Hiking in Joshua Tree National Park in the fall is an excellent way to experience the natural beauty and serenity of the park as the scorching summer heat give way to more pleasant autumn temperatures. Joshua Tree trails explore the park’s iconic plants, unusual rock formations, and captivating past, winding through the colorful desert landscape. As always, double-check weather conditions before you hike, and consider these top trails for your next fall desert adventure:
Indian Cove Nature Trail
Indian Cove Nature Trail is a very easy .6-mile loop in northern Joshua Tree National Park that explores a key hub of human history and an intriguing desert alcove brimming with life. Handy information placards along the trail give hikers an inside look into the region’s unique desert ecosystem, its surprisingly diverse biome, and how its hardy inhabitants thrive in this exceptional region. This short, relatively flat trail dips into a dry wash for an easy-going interpretive stroll that can also serve as a warm-up hike for later adventures.
Discovery Trail
Discovery Trail is a fun and easy .7-mile loop hike designed especially for young explorers. Discovery Trail loops around the boulder fields opposite Skull Rock, sharing easy-to-understand details along the way about Joshua Tree’s unique and unusual features. Great for families, the trail was developed by local kids from the Morongo Unified School District under guidance from park rangers in 2012, and built by high school students from the Youth Conservation Corps in 2013. Discovery Trail gives visitors of all ages an opportunity to stretch their legs, have fun exploring, and learn about Joshua Tree’s best highlights.
Arch Rock Trail
Let your imagination run wild as your eyes feast upon a smorgasbord of boulders of all shapes and sizes on this hike to Arch Rock! Arch Rock Trail is an easy 1.4-mile out-and-back hike with a small lollipop loop at the end which leads to famous Arch Rock. The relatively flat trail ambles down a sandy path and then loops up in a scramble over rocks to the arching 30-foot rock. Along the way, educational placards spotlight the area’s unique geology. This trail is great for casual explorers, adventurous families, photo bugs, night owls, and anyone who wants to see a really cool desert landscape.
Cap Rock Trail
Country meets rock-and-roll with very easy spins around desert rabblerouser Cap Rock! A .4-mile nature loop and optional .3-mile memorial loop visiting one of Joshua Tree’s most infamous “rock stars” transports visitors deep into the soul of the place that inspired a creative genius and spurred a whole lotta shenanigans in this life—and the next. Interpretive placards along Cap Rock Trail spotlight the area’s distinct features, while strategically placed benches around the nature loop encourage park enjoyers to take it easy. The informal memorial loop at the other end of the wayside stop explores the legendary rock formation that once presided over the burning casket of country-rock icon Gram Parsons.
Cottonwood Spring Oasis
Stroll out to a lush, palm-lined oasis on this very easy walk to Cottonwood Spring. Trek in the footsteps of miners, see the ingenious ways Indigenous people harnessed the desert landscape, and keep an eye out for thirsty bighorn sheep enjoying a favorite watering hole. Primitive-looking California fan palms, the only native palm to Southern California, welcome visitors to this historic wayside stop. This unique spring-fed microhabitat supports a remarkable array of flora and fauna and is a very popular birding spot. Interpretive signs along the path highlight the oasis’s fascinating features, and a bench at the oasis offers a spot for relaxation and reflection. Sightseers interested in archaeology should check out the nearby mortar stones used to crush nuts and seeds into flour, which points to long-ago human history.
Pudgy Buffalo 
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