This city is known for various fruit and vegetable picking opportunities, and cherries are popular!

When is cherry picking season? The short cherry picking season is from mid-May (around Mother’s Day) to mid-June, depending on the rainfall and crop availability. U-Pick cherry farms have plenty of cherry varieties available such as Tiogas, Hazels, Rainers, and Bing varieties.

We know you can easily purchase cherries at the grocery stores. Yet, it’s an amazing feeling of putting the hard work and effort into picking the perfect cherry with the right sweetness, color, size, and firmness, and devouring the “fruits” of your labor.  

If you’re interested in learning more, here are some helpful tips to pick your own cherries in Brentwood, California. It’s a perfect day trip from San Francisco, San Jose, or any city in the Bay Area. Plus, it’s a good learning experience for children and young adults to see their fruits grown on a farm.

Bring the entire family and consider spending an entire or half-day at various farms. You may even consider bringing lunch to have a picnic at the farms if the farms allow it. 

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What to Know Before Your Cherry Picking Day Trip in Brentwood

Stay up to date with the cherry season.

Plan which farms you want to visit. 

As mentioned above, refer to the Harvest Time Facebook and website for up-to-date information. By planning, you’ll know where to go exactly and can account for travel time and distance. 

Some farms require reservations in advance, so you want to account for that. 

If you don’t want to plan, you can easily drive to one of many farms in the area. As you enter Brentwood, multiple signs point in all directions for picking cherries, other fruits, and vegetables. Feel free to go cherry picking hopping at different farms.

Call the farms to confirm the hours, availability, and cherry variety, and ask if pets are allowed.

The varieties include Sweetheart, Rainers, Champagne, Bing, and more.

With the limited season, most people visit the cherry picking farms on the weekends. 

It’s recommended to avoid the holiday weekends such as Mother’s Day and Memorial Day.

The roads are congested due to the 1-2 lane roads in the city, and you will be stuck in traffic for a while.

Visit the farms on the weekdays. 

If you have the opportunity to take a day off work or work a half-day, then it’s recommended to go cherry-picking on the weekdays. The cherry picking is more enjoyable and less stressful with fewer visitors on the farm.

Go early in the morning to beat the traffic, get a nice parking spot, and avoid the heat. 

Most of the farms open around 9am and close in the mid-afternoon (3pm – 4pm), or when cherries are sold out for the day. We’ve seen cars parked along the side of the roads which may be tight for cars passing by. We recommend arriving at the farms before 10am. 

Brentwood also gets hot (over 80°F) as the day progresses so it’s in your best interest to start early in the morning.

Consider bringing a car that you don’t mind getting dirty. 

Many of the farms have only dirt parking lots, so it gets very dusty in the area. You’ll need to wash your car after your day trip here. 

Wear comfy clothes, a hat, and closed-toe shoes. 

You want to be comfortable during your cherry picking time. Since you’re surrounded by orchards and farmland, the farm is dusty. 

Things to Bring

Recommended U-Pick Farm: Nunn Better Farms

How To Pick Your Own Cherries in Brentwood

1. Identify your perfect cherry and flavor and taste cherry samples.

Once you visit a farm, it’s easy to start your U-pick cherries! 

How do you pick cherries? Grab a bucket at the entrance of the farm, choose a tree, and start sampling. 

What is your perfect cherry? What is the texture, color, or firmness that you’re looking for?

Tasting/sampling the cherries to ensure that they meet your criteria. Plus, there will be less waste if they are picked randomly. Sampling cherries is filling so spread out your sampling accordingly!

When we first went cherry picking in 2007 (not at Nunn Better Farms), we ate them straight off the tree. However, they were dusty and our throats were scratchy and irritated. That is what we get for getting overly excited about trying cherries.

Afterward, we learned to bring a water bottle to wash them off before tasting.

2. Start picking cherries.

Use your hands to pick the large and ripe cherries off the tree. If you go earlier in the season, the cherries on the lower branches are easier to reach.

Otherwise, bringing a step ladder is helpful as the darker, sweeter cherries are higher up on the tree. 

The farms may have ladders scattered throughout their orchard. However, you’ll need to wait for the ladders as they are used often. 

3. Pick the ripe cherries that you’ll buy and eat. 

This is important!! Do not waste them. 

We saw a lot of discarded cherries on the ground. The farmers spent a lot of time taking care of the trees and it’s such a shame that people would leave buckets of picked cherries around.

4. Stay at the farms for as long as you’d like.

Feel free to pick cherries as long as you want. 

It’s a fun bonding experience with family and friends. We usually spend about 2 hours picking over 10 pounds during each trip. It is worth the trip as all of the cherries are devoured in one week.

As mentioned earlier, some farms have benches for picnics. 

Final Thoughts

We hope you consider visiting Brentwood, California for the cherry picking season. It’s a fun activity that is easy to do and is perfect for all ages. Go cherry picking now!

If you’re looking for other adventures to do in California, check out our other posts here.

Have you picked cherries before? If so, where is your favorite farm to get cherries?

Read More: Picking Strawberries in Miaoli, Taiwan

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The Mount Whitney hike itself wasn’t easy in one day. In fact, it was purely miserable for us. Although the weather was absolutely beautiful with clear blue skies, the altitude, long distance, and fatigue took a toll on us. Our feet also hurt. We originally estimated 12-15 hours to complete, however, it took us almost 21 hours (a very long day hike)! Yes, it was snail-paced slow and a really long day. We didn’t train enough at altitude to prepare for Mount Whitney. In the end, it was well worth the experience as the hike tested our mental and physical strengths. We’re glad that the hike is over!

We’ll share more of our experiences below.

*Disclosure: Links in this post are affiliate links. If you click on them and make a purchase, we receive a small commission. There is no extra cost to you. Appreciate the support.

Mount Whitney Lottery and Permits

All hikers must participate in a lottery in order to get a permit for Mount Whitney. More information about the lottery process is here. We chose dates in the Fall season as there would be fewer people on the trail and cooler weather. For some hikers, this time may be too cold.

Permits must be picked up at the Visitor Center in Lone Pine (off of US-395 and CA-136) 1-2 days prior to the hiking date. If the group size is confirmed prior to arrival, you can pick up the permit the day of the scheduled hike until the Visitor Center closes at 5pm. Since our hiking day was on Sunday, we spent 6.5 hours to drive up from San Jose Bay Area to the Visitor Center in Lone Pine on Saturday.

At the Visitor Center, hikers receive a tag for their daypacks which has the hiking date and must be visible along the trail. In addition, the leader of the group holds onto the official permit (paper copy). No one checked the permit during our time on Whitney, but you’ll need to have it just in case.

We had a yellow tag for our daypacks

Mount Whitney is one of the cleanest and most respected areas. Since Mount Whitney is “pack in and pack out / leave no trace behind” where you carry all garbage with you in and out of the park, the park rangers give everyone a WAG (Waste Alleviation and Gelling) bag at the Visitor Center to hold poop and other waste. These can be disposed at Whitney Portal once the hike is done. We saw no more than 5 pieces of trash on the trail which was amazing! As with doing your business, there aren’t a lot of hidden places except in the campground area where you can go behind a tree. If you need to urinate, you can go anywhere off the trail and just need to be 100 feet away from a water source and campground. 

Mount Whitney Accommodations

Motels

We stayed in Lone Pine for two nights – the day before and the day of the hike. Lone Pine is a very small city as it is only five blocks or so. It has the cutest Western theme facade on the buildings and restaurants. There are plenty of motels to stay at and are close to the Whitney Portal Road. There are no motels or hotels on Mount Whitney. Book your accommodations early.

We stayed at Trails Motel which was basic but was fine for the stay. We didn’t have a lot of options as we booked three weeks prior to the trip. Reserve your motels in Lone Pine here. There weren’t any Airbnbs available during our dates.

Camping at Mount Whitney

If you have a two-day permit for the hike, there are camping accommodations on Mount Whitney. You can either reserve at the official campsite at the Whitney Portal Campground, or hike up Mount Whitney and stay at the non-reservable campsites either at mile 4 (Outpost Camp) or mile 6 (Trail Camp). The Outpost Camp at mile 4 is less windy compared to the Trail Camp. Plus, you can leave your stuff at the campsite while you summit Mount Whitney.

Mount Whitney One Day Hiking Experience

It was an early start for us as we left our motel at 12:30am, and arrived at Whitney Portal just before 1am. The drive from the main Lone Pine area to Whitney Portal Road was steep and curvy and had amazing views of the stars. At Whitney Portal, there were plenty of free parking spots available next to the start of the trailhead.

We started the hike at 1:10am thinking that we would reach the summit at sunrise and to beat the crowds. In the beginning of the trailhead, there is a scale so you can weigh your daypack. Our backpacks weighed 18.5 pounds and filled with 3.5 liters of water, 2 water bottles, jackets, and lots of snacks.

Ladies, if you need a new backpack, consider one of these travel backpacks to bring with you on your hike.

The best snack that we had were a DIY trail mix of Jelly Belly jelly beans and king cashews, a special gift from Vietnam.  

The first four miles were awesome. We had our headlamps on, felt good and upbeat, passed by multiple waterfalls and streams, and encountered some switchbacks in the forest area. The route itself was not even marked, so we relied on well-traveled sections to get to the next spot. It was a quiet early morning and our minds started to change after seeing two groups trudging down the hill past 3am. One of the groups started at 8am the previous day and then planned to end their hike at the Outpost Camp at mile 4. Yikes, what a long day for them.

The wind and cold weather kicked as we approached the Trail Camp at mile 6. At that time, the sun rose, so we definitely missed the opportunity to see it at the summit. Our heads started to hurt with the altitude, and our walking pace slowed down. We both ate a Diamox pill to help with altitude sickness, however, we realized that we were supposed to consume it 24 hours prior to the hike. All this did was made us the bathroom a lot as a side effect. 

Once we passed the campsite, we reached the “99 switchbacks of hell.” The switchbacks tested our patience as the route was less steep but so long. There were lots of resting times here since I especially was mentally drained already.  

We finally reached the top of the mountain which ended the switchback. Excitement rushed in as we saw the “Entering Sequoia National Park – Trail Crest and John Muir Trail.” However, it was another 1.9 miles to the trailhead which seemed like 20 miles. The walking pace was slow and steady. The tiny granite rocks didn’t help as our hiking poles got stuck a lot. We had to rest a lot due to altitude sickness, but we were determined to reach the summit. Many people who passed us on the way up were already on their way down.

Yes! Finally at the Trail Crest sign

Beautiful lake

Yay! After 11 hours hiking up, we reached the summit at 14,505 feet. The summit was super windy so we didn’t stay that long. We took several photos with the Mount Whitney sign in the rock and also explored the overlook.

We made it to the top of Mount Whitney in one day!

The way down was the exact path as coming up. It was painful as our bodies hurt a lot, especially our feet. We were impressed at the many hikers who wore Vibrams and Nike Free shoes while we wore heavy duty hiking boots.

It was a slow pace going back down with the small rocks everywhere. At this point, I pretty much hated every single rock on the ground and didn’t want to talk to anyone due to the fatigue. The 1.9 miles between the Trail Crest sign and the summit was the most difficult part. We took many breaks throughout the way down and luckily the altitude sickness got better. It eventually became dark and we brought out our headlamps once again.

Beautiful view of the lake yet rocks everywhere!

The last stretch to the car was so close. We saw the moon and stars again, just like how it was when we started earlier in the morning. Somehow, my pace picked up faster even though my feet throbbed. Justin sped down the mountain as he had extra motivation from the sunset, though he did wait for me at an unmarked location where he took the wrong fork and got lost. He came back to make sure I didn’t have to repeat his same mistake. Three hikers hiked up along the trail as we were going down.

Our hiking time ended when we reached the car past 9pm. Yes – 21 hours of completion! We instantly collapsed in the car for 10 minutes and took off our boots and socks. Our feet finally breathed! No loss of toenails or bloody feet this time. Although we were one of the last groups to arrive at the Whitney Portal trailhead this evening, we felt victorious with our accomplishments! We’re finally done and ready for the well-deserved sleep.

What We Would Do Differently with Hiking Mount Whitney

If we are to do the hike again, we would have done it in two days. The hike from Whitney Portal to Outpost Camp at mile 4 and Trail Camp at mile 6 is doable for the first day to acclimate, and then spend the next day finishing the rest of the 11 miles hike to the summit. We would need to bring food with us and leave them in a bear canister. We saw lots of people reach the summit full of energy as they had the two-day permit.

It is highly important to train at elevation and also the distance. We hiked Mission Peak in Fremont, California which is known to be a steep route, 2 times on the same day for training prior to Mount Whitney. The training was 12.6 miles and at 4146 feet elevation gain. However, we should have done 3 or 4 times a day to practice the elevation gain. We would also take a weekend trip to Tahoe to prepare for the altitude.  

If you want a longer trip in Southern California, consider stopping by Joshua Tree National Park for more hiking opportunities. Or, consider heading to Oregon to check out the hiking opportunities at Newberry Caldera and seeing the nearby beautiful Paulina Lake and East Lake. We love seeing blue waters anywhere!

Let’s hike another mountain again!

Have you hiked Mount Whitney before? How was your experience?

The post We Hiked Mount Whitney in One Day and Survived appeared first on Life Of Doing.

The drive to Mendocino County wasn’t too long. It was a 4 hours drive north from San Jose / 3 hours from San Francisco. We encountered rolling hills and even drove through the densely packed trees of the Jackson State Forest on our way up.

We stayed in Fort Bragg as there were more hotel options compared to Mendocino. Since we went over the President’s Day holiday, the bed and breakfasts guesthouses in Mendocino were booked in advance and cost more than what we wanted to spend. Regardless, Fort Bragg and Mendocino had plenty of things to do and see and was great for our weekend.  

Here are some recommendations of things to do for your weekend trip to Mendocino Coast.

Fort Bragg

Glass Beach

This is one of the popular tourist things to do when you’re in Fort Bragg. There are three glass beaches, but you can walk to two from the parking lot. The glass is due to the site being a former dumpsite. One beach is completely bare and doesn’t have any glass, while the second beach is full of beautiful and colorful glass. The city prefers visitors to take photos but not take any glass so future generations can enjoy the beauty.

Pudding Creek Trestle Bridge

From the Glass Beach, we took a paved walking trail and walked north. We eventually walked over the Pudding Creek Trestle Bridge. It’s a sturdy bridge, and you can walk down to the beach or go underneath the bridge for more photos.

Otis R. Johnson Wilderness Park

If you want to escape the tourists and embrace redwood trees, then Otis R. Johnson Wilderness Park is the place. Nestled in a residential area and nearby a school, the quiet park has a few hiking trails to get your nature fix. You can easily have a picnic as benches are scattered throughout the area. More information about the park is here.

Point Cabrillo Light Station and Nature Preserve

Lighthouses are fun to visit, and Point Cabrillo Light Station is definitely one to stop by on your drive along Highway 1. From the parking lot, take a short half mile walk directly to the lighthouse or stop by the lightkeeper’s cottage where you can see how the past lightkeepers lived. There are a few cottages and residences available to stay for a unique experience. The lighthouse itself is converted into a mini museum for visitors to learn about the history and purchase gifts. Admission is free, and feel free to leave a few dollars in the donation box for maintenance of the lighthouse. Tours are also available, so check out the website for more information.

Mendocino

Explore Mendocino Downtown

Mendocino is a quaint city that has amazing views of the ocean. The downtown area is a few blocks, and has really neat houses and architecture. If you head towards the ocean, there is an easy walking trail. You can also walk down a slightly steep side trail to walk along a beach, stand closer to the ocean, and see mini waterfalls cascading from the rocks.

Stop by Mendocino Market, a deli that has a variety of meats and cheeses for your delicious sandwiches. Feel free to bring your sandwich for a picnic along the coast or enjoy in their garden area in the back.

Bowling Ball Beach

We were on the quest to see the mysterious rocks that look like bowling balls. The beach is part of Schooner Gulch State Park. We parked along Schooner Gulch and Highway 1 and took the trail down to the beach. Unfortunately, we didn’t see the bowling balls as the ocean needs to be really low tide. The beach itself is lovely with plenty of large rocks to take photos, and has lots of abalone shells if you’re a collector.

Little River Blowhole Trail (also known as “Punch Bowl”)

Enter at your own risk! If you’re looking for an adventure and enjoy scrambling, visit the Blowhole Trail. It was one of the highlights of the trip. This place is located at Little River Cemetery (which you can easily miss), off of Highway 1. Park along the side of the road, cross the cemetery to visit the Blowhole Trail, and see the giant sinkhole.

You can also go down the sinkhole. There is a fenced section where you go through the cut gates to climb/rappel down the cliff. The ropes look sketchy, but are sturdy and tied together. We recommend that you wear hiking shoes or closed toed shoes to grip the rocks and also gloves for rope burn. The climb down requires some good arm strength and leg stability. Be prepared to get some dirt on your clothes.

Once you’re at the bottom of the sinkhole, you see the ocean waves flow towards the small beach. Visit the sinkhole during low tide, otherwise, water will fill-up and you won’t be able to rappel down.

Have you been to Mendocino Coast? What places did we miss?

The post Things To Do For A Weekend Along The Mendocino Coast appeared first on Life Of Doing.

“If future generations are to remember us with gratitude rather than contempt, we must leave them something more than the miracles of technology. We must leave them a glimpse of the world as it was in the beginning, not just after we got through with it.”

“We must not only protect the countryside and save it from destruction, we must restore what has been destroyed and salvage the beauty and charm of our cities … Once our natural splendor is destroyed, it can never be recaptured. And once man can no longer walk with beauty or wonder at nature, his spirit will wither and his sustenance be wasted.”

– Lyndon B. Johnson, President of the United States

We are so lucky to access the wilderness and experience the natural beauties of the U.S. National Parks. From popular to overlooked National Parks, President Johnson had the right mindset to embrace nature and preserving it for future generations. The National Park had its 100th birthday on August 25, 2016, and we wanted to join in on the celebration. We drove over 400+ miles from the Bay Area to Joshua Tree National Park after the Thanksgiving holiday and spent three days exploring the park.

Joshua Tree National Park is beautiful! From the numerous hikes, camping, rock climbing, and seeing unique plants and animals, there are plenty of fun activities for everyone to enjoy the desert. We had our fun seeing the famous Joshua trees and Mojave yucca (and always mixing up the two plants since they look similar) everywhere in the park and scattered across the Mojave Desert. If you’re into landscapes, the park is unique with having two landscape ecosystems of the Mojave (western side of the park) and Colorado Desert (eastern side of the park). The evenings are quiet and a great opportunity to stargaze. No light pollution here!

One of the best parts about visiting at the end of November was the fewer crowds and easier access to parking at the trails. Some of the trailhead parking lots were full. The weather varied greatly due to being in the desert environment. We experienced sunny, crisp and cool air, and even high gusty winds and rain in the evenings.

Below is our suggestion on how to spend 3 days at Joshua Tree National Park, especially if you want to maximize the time hiking. Plan accordingly due to weather, the time of year visiting, breaks, etc. If you have a shorter amount of time at the park, consider this day trip or 2 days in Joshua Tree itinerary.

(*Disclosure: We have affiliate links in this post. If you click on them and make a purchase, we receive a small commission. There is no extra cost to you. Appreciate the support.)

Joshua Tree National Park in 3 Days

Joshua Tree National Park Itinerary: Day 1

Start the day at the Visitor Center and talk to a park ranger to get your questions answered, hear about upcoming ranger events at the park, or get hiking recommendations. The four visitor centers are: Joshua Tree Visitor Center, Oasis Visitor Center, Cottonwood Visitor Center, or Black Rock Nature Center. More info on the visitor Center’s locations and hours here.

Starting at the northern entrance station, our strategy was to drive to the farthest hiking trails in the southern part of the park and work our way back to the northern entrance stations. Here are the hikes that we took for the day:

Keys View (.25 miles round trip)

Take an easy stroll on the paved trail which overlooks the San Andreas Fault, Mount San Jacinto, Mount San Gorgonio, and the Salton Sea. It’s a beautiful overlook of the valley and you’re at an elevation of 5,185 feet!

Lost Horse Mine (4 miles)

Start this trail early as there is very limited parking for 10-20 cars. Otherwise, park on the main road and walk to the trail. The trail has rolling hills which connect with the Lost Horse Loop (6.5 miles) if you want a longer hike. At the summit, you see a former mill and gold mine that is fenced off.

Cap Rock (.4 miles)

Huge boulders are everywhere in the park. Follow the flat path and climb on as many boulders as possible.

Can you see us?

Hidden Valley (1 mile)

This is a popular trail where you’ll see lots of rock climbers on the boulders. It was recommended to see the sunset from Hidden Valley trail.

Barker Dam (1.1 miles)

We were excited to see the water as the park pamphlet had a photo of the dam. However, it was underwhelming as the dam was dried up. This wasn’t one of our favorite trails.

Ryan Mountain (3 miles)

This trail is awesome to photograph the sunrise and sunset. It’s one of the challenging trails as you have inclines with 1000 feet in elevation gains. The summit is at 5,458 feet of elevation and is super windy at the top.

Joshua Tree National Park Itinerary: Day 2

The second day was to visit the East and South parts of the park. The schedule included more driving on this day. We hiked the following routes:

Skull Rock (1.7 miles)

It’s the famous rock that looks like a skull. Visit this rock early in the morning or evening when there are fewer people, or stay patient to get your group photo. Most people visit the rock and leave, however, there is a nice flat trail around the boulders.

Split Rock Loop (2.5 miles)

It’s one of the least visited trails. You drive on a gravel road for 5 minutes before reaching the parking area. We loved the trail as it had various inclines and you walk over boulders. Follow the signs and you won’t get lost. Plus, you can see “Face Rock,” the side profile of a rock that has facial features.

There are fun rocks along Split Rock Loop

Arch Rock (.3 miles)

Somehow we got lost and off of the path for Arch Rock and ended up doing longer than .3 miles. This is a cool spot to see a natural arch. Some scrambling required to get up to the arch spot.

Cholla Cactus Garden (.25 mi) & Ocotillo Patch

Prepare yourself for the long drive down from the center of Joshua Tree to Cholla Cactus Garden and Ocotillo Patch. The Cholla Cactus Patch is a great place to see lots of cholla cacti (aka a jumping cholla) and is fun to photograph. They are adorable and look fluffy and fuzzy like a teddy bear. Watch your shoes and clothes as the cute cholla cacti may stick, thus the “jumping” action. I had one stuck on my shoe and the needle didn’t come out unless we used tweezers.

Not too far from the garden is the Ocotillo Patch. The tall plants are spiny and have green and red leaves, and located in the Colorado Desert. Some of the plants had red flowers which come out after the rain.  

The jumping cholla is on my hiking boots!

Up close shot of the ocotillo leaves

Lost Palms Oasis (7.2 miles)

We finally made it to the Cottonwood area to take the trek. You see palm trees on the start of the trail. It’s a moderately difficult trail with several inclines and some scrambling. In the middle of the trail, you walk through a slot canyon and eventually get the summit to see the palm trees. There is a scrambling trail to get closer to the palm trees. Since we started the trail in the late afternoon and the sun was setting, we observed the trees from afar then hiked back to the car.

Lost Palms Oasis Entrance

Joshua Tree National Park Itinerary: Day 3

On our travel day back to the Bay Area, we stopped by one hiking trail and also did a side trip to the Noah Purifoy Foundation Outdoor Museum in Joshua Tree.

49 Palms Oasis (3 miles)

If you don’t have the time to do the long Lost Palms Oasis trail, the 49 Palms Oasis is the best alternative. The trail is off Highway 62 and Canyon Road. No need to show your entrance ticket to a ranger. The incline is steep at the beginning of the trail, however, you reach the palm trees quicker.

Noah Puroy Foundation Outdoor Desert Art Museum

Are you an art lover? We recommend making a side trip in Joshua Tree to visit the Noah Puroy Foundation Outdoor Desert Art Museum. Admission is free and feel free to make a donation in the collection box. The entrance has a map of the artwork for a self-guided tour, or just explore on your own. The museum has artwork everywhere and made out of random stuff, such as toilets, bicycles, and pipes. They are interesting and open to interpretation.

To get to the museum, you’ll drive through dirt roads and residential area. It is at least 15 to 20 minutes away from Joshua Tree National Park. There are signs pointing to the direction of the museum as you’re closer. The museum is next to someone’s house, so please be respectful when parking.

We came across this spray-painted Joshua tree during our exploration. We found out through social media that a singer spray painted the tree for a music video and didn’t receive permission. Vandalism is not cool. Please respect nature, wildlife, and plants for future generations. Harming the living things causes stress and as travelers, we must be sensitive to our surroundings and environments. We all make an impact no matter how large or small.

Helpful Hints

• There is no cell phone service at Joshua Tree National Park. You’ll be truly unplugged.
• The weather changes at any time. It is recommended to dress in layers. If you visit during the fall or winter, there are random rainstorms.
• Bring enough food and water as there isn’t any restaurants or convenience stores in the park.
• Visit the park during the non-peak seasons for fewer crowds.

Logistics

• The park entrance fee is $20 which is good for 1 week. Credit cards are accepted.
• We stayed in Twentynine Palms which is 10 minutes away from the North Entrance Station. Otherwise, you’ll drive 20 minutes to the West Entrance Station. There are plenty of hotels available. Our budget hotel, America’s Best Value Inn, was $50 per night. Find hotels in Twentynine Palms here.
• A car is needed in the park as everything is spread out.

Have you been to Joshua Tree National Park before? What are your favorite hiking trails?

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