Hiking in the desert… with little kids. Sounds fun, right?
(Actually, you’d be surprised. Keep reading!)
We recently spent an entire month in the Joshua Tree National Park, soaking in this desert wonderland. There are hundreds of miles of trails begging to be explored! If you’re not familiar with the ins and outs of Joshua Tree National Park, start here with our comprehensive overview of the park.
One of the first things I did when we got to Joshua Tree was reference the AllTrails app, as well as the Joshua Tree NP website and AllHiking.com. Whenever we’re traveling to a new place, I can almost always discover cool hikes this way. Oddly enough, none of these resources had all of our recommended hikes listed, so hopefully this post will save you some time while searching for kid-friendly hiking in Joshua Tree.
What’s the criteria for a mom and her two kids under 7? For us, we sought out trails that were around one mile or so, and worked our way up in length. I also kept the elevation gains to a minimum. The reason why I started with shorter hikes is simple – I wanted us all to have fun. While we should be putting in some effort, I don’t want to make it harder than it has to be. If it feels too strenuous, then I’ve set us all up for failure. After a few weeks of hiking almost daily, we slowly worked our way up to three-mile hikes! It may not sound like a lot, but for four little legs, this was a huge accomplishment.
Now let’s get to our Top 10 favorite family-friendly hikes in Joshua Tree, shall we? For the sake of simplicity, I’ve listed the following trails by shortest to longest.
Discovery Trail
Distance: 0.08 miles (loop) | Elevation Change: 120 feet
This trail was recommended to us by one of the rangers at the visitor’s center. Discovery Trail is the park’s newest trail, and what’s fun about this hike is that it was designed by kids, for kids! Students from a local school district partnered with park rangers in 2012 to design a kid-friendly hike with 10 points of interest, and in 2013, the Youth Conservation Corps built the trail. As you make your way along the trail, you’ll pass through a series of washes and canyons. Be sure to scramble up the boulders for a view of the surrounding landscape! It’s a great way to scope out Skull Rock without fighting the crowd on that popular trail.
Trailhead location: The trailhead for Discovery Trail is located just across Park Boulevard from Skull Rock, 2.8 miles west of the intersection with Pinto Basin Road, and 0.6 miles east of the entrance to Jumbo Rocks Campground.
Hidden Valley Nature Trail Loop
Distance: 1 mile (loop) | Elevation Change: 75 feet
This trail was our first in Joshua Tree, and easily one of our favorites. The loop circles a small valley that is surrounded by tall boulders, which are perfect for hikers of all ages to scramble on. As you hike the trail, you’ll see lots of climbers scaling the large rocks. Our kids loved to spot these adventurous men and women throughout the trail. Alongside the trail you’ll also find signs to help visitors identify the park’s plants and animals. These make the perfect spots to stop, drink some water and give little legs a break!
If for some reason you’re short on time in this national park, this is the hike to check out. One quick note though – because this is one of the first big areas for people to stop and check out, the parking lot gets full really fast. Go first thing in the morning or catch this one just before the sunset.
Trailhead location: The trailhead is near the Hidden Valley parking lot, just off of Park Boulevard (Loop Road). Look for the sign on your right-hand side of the street.
Ryan Ranch
Distance: 1 mile (loop) | Elevation Change: 135 feet
I always like to find trails that incorporate some of the locale’s history, and this hike stood out to me as a winner. In 1898, two miners named Jepp and Tom Ryan built a home next to Ryan Mountain. The old Adobe ruins still stand today, which makes for an interesting site. Can you imagine trying to live here in the desert? Supposedly there are pathways right off of the ruins that lead to gravestones and Native American rock art. The wind chill was insane the day that we hiked this trail, so we didn’t spend anytime exploring off the trail.
My only gripe with this hike is that for the very end, you have to walk along Park Blvd. There’s not much clearance here, and with traffic it can wear on the nerves a bit. If you want to skip that altogether, simply hike to Ryan Ranch as an out and back vs. the loop.
Trailhead location: There’s a small parking area about 0.5 mile east of the Ryan campground off of Park Blvd. The trailhead itself is relatively close to the pit toilets. You can also access a trail entrance through the Ryan campground itself.
Barker Dam
Distance: 1.1 mile (loop) | Elevation Change: 50 feet
A reservoir in the desert sounds like such an anomaly that we had to check this one out. We thought this would be a fun hike with the kiddos, and it turned out to be a fantastic trail! This is an easy hike that’s also easy to follow. There are plenty of large boulders to climb just a short ways in, so we spent a good amount of time scrambling and taking in the views. Unfortunately for us, the dam wasn’t holding any water during January, but it’s still a great little hike nonetheless. As you make your way towards the end of the loop, keep an eye out for the petroglyphs trail marker. It’s very close to the main trail, and you’ll easily spot Native American drawings on a large boulder. At one point, a Hollywood film crew enhanced the colors of the petroglyphs, so it’s easy to spot. This was a nice little bonus that the kids loved!
Trailhead location: Barker Dam parking area.
Arch Rock
Distance: 1.3 mile (loop) | Elevation Change: 100 feet
This enjoyable little hike is a no brainer if you’re in Joshua Tree. Like its namesake, it features an arch rock that is 30 feet across, and picture perfect. This fascinating formation is a cool attraction for the kiddos to not only spot, but climb up for a closer look.
Trailhead location: You’ll find the Arch Rock trail near the White Tank campground, off of Pinto Basin Rd. Keep in mind that you’ll need to cross the road fairly early in on the hike, so be careful for cars!
Hi View Nature Trail
Distance: 1.35 miles (loop) | Elevation Change: 325 feet
This is a quick and relatively hike that offers a great pay off only 0.6 miles in. You’ll climb a ridge on the west side of the park near Black Rock campground to find panoramic views of San Gorgonio Mountain and Yucca Valley. While this trail is technically within the park’s parameters, you don’t need to pay an entrance fee or obtain a permit to hike it. Even though we hiked this one in the snow, I can safely say that this would be a great hike regardless of weather. We went at sunset, and were generously rewarded with beautiful views when we reached the peak!
Trailhead location: Northwest of Black Rock Campground, off of South Park Road in Yucca Valley.
Split Rock
Distance: 2.5 miles (loop) | Elevation Change: 150 feet
Split Rock was easily one of our favorite hikes to do as a family. You’ll start off in rocky terrain, then cross washes and wind through fields of boulders. There are lots of places to scramble here, and the boys enjoyed finding “caves” throughout the hike. Towards the end, the scenery shifts to oak and pine woodland.
This was our first hike with the kids’ Osprey packs, so it really felt like we were hiking with totally different kids… hence, our ability to progress from one-mile hikes to 2.5 with ease.
Trailhead location: Just off of the Split Rock parking area.
Mastodon Peak
Distance: 3 miles (loop) | Elevation Change: 375 feet
While all of the other hikes are mostly towards the west entrance or middle of the park, Mastodon Peak is easily accessed near the south entrance. For me, this was one of our best hikes. Lots of climbing and stunning viewpoints as you hike towards Mastodon Peak. And once you’re at the base of the peak, it only gets better. A word of caution: you can scramble up to the tippy-top of a craggy granite peak, but please use your best judgment. The boys and I were literally the only ones on the trail at that point, so we climbed up slowly toe ensure our safety. Once you’re up on the peak, the views are marvelous! Again, use caution as you’re pretty high up with big drops on all sides. As you come down the rest of the loop, you’ll quickly encounter an old gold mine!
Trailhead location: Cottonwood Spring parking area.
Samuelson Rocks
Distance: 3.1 miles (out and back) | Elevation Change: 21 feet
I’ll be honest – I went back and forth on whether this trail would make the Top 10 list. Only because the trail is not always clear and very hard to follow unless you have the trail map open on the AllTrails app or another form of GPS. (And even then, we got off the trail several times!) To give you a better idea of how far off the trail, this hike is supposed to be 3.1 miles. However, my tracker logged us at 3.9! But… this hike has a fantastic payoff once you get to Samuelson Rocks.
What makes this so unique is stumbling upon the rocks that John Samuelson, a Swedish immigrant, once inhabited. As you walk up the mound of rocks, you’ll spot several of Samuelson’s carvings. This guy really wanted to stick it to the man, let me tell ya. If you want the full scoop on Samuelson’s personal history, Atlas Obscura has a quick and interesting read here.
This was our last hike in Joshua Tree and one that really worked my patience! I’d venture a guess that most visitors don’t know this place is here, and without a trail map, it’s hard as hell to find the place. But – my boys said this one was awesome, and I agree!
Trailhead location: This is very close to the west entrance of the park, right off of Park Blvd. If you have your trail map downloaded, have that up on your phone to find the exact trailhead as it isn’t marked (or really all that obvious where to park).
Wall Street Mill/Wonderland Wash
Distance: 3.3 miles (out and back) | Elevation Change: 144 feet
This is another fun hike that offers up plenty of old Western history along the route. Wall Street Mill is a well-preserved gold mill. During the Depression, the mining regions in Joshua Tree experienced a second gold rush. As miners arrived, long-time rancher and miner William Keys recognized the need for a gold processing mill. In 1930 he bought the Wall Street Mill site, which had an existing well. The well itself, along with the road that accessed the mill, was a point of contention. Keys had a long-running property dispute with his neighbor, Worth Bagley. One day, their argument escalated, a gun was fired, and Bagley was killed. Keys carved a makeshift tombstone where Bagley’s body laid. Talk about a fun story to tell the kids along the hike! As you hike to the mill itself, there are lots of remnants from the past, including an old car. We all loved exploring this point of the trail. As you make your way back from the Wall Street Mill, divert towards the Wonderland Wash. Here you’ll find the ruins of another old home. There are lots of old relics peppering the property, and previous visitors have lined up some of those on the edge of the pink adobe wall.
Trailhead location: The turnoff for Wall Street Mill/Wonderland Wash is the same as Barker Dam – located on Park Blvd. 12 miles west of the intersection with Pinto Basin Road. From the well-marked turnoff, drive north for 1.5 miles to the large parking area for the Wonderland of Rocks.
Final Thoughts
Depending on the timing of your visit, you’ll want to make sure you’re properly prepared to be hiking in the desert with little ones. Water is imperative, so make sure to bring enough for each person on your hike. We really loved this Osprey pack for Levi, and this one for Harvey. Both come with a 1.5L water bladder, which was a game changer for the kids. Personally, I carry a 40oz Thermoflask bottle for myself, and as a back up if the kids ever ran out of water.
Snacks are key too. Make sure everyone has had a solid meal prior to your hike, or pack one for your midway point. The boys were always motivated for a bag of Doritos or Cheetos, as well as a sweet treat when the hike is done.
Because cell coverage in non-existent in Joshua Tree, make sure you download the trail maps before you head out. The premium version of AllTrails app is perfect for this. (I swear we’re not sponsored by the app, but we probably should be! ?)
Finally, lather up in sunscreen! Even in the winter, the sun can be harsh in the desert.
One last tip for hiking with kiddos in Joshua Tree. Give yourself a lot of time. Most of these hikes offer up awesome opportunities to scramble the rocks, which can easily turn a quick hike into a half-day adventure.
If you have any other questions about hiking in Joshua Tree with little ones, please let me know in the comments!
