of the park. I’ll be honest: it wasn’t our favourite walk in the park and I wouldn’t recommend it to you unless you want to see a roadrunner in the wild.
9. Joshua Tree Junior Ranger Program
Joshua Tree National Park offers a fun and educational Junior Ranger program. Kids must obtain a Junior Ranger Handbook (available at the visitor centers) and then complete a few exercises within.
This program is a ton of fun for the kids and they won’t even notice it’s educational too! When our kids completed their assigned tasks, a Park Ranger checked their work, led them in saying the Junior Ranger Oath:
“I am proud to be a Joshua Tree Junior Ranger. I promise to help take care of and protect Joshua Tree National Park and all national parks. I also promise to continue to explore, learn about, and respect the natural world wherever I go.“
After completing the oath, the kids were excited to add their new Joshua Tree Junior Ranger badges to their growing collection!
Our Joshua Tree with Kids Video
Want to see what our family trip to Joshua Tree National Park looked like? This short video gives you a better feel for the scenery and what it was like hiking around Joshua Tree with kids.
After watching, keep reading for more Joshua Tree tips for families, including where to stay and the best time to visit the national park.
We’re slowly adding more of our family travel videos to our YouTube channel, so feel free to subscribe if you’d like to follow along.
Where to Stay Near Joshua Tree National Park with Kids
For most family trips based around Joshua Tree Village or Twentynine Palms, the West and North Entrances are the two most commonly used entrances to the national park. Both towns have a decent number of hotels, restaurants and shopping, but Joshua Tree Village is the bigger town of the two.
We rented a 3-bedroom house in Twentynine Palms because most of the activities we wanted to do in Joshua Tree were closer to the eastern entrance. From here it was only 20 minutes to Skull Rock. By comparison, it’s 35 minutes to Skull Rock from the Joshua Tree Visitor Center.
With two towns so close, there is a large selection of Joshua Tree Airbnb and VRBO rentals available in both towns.
To help you find a great place to stay, we’ve complied a list of the best family-friendly hotels near Joshua Tree National Park.
Another fun option for families is one of the campgrounds in Joshua Tree National Park. Many of the Joshua Tree campgrounds are in super-fun locations nestled in-and-around the unique rock formations. Kids will love climbing and exploring the rocks around your campsite.
Approximately 80% of the sites in the Joshua Tree National Park campgrounds are available by reservation only. The remaining sites are on a first-come, first-served basis. Competition for these Joshua Tree campsites is fierce on weekends, holidays and springtime.
Visit the NPS for full details on camping in Joshua Tree National Park.
Before booking your Joshua Tree accommodations, get the lay of the land with a Joshua Tree National Park Map.
Best Time to Visit Joshua Tree National Park with Kids
The most comfortable months to visit Joshua Tree National Park are generally fall, winter and spring. Joshua Tree is busiest on holidays, weekends from October to May, and during spring break season, especially March to mid-April. Spring is one of the busiest times of year.
If you visit Joshua Tree National Park with kids during peak season, be sure to have a kid-friendly place to stay pre-booked as hotels fill early. We also advise you enter the park as early as possible each day to ensure a parking spot.
Options for Visiting Joshua Tree National Park
Joshua Tree National Park is within reach of several major cities in the southwestern United States, but whether it works as a day trip depends on where you’re starting from.
Joshua Tree from Los Angeles
Depending on traffic, it takes roughly 2.5 hours to get from Los Angeles to Joshua Tree National Park. Given the distance, we wouldn’t recommend a day trip to Joshua Tree from Los Angeles.
We talked to some Angelenos on the Panorama Loop Trail and they opted to stay one night, allowing them nearly two full days to see the best of Joshua Tree National Park.
Joshua Tree from San Diego
San Diego is farther from Joshua Tree than Los Angeles, but because you can avoid LA traffic, the drive time may not be much longer. Expect roughly 2.75 hours, depending on traffic.
Joshua Tree from Palm Springs
Since Palm Springs is less than an hour away, it’s quite possible to make a day trip to Joshua Tree. You can drive yourself or book a guided day trip from Palm Springs.
Joshua Tree from Phoenix
The 4-hour drive makes it tough to do a day trip to Joshua Tree from Phoenix. We recommend spending several nights to make the driving worthwhile.
We spent four nights near Joshua Tree National Park after spending time in Palm Springs with kids. We took advantage of our close proximity to tack on visits to Disneyland and Legoland after our visit to Joshua Tree.
Our Travel Journal for Kids
Based on our family travels, our kids helped us design this Travel Journal for Active Kids! This engaging travel journal encourages kids to document their adventures, spark creativity, and stay entertained on the go – grab yours now on Amazon!
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