If you're the type that enjoys turning your favorite Joshua Tree hike into an adventurous off-trail scramble, these featured areas below are my favorite places to check out.  On a hot day, they're also the best places to look for caves that will provide some of the only shade in the park.

1. Hidden Valley Loop & the Chasm of Doom

Hidden Valley - This accurately-named mile long loop circles around a tightly packed range of pyramid shaped boulder mountains in the heart of Joshua Tree.

The Hidden Valley hiking trail itself couldn’t be flatter, but for the adventurous scrambler, this area offers an endless number of scrambling options. For the brave climbers that scale them, the tops of these giant mounds offer some of the best views in the park!

The Chasm of Doom - Hidden Valley is also the location of the famed Chasm of Doom, a secret cave structure that climbs and weaves straight through the middle of one of these boulder mountains.  It doesn’t require any technical rock climbing skills or equipment, but you do have to do some scrambling, crawling and tight squeezing.  It's the quintessential J-tree daytime adventure and is equally exciting at night (for the experienced group leader), but I wouldn't recommend to anyone who doesn’t handle tight spaces well.

We recently released a specially-featured article on how to find and conquer the Chasm of Doom—enter at your own risk!

2. Scramble Up Saddle Rock on Ryan Mountain

I really wouldn't even call it a hike--it's an exciting scramble climb (non-technical class 2 & 3) up a boulder-stacked hillside on the northwest face of Ryan Mountain.  I revisit various routes on this feature on just about every trip to J Tree, and every time it's a big hit among friends.  

To find it, follow Park Blvd. to the Hall of Horrors parking lot.  Look for a waist-high informational sign on the southeast end of the parking lot that directs your attention across the road toward Ryan Mountain.  You'll see a massive (100+ ft. tall) rock feature called Saddle Rock dominating the hillside surrounded by boulders cascading down the hill on either side.  

It's a popular rock climbing destination, and you'll need climbing gear for the obvious routes up the center of this thing.  However, a confident hiker can take an endless number of routes up either side of the center feature.  

The left (east) side run a little easier than the right, and the far left side is even easier yet.  All of them are fun and manageable for hikers with a little confidence and a sense of adventure.  

Note: the right half of this route gets a little tricky in some areas. I’d recommend bringing grippy hiking boots for anywhere on this hill, and maybe even comfortable rock climbing shoes in a backpack, depending on the difficulty of the route you've chosen.

3. Arch Rock and the White Tank Campground Area

If you stay on the trail, you're doing it wrong.  This is absolutely one of the coolest areas in the park, so don't just stroll out to Arch Rock to take a photo and head back. 

Follow the labyrinth of boulders around toward the back of White Tank campground.  It's one of my favorite places to get lost on a hot day--you could easily spend an entire afternoon trying to explore all of its caves and tower-like rock formations.  

Don't expect a long hike in terms of distance (on a hot day, you won't want that anyway).  Think of it as more of a cool area to play around and explore. 

On a full moon night - follow the same path out behind the campground to a small dam, and you'll find THE most beautiful place in the park for star gazing.

4. Split Rock to Face Rock Loop Trail

This creatively piled garden of granite will happily keep you climbing around for hours--a great place to find shade on hot days and an endless set of options for vertical scrambles.  If you don't feel like climbing, the Face Rock loop trail is beautiful (simply stay on the path).  It also appeared to be much less crowded than some of the other features in the park like Barker Dam.  

5. Skull Rock

Saved one of the best for last! This area is a blast. It’s the playground you wish you had near your house as a kid. It’s not a long day hike (as you’ve noticed, none of these are). J-tree isn’t known for long hikes anyway. 

The dense rock garden directly behind Skull Rock itself lends a solid hour worth of exploration.  It’s an up-and-down labyrinth that’s fun to get lost in for a while, but not too tricky to find your way out at any given time.

I’d recommend it for the beginning of the day while stoke level is high. It's also a great place for photographers to get cool action shots of friends climbing around the rocks. 

Up to Hiking Page Index ^

1. Barker Dam

Easy - 1.5 miles

I like this hike for three reasons: 

1. A series of signs along the path tell a story of the history of Joshua Tree. 

2. It's one of the only areas of the park that provides public access to real Indian petroglyphs, which apparently served as maps toward local water sources. 

3. The dam itself holds water for several months of the year around the rainy season and is a beautiful spot for photos. 

It's a short, easy, highly trafficked hike, so it won't provide you with much of a thrill.  However it's a perfect adventure for a 100 degree day, where you won't want to over exert yourself or wander too far away from your car.

• ModernHiker - Barker Dam Loop

2. Ryan Mountain (the actual hiking trail)

Moderately difficult - 3 miles round-trip

Ryan Mountain is one of the highest points in Joshua Tree and the most dominant view looking directly over the iconic central area of the park.  I've heard the best time to do this hike is at sunrise or sunset with a headlamp.  Late in the day, if you're seeing light, wispy clouds sitting high up in the sky, the summit provides a 360 degree birds-eye view to catch that stunning desert sunset.  It's also a common place for larger animal sightings, such as bighorn sheep.

• CaliforniaThroughMyLens - Ryan Mountain Hike: Second Highest Point in Joshua Tree National Park

• AllTrails - Ryan Mountain Trail

3. Lost palms Oasis

Fairly challenging - 7.1 miles

Lost Palms Oasis is a classic and beautiful Joshua Tree hike, but at 7.1 miles, I wouldn't recommend it on a scorching hot day.  Located in the remote southern half of the park, this hike is a great one to tackle on a Sunday on your way out of the park.

• AllTrails - Lost Palms Oasis

• ModernHiker - Hike to Lost Palms Oasis

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