Joshua Tree National Park

Hats off to Joshua Tree National Park

We drove in through the south entrance and out through the north, and that route is a great way to see the park — though plan on it taking most of a day. The two ends feel like different worlds. The south sits in the Colorado Desert, where Joshua trees are sparse but you’ll find cacti, wildflowers, and the Cholla Cactus Garden. Keep driving north into the Mojave Desert side, and that’s where the Joshua trees get dense and the park’s famous rock formations — Split Rock, Skull Rock, Jumbo Rocks — start showing up.

We came to see the Joshua Trees, but the rock formations stole our hearts. Many of them are open for visitors to climb and scramble over without any technical gear, which makes Joshua Tree one of the most popular rock climbing and bouldering destinations in the country.