22 Epic Things to do in Joshua Tree with Kids!
If you’re headed to Joshua Tree with your kids, you’re going to have an amazing time. Joshua Tree is one of the most kid friendly National Parks, and we loved our time there. We’ve got you covered with all the best things to do in Joshua Tree with kids. From the best kid friendly hikes to incredible sunset spots and how to enjoy the dark night sky!
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1. Visit Skull Rock
Skull Rock may be one of the most visited places in Joshua Tree National Park, but it’s a great spot to visit with kids. The actual skull shaped rock is located right off the road, so if you’re looking for no hike attractions – this is a great one!
If you want to do a longer hike, you can check out the Skull Rock trail which is 1.7 miles and 147 ft of elevation. OR hike the Discovery Trail right across the street which is only 0.7 miles long!
2. Enjoy the Cholla Cactus Garden
Another extremely popular thing to do in Joshua Tree with kids (because it’s AWESOME!) is the Cholla Cactus Garden. I had no idea the scale of the garden until I saw it with my own eyes and it’s truly impressive. There is a 0.2 mile boardwalk trail through the chollas which is stroller friendly as well.
The chollas are best seen at sunrise and sunset, but we visited mid day and it was still super cool. The cactus garden is located in the middle of the park, so depending where you’re staying, visiting at sunrise or sunset could be a bit challenging with little kids.
Tip: The chollas may look fuzzy and cuddly but they are POKEY. Do not let your kids touch them or get near them. And if you do get one in your shoe or on clothes, use tweezers to pick it off.
3. Climb Rocks in Joshua Tree
Whether you’re a big time rock climber, or a toddler looking for a challenge, Joshua Tree National Park has a rock for you. Our kids LOVED climbing on the rocks and jumping from rock to rock. A lot of the trails have some awesome climbing opportunities for kids.
We found this park to be really kid friendly! There wasn’t too many hikes with massive drop offs, the wildlife is relatively safe, and a lot of the hikes are less than a couple miles.
4. See Keys View
Key’s View is another no hike viewpoint that has a short paved path to an awesome view. It’s a great sunset spot, where you can see for miles! The view of the mountains here reminded me a lot of Death Valley (one of my favorite parks!)
5. Take a Family Friendly Hike
Joshua Tree is one of the best National Parks for kid friendly hikes. We’ve got you covered with an EPIC list of 14 Easy Hikes in Joshua Tree! Some of our favorites were the High View Trail, Hall of Horrors, Hidden Valley, and the Discovery Trail.
6. Become a Junior Ranger
If you haven’t participated in the Junior Ranger program yet, you’ll definitely want to check it out. It’s a cute and educational activity! The program is intended to encourage a love of nature in kids and help the kids learn more about the park.
Pick up your Junior Ranger booklet, complete the activities, take the Junior Ranger pledge, and get your badge!
And before you go, make sure you check out our guide to 14 Things you NEED to Know Before Visiting Joshua Tree with Kids!
7. Rent a Campervan
Renting a campervan is one of the most memorable and fun ways to explore Joshua Tree! If you’re visiting from far away, but want to get the experience of camping – a campervan is a great way to travel with kids. Enjoying the dark night sky from the rooftop tent, spending naptime at a beautiful viewpoint, and cooking a meal after a hike.
If you’re interested in a campervan – we LOVE Native Campervans. We’ve traveled with them on two different National Parks trips and both us and our kids are obsessed. Check out their vans for the trip of a lifetime!
And if you need a little more info, here are a few posts on our experiences of traveling via a campervan with kids: How to Campervan with a Baby: 13 Easy Tips and The Pros and Cons of Traveling by Campervan With Kids
8. StarGaze in a Dark Night Sky!
Joshua Tree is an International Dark Sky Park so if you are interested in stargazing, your trip to Joshua Tree with your kids is a great opportunity. There are four designated stargazing spots: the parking lots of Quail Springs, Hidden Valley, Cap Rock, and Ryan Mountain.
You definitely don’t have to go to one of these spots to enjoy the night sky! From our campsite we could see Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn. It was the most incredible stargazing experience I’ve had so far. Your eyes will take about 20-30 minutes to fully adjust to the dark so try to limit the amount of light you use before bed for optimal stargazing.
9. Walk Through the Ocotillo Patch
The Ocotillo patch is a lesser known part of Joshua Tree. It’s right near the Cholla Cactus Garden, so it’s worth a stop if you’re nearby! The Ocotillo plant is maybe the spikiest plant I’ve ever seen, so keep your kids away from the sharp thorns.
Tip: If it has recently rained, keep your eyes out for the pink flowers that bloom on the plant.
10. Explore Downtown Joshua Tree
Downtown Joshua Tree is definitely worth a stop. If you love unique towns with lots of character, Joshua Tree fits the bill. Some of the highlights we got to explore were:
- The World Famous Crochet Museum
- Space Cowboy Books
- Sky High Pie (Pizza)
We also wanted to visit Joshua Tree Coffee and catch the farmers market, but we’ll have to save those for another trip!
11. Soak in a Hot Springs
There are hot springs all over Palm Springs and Desert Springs! Unfortunately, a lot of them are not kid friendly from what I could find. We did visit Sam’s Family Spa which is a natural mineral hot pool that was such a nice way to relax after a day of hiking!
12. Walk through a Slot Canyon
If you’re looking for a slot canyon hike in Joshua Tree, look no further than the Hall of Horrors! This scary sounding hike isn’t so scary, and is kid friendly. When you’re hiking the loop, go to the back, near a pile of boulders to find the slot canyons and rock scrambling section.
I have a fear of hiking through slot canyons with my toddlers since they are smaller and can squeeze right through, so we didn’t do the slot canyon part ourselves (just some of the other features). But I did look at it from above!
The hall of horrors loop is only 0.6 miles and flat so perfect for any age range to enjoy.
13. Watch for Wildlife
Joshua Tree has a lot of awesome desert wildlife to look out for on your trip. Below, I’ve listed some of the animals to watch out for (check out an exhaustive list here)! We saw rabbits, several types of lizards, a roadrunner, beetles, and many species of birds.
Mammals:
- Jackrabbits
- Cottontail Rabbits
- Kangaroo Rats
- Coyotes
- Desert Bighorn Sheep
Reptiles:
- Tortoises
- Snakes
- Lizards (we saw Chuckwallas & Bush Lizards)
Birds & Bugs:
- Quails
- Owls (I could hear these from my rooftop tent!)
- Hummingbirds
- Scorpions
- Tarantulas
- Beetles
14. Take a Scenic Drive
If you’re not a big hiker, or if you want to enjoy some scenery while the kids nap in their car seats, a scenic drive is perfect! There are a few places where you can see some unique views and cool rocks as you drive. You should also keep your eyes out for wildlife while you drive, we saw some baby quails and a roadrunner from our camper van!
One of the shorter scenic drives is through the Indian Cove entrance to the Indian Cove Nature Trail. It’s through a campground, and the trail is fun too but you’ll pass interesting rock formations on the way.
The other scenic drive is down Park Blvd to Pinto Basin Road. If you want to, you can drive as far as the Cottonwood campground (takes about 1hr 15 minutes or so one way). The landscape gets pretty different as you drop in elevation. We drove this whole road and loved seeing more of the park!
15. Attend a Ranger Talk
When we visited, we got to attend a Ranger Talk, “Stories and Stargazing” at our campground (Cottonwood Campground). We got to look at the moon through a telescope and enjoy stories from the ranger while they pointed out constellations with a laser. It was so awesome to attend a ranger talk in the dark!
16. Pick up a Souvenir
Every time we visit a new National Park, we get a few different souvenirs. A fridge magnet and a kids book are a couple things we get every time from the National Park visitor center. If you’re interested in the best National Park books, we’ve got you covered!
Right across the street from the Joshua Tree Visitor Center is Coyote Corner! It’s an eclectic little souvenir shop that’s worth visiting if you’re up for a little more shopping.
If you want to bring your own souvenir to read while you’re in Joshua Tree, check out our guide to the Best Books About Joshua Tree for Adults and Joshua Tree Books for Kids!
17. Watch Rock Climbers
Joshua Tree is known for rock climbing and while you probably won’t be doing any major rock climbing with kids, you can still watch others climb! We saw climbers at Cap Rock, Hall of Horrors, and a few other spots doing some minor climbing practice.
18. Visit Pioneertown
Pioneertown is a cool 1880s themed Western town just 20 minutes from downtown Joshua Tree. You can walk along the “hoof and foot only” Mane Street where there are shops, a couple of restaurants, and some farm animals to feed.
19. Get your Passport Stamped
If you’re looking for which visitor center to choose, you’re probably going to want to visit the Joshua Tree one. It is right in town, has plenty of souvenirs and a few little interactive exhibits. The Cottonwood Visitor Center is small, but still has rangers with tons of knowledge. The 29 Palms Visitor Center is the biggest, but had similar souvenirs to the others and is a little more out of the way depending on where you’re headed.
20. See the California Fan Palm
The Joshua Trees get all the love at this park (well deserved love)! But the California Fan Palm Trees are also really really cool. I’ve never seen trees like them in my life. There are a few places we saw them in the park, but may be more.
The Oasis of Mara: a short 0.5 mile, paved trail in 29 Palms. It’s right in town so isn’t really an overly impressive trail, but if you want to see these trees without going too far, this is a great spot.
Mastodon Peak: This trail is longer at 2.4 miles, in the Cottonwood area of the park. It’s farther away from a lot of the other main spots, but this trail was great! Right at the beginning you can see a grove of these trees.
21. Explore the Joshua Trees
The STAR of Joshua Tree National Park is of course, the Joshua Tree!! Luckily, you’ll be able to find incredible Joshua Trees on most every trail in the Park. However, once you get towards the Cholla Cactus Garden, you won’t see many Joshua Trees.
Take some time to pose in front of these crazy Dr. Suess trees, or try to get some good pictures at sunset! Joshua Trees are vulnerable to climate change because they require a cold period to flower. They are currently being evaluated to be added to the Endangered Species list.
22. Stay in a Campground
While Joshua Tree has a HUGE amount of Airbnbs, the camping here is a great way to experience the park. Renting a campervan makes it easy to explore multiple campgrounds, and I would highly recommend doing so.
We camped at Black Rock and Cottonwood and both were awesome and scenic! They both also had water, which isn’t the case with all campgrounds in Joshua Tree. We also drove by Indian Cove Campground which looked awesome. Camping will also allow you to enjoy the beautiful dark sky that you might not get as much in a vacation rental.
Other campgrounds inside the park
Reservation Required:
- Black Rock
- Cottonwood
- Indian Cove
- Jumbo Rocks
- Ryan
First-Come, First-Served:
- Belle
- Hidden Valley
- White Tank
We hope you have the best time in an amazing National Park and enjoy this list of things to do in Joshua Tree with kids!
Are you looking for more California adventures? Check out some of our other posts that you might enjoy or our National Park page for the fun & outdoorsy guides!
