Joshua Tree National Park

Few landscapes stop you in your tracks quite like Joshua Tree. Straddling the Mojave and Colorado deserts in southern California, the park feels genuinely otherworldly — a vast, sun-bleached terrain punctuated by twisted, shaggy-armed Joshua trees that cast strange shadows across enormous granite boulder formations. It is the kind of place that makes you reach for your camera every hundred metres, then eventually just put it away and stare.

The rock climbing here is legendary. Skull Rock, Intersection Rock, and the corridors around Hidden Valley draw climbers of every level, with thousands of established routes threading up the pale, textured monzogranite.

Non-climbers do just as well on foot — the Barker Dam loop is a gentle two-kilometre walk that passes desert bighorn sheep territory and a small seasonal pool, while the Boy Scout Trail offers a longer, quieter day out. At dusk, listen for coyotes and watch for black-tailed jackrabbits darting between creosote bushes.

What separates Joshua Tree from parks like Death Valley or the Mojave Preserve is that compressed sense of drama at a human scale. You are not overwhelmed by sheer size; you are absorbed by texture, colour, and stillness. The stargazing on a clear night is exceptional — bring a red-light torch and plan to stay late at Skull Rock or Cholla Cactus Garden if the moon is cooperative.

The park entrance fee is around $35 per vehicle and covers seven days. The nearest towns are Twentynine Palms and Joshua Tree village, both with accommodation options and fuel. There is no public transport into the park, so a hire car is essential. Avoid July and August, when temperatures regularly exceed 40°C; late October through April is the sweet spot.