Mojave Desert Land Trust
Managed by Mojave Desert Land Trust
3,169 acres15.1 mi of trail
Quail Wash
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Photo: Bernard Gagnon · CC BY-SA 3.0A+Outdoors
Outdoors in Joshua Tree
Joshua Tree has 173 miles of mapped trails, 4.8 for every square mile of land
5,993 acres are parks and preserves, 961 per 1,000 residents. 26% of Joshua Tree’s land is conserved, about 6,003 acres. The biggest trail networks: Mojave Desert Land Trust (15.1 mi), Desert View Conservation Area (8.6 mi), Sunburst Park (0.5 mi).
Ahead of 97% of U.S. towns · #78 of 847 in California. What drives it
Conserved land
26%
6,003 acres · of 36.1 sq mi of land
Trails
173 mi
4.8 per sq mi of land
Park land
5,993 ac
961 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
63%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
0.5 mi
0.5 mi paths
What kind of outdoors town is Joshua Tree?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Joshua Tree have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Joshua Tree is ahead of 97% of U.S. towns, #78 of 847 in California. All four inputs are above most U.S. towns; trail miles rank highest, the share of residents near a park lowest.
A+
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Joshua Tree’s overall grade.
Conserved land26% of the land · typical CA town 4% · U.S. 4%ATrails4.8 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (173 mi) · CA 0.9 · U.S. 0.4A+Park land961 acres of park per 1,000 residents (5,993 acres) · CA 5 · U.S. 13A+Parks close to home63% of residents within a half mile of a park · CA 91% · U.S. 72%B−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,298)Ahead of 97%
LessMore
California towns of 2,500+ (847)Ahead of 91%
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would range from A to A+. Trails and many small parks come from OpenStreetMap, mapped by volunteers, so coverage varies from town to town; the half mile is a straight line from each census block, so a river or highway in the way isn’t counted against it.
PAD-US, OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors), Census 2025 Gazetteer and 2020 blocks; details in Sources below. How TownRatings grades the outdoors →
The map
Conserved land, trails & bike routes
Tap a number to zoom to a park. Tap a layer to hide it.
Easements protect land from building but are usually private.© OpenStreetMap contributors · USGS PAD-US
Places to walk
Pick a walk
The longest trail network is Mojave Desert Land Trust, with 15.1 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Desert View Conservation Area
Managed by San Bernardino County | Special Districts
604 acres8.6 mi of trail
Scout'sDesert Tortoise TrailSidewinderHaggis+1
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yetWebsite ↗
Sunburst Park
Managed by County of San Bernardino
13 acres0.5 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
Joshua Tree National Park
Managed by National Park Service
83 acres0.3 mi of trail
Dogs usually limited
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
All 7 parks & preserves
Mojave Desert Land Trust3,169 acres · 15.1 mi of trail · Mojave Desert Land Trust
DirectionsDesert View Conservation Area604 acres · 8.6 mi of trail · San Bernardino County | Special Districts
Sunburst Park13 acres · 0.5 mi of trail · County of San Bernardino
DirectionsJoshua Tree National Park83 acres · 0.3 mi of trail · National Park Service
DirectionsJoshua Tree Wilderness40 acres · 0.2 mi of trail · National Park Service
Community Park1 acres · 0.1 mi of trail · County of San Bernardino
DirectionsFriendly Hills Park1 acres · County of San Bernardino
Who protects it
6,003 conserved acres
26% of Joshua Tree’s land. Who manages Joshua Tree’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Land trusts & nonprofits3,645 ac
National Park Service2,333 ac
Joint1,560 ac
State fish & wildlife509 ac
Regional agency23 ac
Private Conservation · 3,645 acNational Park · 2,333 acUnknown Easement · 2,069 acLocal Park · 21 acLocal Recreation Area · 1 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 6 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. Public access isn’t recorded for 2 of 9 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mojave Desert Land Trust Private Conservation | Land trusts & nonprofits | 3,413 | Open |
| Joshua Tree National Park National Park | National Park Service | 2,333 | Open |
| Juniper Canyon Private Conservation | Land trusts & nonprofits | 232 | Open |
| Sunburst Park Local Park | Regional agency | 18 | Open |
| Friendly Hills Park Local Park | Regional agency | 3 | Open |
| Joshua Tree Park and Recreation District 1 Local Recreation Area | Regional agency | 1 | Open |
Things to do
23 places to go in Joshua Tree
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Public pools in Joshua Tree
3 public pools without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Playgrounds in Joshua Tree
11 playgrounds without a name on the map.
Dog parks in Joshua Tree
1 dog park without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Peaks in Joshua Tree
8 peaks without a name on the map.
Trails & water
25 named trails
Named trails
Open to bikes · 7.5 miHorses · 1.7 miUnpaved · 45.0 mi
Spike's Run1.7 mi
Backside Cutoff1.2 mi
Wilson Terrace1.0 mi
Broadway1.0 mi
Hoodoo Hill0.9 mi
Quail Wash0.9 mi
Sidewinder0.9 mi
Onaga Trail0.7 mi
Bad Manor0.7 mi
Scout's0.7 mi
15 more trails
Desert Tortoise Trail
0.7 miHaggis
0.6 miCalle Las Sierras South
0.5 mi4th Street South
0.5 miAvenida del Sol
0.5 miTwentynine Palms Outerhighway
0.4 miGood Manor
0.4 miCalle Los Amigos
0.4 miDjango
0.4 miAvenida la Candela
0.3 miJoshua Trail
0.3 miMountain View Trail
0.2 miCanuga Trail
0.2 miAvenida la Manana
0.2 miDesert Sands
0.2 miBiking & sports
0.5 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
0.5 mi
off-road bike paths
Courts & fields
6Tennis
3Basketball
1Baseball
1Skate park
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →1 place on the National Register
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service).
New City of Mentalphysics Historic DistrictDistrict · listed 2023
About itWhen to get out
The best walking months in Joshua Tree: April and May
NOAA’s 1991–2020 normals for the town and the daylight at its latitude. Outlined months have long days, highs of 59 to 86 °F and little rain for the place.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Daylight (h) | 10.1 | 10.9 | 11.9 | 13.0 | 13.9 | 14.4 | 14.2 | 13.4 | 12.3 | 11.3 | 10.3 | 9.9 |
| High (°F) | 59 | 62 | 68 | 74 | 83 | 92 | 97 | 97 | 90 | 79 | 67 | 58 |
| Rain (in) | 1.6 | 1.9 | 1.0 | 0.4 | 0.1 | 0.0 | 0.4 | 0.4 | 0.4 | 0.4 | 0.5 | 1.0 |
June is the driest month (under 0.1 in) and July the warmest (highs of 97 °F). 1.9 inches fall in February, the wettest month. Summer highs reach 97 °F, too hot for the outline. The climate in Joshua Tree →
Next door
Joshua Tree and its neighbors
Joshua Tree has the most mapped trails of the 2 towns around it. Tap a town to see its outdoors.
| Town | Conserved of land | Trail mi per sq mi | Park acres per 1,000 | Near a park ½ mile | Outdoors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Joshua Tree | 26% | 4.8 | 961 | 63% | A+ |
| Yucca Valley | 6% | 2.2 | 56 | 54% | A− |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Joshua Tree
Where can I hike in Joshua Tree?
The longest trail networks: Mojave Desert Land Trust, 15.1 miles; Desert View Conservation Area, 8.6 miles; Sunburst Park, 0.5 miles; Joshua Tree National Park, 0.3 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Joshua Tree is conserved land?
26% of its land, against a typical 4% for a California town and 4% nationally (PAD-US). Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors: easements are usually private land.
Are dogs allowed on Joshua Tree’s trails?
Mojave Desert Land Trust and Desert View Conservation Area don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Joshua Tree?
0.5 miles of bike routes are on the map: 0.5 of off-road paths.
Is there public land near Joshua Tree?
67,084 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Joshua Tree or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 6,547 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Joshua Tree have?
Ahead of 97% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #78 of 847 in California. The grade combines the share of land that is conserved, miles of mapped trail per square mile of land, park acres per 1,000 residents and the share of residents within a half mile of a park. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.
Trail talk
Conditions, parking and favorite walks from Joshua Tree neighbors.
Share a tip
Sources
Where this page comes from
Conserved and public land: USGS Protected Areas Database of the United States (PAD-US), service updated July 2026. Parks, trails, playgrounds, beaches and other places: OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL), map data as of 2026-10-28. Land and water area: Census 2025 Gazetteer. Residents near a park: 2020 Census blocks. National Register: National Park Service. How TownRatings grades the outdoors →