Planning a trip to Joshua Tree National Park? This is the ultimate 3-day weekend itinerary you need! ✨ Whether you’re into …

Hey everyone, welcome to a new video with Maro Exploring. We are exploring our 27th national park, the Joshua Tree National Park. In this video, we’ll tell you the best way to explore the Joshua Tree National Park in about 2 or 3 days. We’ll also share a good accommodation recommendation. So, without any further ado, let’s get started. So, we are all set to explore the Joshua Tree National Park. We checked into our Airbnb this evening. So, we are entering the Joshua Tree National Park and going to enjoy a lovely sunset. So, let’s go by our entrance pass at the Joshua Tree entrance. Please take this to your windshield. We look for it when we enter next. Okay. Thank you. All set with our national park entrance ticket that is valid for 7 days and it cost $30. We could have avoided it if I would have remembered to pack our America the beautiful inter agency uh national parks pass that cost $80 for a year. So definitely hurts me to pay $30 for this. But we got to make the most of what we have going on. [Music] So, we are warming up our legs for amazing hikes to come in the next couple of days by walking on this short trail that’s called Cresetto Trail. It’s only 0.5 mi and it comes within a few minutes of driving right into the national park from the Joshua Tree entrance. As soon as we got on the trail, we see beautiful Joshua trees around us. Super excited to see more of it. [Music] Our next stop is the Hemingway Buttress, which is a popular climbing rock, and that’s what you’re seeing right behind us. It has a lot of cracks that are perfect for rock climbers. We are no in no mood to do it right now. So, we’ll keep going. Someone said he wasn’t in the mood, but look who’s trying it now. Made it this far. Should I keep going? Keep going. I think this is above my expertise. I’ll just soak in the views from here. This spot looks pretty popular amongst photographers because we spotted one wedding shoot and also a bunch of photographers came here to grab some pictures with this beautiful sunset light. [Music] We are now at Keys View, the most popular sunset spot here in the national park. Check it out. It looks magical. Heat. Heat. [Music] [Music] Good morning from day two in Joshua Tree National Park. Last night we got back to our Airbnb, cooked a wholesome pasta for ourselves, and called it a night. This morning we came straight down to the 29 Palms Center where you can get your stamps and also information. And coincidentally, today is also the total eclipse day in the United States. But over here in Joshua Tree is just a partial eclipse. That’s why you see all of those people lined up over there with their sunglasses. Some people even have their own telescopes to look at the eclipse. A pretty cool vibe out here checking out this rare event that’s happening today on April 8th. So just making the most of it before we head back into the park. [Music] So right before you enter the park from the north entrance you can stop at the oasis of Mara. This is the same spot where there was the old visitor center which has now moved to the one that we were before on Freedom Way. But uh definitely stop here because this oss of Mara is a worthwhile spot to check out. The OSS of Mara was known back in the day for the water that used to come above the ground over here. So the early settlers would come here seeking water. Interesting story is about 29 palms. It got its name from a legend where a medicine man back in the day told the Sorian tribe or the Sorian people to plant a palm tree whenever the family gives birth to a male baby. So that year they had 29 male babies and so they planted 29 palm trees, hence the name 29 palms. Thank you. Thank you. [Music] So, now that we are in the park, our first trail for the day is the Arch Rock Trail. To get here, you have to park at the Twin Tanks parking lot and then maybe 100 steps down, you’ll get to the trail head for the Arch Rock Trail. This trail is 1.4 miles out and back and leads to a really cool arch. That’s what we are going to check out. So, let’s see how that is. Yeah. [Music] After that amazing hike at the Arch Rock, we drove further south towards the Choya Garden. Before we head out, let’s grab some lunch and refuel ourselves. [Music] The Choya Cactus Garden is exactly what it says by its name. It is a garden full of these cacti. You’ll see these cacti filled with white thorns and it looks like a fur. That’s why it’s also called the teddy bear cactus. We started walking around the quarter mile loop into the garden checking out the cacti of different sizes. Make sure to stay on trail and not off trail because some of the parts are fallen on the ground and it’s very likely that you’ll step on it if you go off trail. Our next stop, only a couple of miles down the Choya cactus garden, is this ocatillo patch. In case you’re wondering, this is not a desert plant. It’s actually a woody deciduous plant. So, pretty unique to find this in a desert environment like this. Smells like tar and ascot. In case you’re wondering why Chai was smelling that, that’s because the tool that we’ve been using, the audio tour in the car, it’s called Shaka Guide and it told us to do so because this is a shrub with a very unique smell. And if you cannot smell it, uh you can plug a couple of leaves and crush it and try to smell that. This guide that we’ve been using, Shaga Guide, we use it pretty much any other national park we go to wherever they offer their tours. So, we highly recommend you try it out. We’ll leave the link in the description. So from here on you could go further south to the Cottonwood visitor center if you’d like to get a stamp or if you are staying down there. But otherwise uh in terms of exploring there’s just vastness that’s available to you because this is exactly the point where the two deserts meet the Mojave Desert and the Colorado desert. So it’s pretty unique that Joshua Tree has both of them. So if you like that kind of vastness you can go down. We are heading back up because we want to spend more time with the Joshua trees and check out some more boulders that are in the northern section of the park. So, that’s where we are headed. So, to use the restrooms, we came at the split rock trail head. The trail definitely looks interesting. It’s a two-mile loop, but we’re not fully sure if these rocks behind, is that what split rock is or is something uh out uh after 2 miles that’s split rock. So, we we are saving up our energy for another hike later in the day. So, we’ll just head back from here after enjoying these views. Up ahead, we have a choice to make. Now, I’m going to recommend we turn left because we are so close to one of the park’s mustsee spots. A spooky formation known as Skull Rock. Doesn’t that look like a skull? Check it out. [Music] in this area. If you’re interested to check out more rock formations, you can take the trail up to the face rock. There’s also a discovery trail which is interestingly designed by a few school kids. So, if you have more time, you can do that. Skull Rock is the biggest highlight. So, we checked that out and we are going to keep going north. Our next stop has brought us to the Hall of Horrors. Seems like it’s a rock climbers paradise because you see a lot of balls out here and they are marked with name like the exhaust and the grade or the level of rock climbing associated with it. So we are here just to check out what it is about. As Shahai told us, it’s a slot canyon which is something I personally like. [Music] [Music] He died. And that’s the end. As I said, I love slot canyons and just happy to find a crevice to get through and enjoy this experience. [Music] Our [Music] next trail, which possibly might be the last trail of the day, is the Baker Dam Nature Trail. For this, we had to drive a road that takes you all the way to the trail head. It’s off the main road. This trail is apparently just one mile loop and takes you to the Bakar Tab. So, looking forward to seeing some water in the desert. actually really like this trail because it’s totally flat, just 50 feet of elevation gain as per the board at the front. Uh it goes through these rocks and has informative displays so you can read up on the different kinds of shrubbery or different kinds of rocks that you’re seeing around you. So, highly recommend if you’re looking for an easy trail and definitely checks the boxes if you have kids or just just like to go take it easy. [Music] So that was a pretty neat payoff. The Bakers Dam is not really a natural dam or pool of any sort. It was made in the 1900s when the settlers out here were looking to conserve water and were building such structures to do so. and this is one of them. Right now, I think on all the trails that we’ve been to or all the spots we’ve checked out, this is the only one that had water in it. So, that way it was pretty unique. But if you’re short on time, I would say you can skip it. If you are looking for a short hike, I would recommend this. Another cool thing about this trail is that you can spot petroglyphs. So those are just markings or carvings that people would have done when they were here in the search of water or trying to explore different resources and they left their impression or their activity as a proof that they were over here. So pretty cool to see that. I had heard that there was a lot of vandalism out here. So they may not be as impressive as some of the other petetroglyphs you’ve seen in other national parks. Um so keep that in mind. For our next stop, we’ve come to the intersection rock. This is the place where a lot of rock climbers in the 1970s started climbing and created some classic trails like the group Desert Rats and that’s how climbing rock climbing in Joshua Tree became popular. So definitely a historic spot. You might think Joshua Tree in the daytime is all that is to explore out here. But uh let me tell you, stargazing in this park is actually quite popular. So that’s what we are doing. We finished our dinner and we come right to the Quail Springs uh area uh where you can just park. Make sure you turn off all the lights and let your eyes get used to the darkness around and then you’ll start seeing the magic which is the stars up in the open sky. We just picked Quail Springs because that’s the very first spot if you’re coming from the town of Joshua Tree. But there are a number of other spots throughout the park where stargazing is allowed such as the Hidden Valley campground and the Ryan Mountain uh parking lot. So there’s a lot of spots you can check that on the website of NPS. Um you can even just pull over and stop wherever you want. However, I would recommend come to a parking lot as you’ll have other people around you as well. So it definitely feels a little more safer. [Music] [Music] Good morning from our last day here in Joshua Tree. We are checking out from our beautiful Airbnb. So, we thought about letting you know about this Airbnb in Tavi Stad. This one’s called the Kasad Domain. We’ll leave the link in the description below. It’s a really cool property. Definitely gives that Joshua Tree National Park stays vibes. You can see behind us. We enjoyed this pool. It looks like a pool, but it’s actually a hot tub and it’s totally cool. There’s lounging areas. There’s a fire pit. There’s a grill out here. So, the backyard is really the highlight of this property. Inside, it can accommodate four guests. It has two bedrooms, one bathroom. So, pretty neat and cozy, right? Yeah, super cozy. And I just love that the kitchen was fully stocked because we totally saved a lot on our meals by just cooking them in that kitchen and being ready for the day and saving all that time. So, we highly recommend you check this property out. As she said, the link is in the description. We haven’t eaten any of the meals outside of the Airbnb. So before heading back to the LA airport for our flight back home, we thought we’ll stop by at the JT Country Kitchen for a quick lunch. We ordered the veggie sandwich that came with a side of hash brown and some OJ. So I think uh it was decent. I wouldn’t say it’s the best sandwich I’ve had, but I’m guessing the breakfast items that are on the menu might be better. There are a few other places around as well like the Crossroads Cafe and there’s a few uh good restaurants in 29 Palms or on the other side in the Yuka Valley. And then just across the street is the Joshua Tree Visitor Center. We are heading there now to get our stamp and that’ll be the end of this video as we’re heading back to LA right after this. So, here are a couple of quick tips before we wrap up this video. I think you can do the Joshua Tree National Park in just one day. If you start early in the morning and then end it with the sunset or even stargazing, uh that’s great. So, if you want to make it a relaxing getaway, I would say you should definitely do two nights. Uh come one day before, check in just like how we did, enjoy a sunset view, uh explore the national park on the next day, and then check out on the third day. However, if you’d like to make it quick and you’re doing it as part of a road trip, a bigger road trip including Death Valley or any other uh national parks around, what you can do is just uh have a pit stop over here uh for one night. That means you still get 2 days to explore all of what we showed you in this video. And with that, we’ve come to the end of this video. Hope you enjoyed this video and hope you add Joshua Tree to your national park bucket list. See you in the next one. [Music]
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