Check at visitor centers and on campground bulletin boards for listings, or call ahead and reserve a spot on the popular Desert Queen Ranch guided walking tour. If solitude is what you are after, plan an all-day hike into the backcountry. Some visitors like to experience the desert from the seat of a mountain bike. The park offers an extensive network of dirt roads that make for less crowded and safer cycling than the paved main roads. Joshua Tree has gained international attention as a superb rock-climbing area.
Many visitors enjoy just watching the rock climbers in action.
With more than one day in the park, your options increase. There are nine campgrounds and backcountry camping is permitted. Books and topographic maps, available at park sales areas, give information needed for longer hikes. Or make it your goal to hike to all the park oases. Other trails lead you to remnants of the gold mining era, a colorful part of the park's cultural history.