2-night stay in Joshua Tree with kids
Quick itinerary overview-
- Day 1 (half day and arrival) Drove from Las Vegas to Joshua Tree, arrived mid-day. Lunch in Twentynine Palms. Visited Cholla Cactus Garden, Arch Rock, and Heart Rock inside the park. Dinner in Twentynine Palms.
- Day 2 (full day) Visited Skull Rock, Ryan Ranch, Hall of Horrors inside the park. Explored Joshua Tree town, visited Pioneertown, and dinner in Twentynine Palms.
- Day 3 (leaving day) Stopped at Visitor center on way out and drove back to Vegas.
Details:
Day 1
My family and I traveled to Joshua Tree in November 2025, the week of Thanksgiving. It was busy, but not overly crowded. (We visited Death Valley in 2024 during this same week of the year, and it was about the same in terms of crowd—so I’m kind of liking this week to travel!)
The drive to Joshua Tree from Las Vegas is just over 3 hours. We took I-15 S and took the shortest route on back roads crossing over I-40 to get to the park. This drive was VERY remote. Be advised if you take this route, while you do pass civilization every now and then, there are limited gas stations, so be fueled up ahead of time! Also, if it is your first time I would also advise being sure it is in the daytime. Being in the dark or rain during the drive on this route could be challenging. Other than that, the drive was super easy!
We arrived at the visitor center in Twentynine Palms around lunchtime. We grabbed a map and looked around for a moment before finding lunch and heading into the park. 29 Palms Beer Company backs up to the visitor center, so we just popped in there for a quick bite. They had a small menu. Most everyone got a burger and that hit the spot before going into Joshua Tree National Park. From the visitor center it was about 10 mins to the Twentynine Palms entrance (North entrance) of the park. We only had a few hours of daylight at this point, so we decided to start with Cholla Cactus Garden and then double back to hit Arch Rock and Heart Rock.
A person at the visitor center had warned that there was limited parking at each stop and no bus system, which kind of scared me into thinking we could have an issue parking since it was late in the day, but it was fine.
Cholla Cactus Garden was about a 20-minute drive from the North entrance. The parking lot was big and there were plenty of people coming and going that spots were opening frequently. We found a spot right away. With children ages 8 and 5 our main rule here was not to touch anything and no running (as to not fall on the cacti).
The Cactus Garden was beautiful! It was unbelievable how many cacti were concentrated in that one little area. Cholla Cactus is also known as “Teddy Bear Cactus” as it looks like of fluffy like a furry teddy bear, so it’s a unique stop off for sure. The trail through the garden isn’t long—maybe .25 miles. We walked the whole trail and took lots of pictures. This stop took maybe 20-30 minutes. We then hopped back in the car and doubled back to Arch Rock and Heart Rock.
Arch Rock and Heart Rock were at the same stop. Many parked along the road, but we opted to check out the parking lot, which is on the opposite side of the street of the site. We found a spot there.
It was a short walk from the parking lot to cross over the street and get started—maybe .3 miles. Once you enter the trailhead, it’s about a 20 minute walk out to Arch Rock or Heart Rock. The trail splits and you can choose which to see first. We went to Arch Rock first.
It was not as impressive as I was thinking it would be when you stand at the sign that says “Arch Rock”. Later I looked at photos online and I think you have to hike up more to get a better view. There was a line to take pictures, so I didn’t think to do that, but I recommend walking up farther when it is your turn.
Next up was Heart Rock, so we doubled back and then took the other route. It was about 5-10 minutes on that trail out to the site. Heart Rock is incredible! Looks just like a heart. Nature is insane. We were at this site nearing sundown, so we had the added feature of the golden light for our pictures. It made it even more beautiful.
After Heart Rock, we trekked back to the car with the last bit of daylight and called it quits in the park. We headed to our hotel in Twentynine Palms. We stayed at the Holiday Inn Express. It was a clean and comfortable stay. No issues and it was just what we needed.
We checked in and then turned around to grab dinner in town. We had Mexican the first night at Edchadas. It was okay. Not wonderful, but not bad. There was hardly anyone in the restaurant, which we thought was a little strange, but it didn’t matter too much as we were just hungry and tired at this point. This wrapped up our first day at Joshua Tree.
Day 2
On Day 2 we started the day with the continental breakfast at the hotel. We got ourselves together by 9am and headed into the park. Our first stop was at Skull Rock. This was an easy stop-off of which the attraction is right next to the road and required zero hiking. Parking was on the street, but because it was a quick stop cars were coming and going and we found parking easily.
Skull Rock looked just like its’ namesake. It’s so incredible what nature can do. It was larger than I thought it would be. We waited our turn to take pictures and then headed back to the car for the next stop. I think there actually is hiking at Skull Rock, but we didn’t check that out. Also, across the street is where you can access the hiking trail to Face Rock, which I thought looked interesting, but we didn’t check that out either. Instead, we drove on to the Hall of Horrors.
I saw a lot of posts about the Hall of Horrors online, but in person it was really hard to find. First, the landscape at the stop-off was beautiful with large boulders and lots of Joshua Trees. I don’t recall the sign at the parking lot giving much direction, so we set out in search of the Hall of Horrors.
There was a main trail to start, but then it split two ways essentially curving around the first mass of boulders. After walking behind the first set of boulders there wasn’t a sign pointing to the direction of the Hall of Horrors or anything else for that matter, so we had to ask people we encountered if they knew where it was. Some people pointed us in the right direction, but even then, it still took us a little while to find it.
It’s essentially located at the top of a second mass of boulders, behind the first mass in front of the parking lot. You have to climb up a little bit to get to it, and if we found it correctly, there looked to be two “Halls” (slot canyons).
The “Hall” on the left side was a “Horror” to me, because it got super narrow. I only went in a little bit. No clue how far it goes! I wouldn’t let my kids go too far either as I wouldn’t be able to get to them. The “Hall” on the right you had to climb down into if you wanted to explore it. It had rained recently so there was water down in that slot canyon. There were a couple of people already exploring down in the slot canyon when we viewed it, so between that and the water, my kids and I just watched from the entrance at the top. I thought that finding it was a win in and of itself. We didn’t need a mishap of getting all wet before moving on. Overall, it was worth seeing along with the surrounding landscape at the stop-off.
Up next we stopped at Ryan Ranch, which showcases the remnants of an old homestead that supported a nearby mining operation. It’s about a .5mile walk to the Ranch. Our family enjoys hikes that have an element of old remains. It’s always interesting to ponder what it must have been like way back at its prime. Once at Ryan Ranch I could only imagine there would have literally been nothing in sight except for the landscape of the boulders and Joshua Trees. There isn’t much there today! I can’t even imagine the remoteness of that life back then. This was worth the stop.
After Ryan Ranch, we attempted to stop at Barker Dam, but it was crowded and we were all already hungry. We decided to head out of the park and maybe go back later on. We left through the West entrance/exit, which dumps you out in Joshua Tree, the town.
In Joshua Tree we stopped off at Joshua Tree Coffee Company, which I had read about. We got a coffee and bought some roasted coffee beans. It was a cute little café and worth the stop! Next up, we went to Joshua Tree Saloon, which was nearby for lunch. This restaurant was great! The food was very good and there was fun old saloon stuff to look at inside. We’d definitely go back.
After lunch we decided not to go back into the park, but to check out Pioneertown instead. We only had a couple of hours of daylight left and thought this would be a good way to round off the day. So, we drove out to Pioneertown to check it out. It was farther than I thought it was going to be and not quite what I expected. The write ups I saw online in my research boasted about this place, but I thought it was just okay. It was cool that it was a film set in so many movies and neat that it has a couple of real shops, but beyond that I thought it was a little bland. Nonetheless, we enjoyed walking around and there were some animals to see. The kids enjoyed that part and just running around.
After Pioneertown we debated stopping to see the Transmission sculpture, but it was getting dark, so we decided to head back to the hotel instead, rest for a bit and then head to dinner. On day 2 we decided to go to “Grnd Sqrl” for dinner, back in Twentynine Palms. This was the BEST meal of the whole trip. The beer selection was great and the food was amazing. They also had live music that night with an open mic night. This added to the whole experience.
Day 3
The next morning, we packed up to head back to Las Vegas. We did one final stop at the visitor center to turn in the kids’ junior ranger books and get their badge. It was a quick 2-night trip with basically a day and a half in the park. The trip was well worth it, and we were excited to check off another National Park! I definitely recommend this National Park to anyone who hasn’t been and is on the fence.
For added context Joshua Tree National Park and surrounding towns had feel to it, almost indescribable. The feel was hippy, spiritual, and nostalgic coupled with elements of recreation, leisure, and a rustic magic desert. I’m not sure that even accurately captures my feelings, but I felt like the park itself offered a glimpse in a time machine. I suppose it was the old trees and the jutting rock formations that portray an antique history. These were my takeaways, but you should go see for yourself and decide! Happy Trails!
If we could do it again here are my recommendations and take aways:
- If you stay in Twentynine Palms it did seem that there are only 2 main hotels—the Holiday Inn Express and the Fairfield Marriott. Our experience was good at the Holiday Inn Express. No complaints. We just needed the basics as we weren’t there too much. Next time I might be more adventurous and stay in Joshua Tree or Yucca Valley and rent an Air BnB. In my previous research, there looked to be some neat little accommodations that could really add to the trip. Also, after reading all the Gram Parsons history at Joshua Tree I might opt to stay at the Joshua Tree Inn. It looked cute and quaint from the street.
- Highly recommend Grnd Sqrl, Joshua Tree Saloon, and Joshua Tree Coffee Co. for fueling up. Good ambiance and tasted great. We wanted to try Sky High Pie, but it was closed in the lunch hour. It is next door to Joshua Tree Coffee Co.
- Inside the park, I recommend all of the stops that we did—Cholla Cactus Garden, Arch Rock, Heart Rock, Skull Rock, Hall of Horrors, and Ryan Ranch. Next time I’d squeeze in another 1 or 2 stops. I wanted to do Barker Dam, Face Rock, Cap Rock, Split Rock Loop, and Keys Ranch (reservation needed to tour). With that I’d say a full 2 days are needed in the park. Even though we enjoyed having lunch in Joshua Tree and exploring outside of the park, if we did it again and planned 2 full days, I’d pack a lunch for one of the days and stay inside of the park all day to see more sights. Also, my favorite pictures from our trip were towards the sunset hours. I’d recommend trying to get some pictures at one of the stops at that time of day. It was gorgeous!
- Outside of the park, if I did it again, I’d probably skip Pioneertown (unless you’re a movie buff and really enjoy seeing that nostalgia) and try other things like the Transmission Sculpture, walk through some funky shops, or check out the stargazing opportunities or programs.
- Take more pictures!