Throughout most of the park Joshua trees steal the show. However in this special oasis, it’s all about the Palms.
49 Palms Oasis / Joshua Tree National Park
Trail Info
3 miles round trip, and takes about 2 hours (not including the time for a picnic lunch at the oasis)
How to Access
Headed east on Route 62, turn right onto Canyon Road. Follow Canyon Road as it turns slightly to the left and turns into Fourtynine Palms Canyon Road. Follow this road until it dead ends at the trail head parking lot.
Finding the Trail
You will clearly see the beginning of the trail from the parking lot.
What to Bring
The destination of this hike (the oasis) is a perfect spot to enjoy a picnic lunch. If you’re doing this hike on a weekend, make sure to stop and pick up a few tamales from the weekend tamale pop-up located at the corner of Route 62 and Sunfair Road. Sitting under the shade of the palms with a tamale and bottle of water is the perfect intermission to the hike. (Just make sure not to leave any trash behind)
As always, make sure to also bring plenty of water and sunscreen. While the oasis itself is shady, the rest of the trail is in direct sunlight.
In mid April, everything is in bloom. It’s hard to capture the magic of it in a photo, but there are a variety of wildflowers and cacti in bloom throughout the hike. Below, you can see one of the many beautiful red barrel cacti in bloom.
