Joshua Tree is open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year. Entrance to the park is $30 per vehicle and is good for seven days.

There are multiple entrances and four visitor centers, but we recommend entering the park on the west side and stopping at the main Joshua Tree Visitor Center at 6554 Park Blvd. This gateway visitor center has multiple exhibits, a bookstore, a gift shop, and the only water refill station in the park. It’s also a great place to purchase your park pass since lines tend to form at the ranger stations after 7:00 a.m.

Cell service is extremely limited in the park, so we recommend grabbing a few maps at the visitor center and downloading the National Park Service App where you can save offline maps for when you don't have reception.

Joshua Tree is an entirely different park, depending on the time of day you visit. As the desert sun moves across the sky, the landscape transforms a dozen times between sunrise and sunset. Of all the transformations, sunrise is the most dramatic. As the golden sunlight spills across the desert, rocks and cacti almost seem to glow.

There’s no better place to watch the dessert come alive than Cholla Cactus Garden . This quarter-mile, walkable loop is overflowing with cholla cacti of all sizes. Nicknamed the “teddy bear cactus” because it looks almost cozy, cholla cacti are green, orange, and golden. Under the rising sun, the needles glimmer like starbursts!

To reach the trailhead, drive on Park Boulevard and follow Pinto Basin Road toward Cottonwood Springs for 12 miles. The garden is on the south side of the road and marked with signage. (Or, you can look up the trailhead directly: Pinto Basin Road, Joshua Tree National Park, CA 92277.)

As the sun continues to rise, but the temperatures are moderate, it’s the perfect time for a hike. We love Arch Rock Trail for an easy, one-hour hike on an out-and-back trail that takes you past two iconic rock formations: Arch Rock and Heart Rock. These stunning granite formations sit atop boulders that formed when lava erupted through the fault line.

To reach Arch Rock Trail, park at the Twin Tanks Trailhead parking lot and follow the Arch Rock Nature Trail. This is a lollipop loop trail, so you'll hike for just over half a mile before reaching a left fork that leads to a detour to Heart Rock. After hiking to Heart Rock, you can backtrack roughly a quarter mile to the loop leading to Arch Rock.

Unlike many national parks, Joshua Tree allows rock climbing on all its rocks, so Arch Rock is a popular spot for boulderers and photographers. The trailhead will likely fill up early, so we recommend getting to the parking lot before 9:00 a.m.

If you visit Joshua Tree in the late spring or summer, the temps can be scorching by midday. This is the perfect time to see the park by car as you drive Park Boulevard and Pinto Basin Road.

Park Boulevard is a 39-mile scenic drive through the park's northern (Mojave Desert) portion. It connects the North Entrance to the West Entrance, so you can easily start from either side of the park.

Along the way, you’ll pass several famous viewpoints, such as Skull Rock and the Hall of Horrors hiking and climbing area. These are great spots for photos or a brief picnic.

As an official dark sky park, Joshua Tree is a stargazer’s dream destination. The night sky is incredible from anywhere in the park, but our favorite lookout is near the center of the park at Cap Rock. We love this spot because there’s a short trail to the rock formations surrounded by 150-year-old Joshua Trees. It’s the perfect place to unroll your coziest blanket and stare up at the seemingly endless night sky.

To stargaze at Cap Rock, park at dusk and follow the 0.4-mile loop to the rock formation. We recommend starting during daylight since you’ll need a little light to navigate the trail. Flashlights disrupt other stargazers and prevent your eyes from adjusting to the darkness, so we recommend using them sparingly on your walk back to the trailhead.

And if you’re lucky enough to be visiting in mid-August, plan to see the Perseid Meteor Shower. This annual event is one of the most reliable meteor showers and can be seen from all lookouts across the park.