Joshua Tree National Park's 5 Don't-Miss Attractions

Above, Cottonwood Spring at Joshua Tree National Park. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

One of the newest national parks is Joshua Tree National Park, which is only about a three-hour drive from Los Angeles.

The New York Daily News has an article on five "don't-miss" attractions at the park.

They begin with:

Joshua Tree National Park is a landscape rich with beauty and plenty of adventure. For those looking to fall off the map or get a little lost, whether in thought or in destination, Joshua Tree is the perfect rush of fantasy and reality. 

Set in parts of both the Mojave Desert and the Colorado Desert in southern California, Joshua Tree is nestled on nearly 800,000 acres of preserved land in Riverside County and San Bernardino County. 

It’s home to the famous Joshua tree, which grows plentiful amongst the otherwise baron High Desert terrain. The plant’s name is said to have come from a group of Mormons who were traversing the High Desert in the mid 19th century. The shape of the tree reminded them of the Biblical tale of Joshua, as the branches seem to mimick his motion of reaching his arms to the sky in prayer.

For those who love to climb rocks, Joshua Tree National Park is the place. One of my first visits to the park (back when it was still a national monument) was with the Boy Scouts. We camped at Jumbo Rocks Campground and one couldn't keep the troop members off the rocks. My most recent visit to Joshua Tree National Park was in November 2015. I camped at the Cottonwood Campground.

Above, The Beast at Cottonwood Campground. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

To read more, go here.