EXPLORING JOSHUA TREE
NATIONAL PARK
Joshua Tree National Park in Southern California is known for its iconic Joshua Trees and giant boulders that scatter across the landscape. When we visited a couple of years ago, we stayed in town for a few nights and camped among the boulders a few nights. This time we camped at the southern end of the park where there are few of either of these-but- there is a wonderful hike to a lost oasis of California fan palms.
It's a 4 mile hike out to the canyon across rolling hills of rocks and through sandy washes. The reward is certainly a sight to behold.
Yes, this is the trail into the canyon...
Joshua Tree National Park sits at the junction of the Colorado desert and the Mojave desert. The hike to Lost Palm Canyon is in the Colorado desert. California fan palms are the only palms native to California.( I think they look like they're wearing hula skirts.) This canyon has the largest stand of palms the Park. The whole hike was an 8 mile extravaganza so we had plenty of opportunity to soak in the landscape.