How to Spend 2 Amazing Nights in Joshua Tree

2 Nights in Joshua Tree: What to Eat, See and Do

If you’re looking for an escape from the hustle and bustle of city life, Joshua Tree is the perfect place to explore nature and disconnect from the world. Located in Southern California and just a few hours from Los Angeles, Joshua Tree is a small town with a beautiful national park and delicious food.

This now-famous park is full of stunning landscapes and interesting rock formations. Plus, there are plenty of great restaurants and activities in the area. And while camping is definitely the way to go if you want to fully experience Joshua Tree, there’s also plenty to do and see in the park if you only have a couple of days.

So whether you’re heading out there this weekend or putting it on your bucket list, here are some ideas on what to eat, see and do during your time in Joshua Tree National Park.

Best 3 Restaurants in Joshua Tree

We were impressed with the quality of food here and would recommend these 3 restaurants. Be aware that there are few restaurants in town and with so many visitors, there can be long waits. Try to get to each eatery outside of normal dining hours if possible.

Hikes in Joshua Tree National Park

Joshua Tree has been our favorite national park yet and all because we absolutely loved the hiking. So here are our favorites!

1. Hall of Horrors

This one was difficult to find. If you put this into your map and think you can find it, you’d be wrong. Make sure to follow these directions so you don’t spend an hour looking for it.

From the parking lot, follow the trail marked with rocks along the edges past the first big rock formation. You’ll want to follow the faint trail in between the rock formation you just passed and the next big rock formation (so now you’re in the middle of them.) The Hall of Horrors is in the second rock formation on your right.

Walk to the end of the rock formation on your right and you will be able to see the two hall entrances by looking up. You have to climb up some rocks to reach the halls and they are not obvious so you may have to search for just a bit to see them.

The hall on the right is wide, lower down (meaning you’ll have to climb down into it), and it leads nowhere. The hall on the left is skinny and gets very narrow in some places. I’m not claustrophobic but did find it difficult to make it through at one point. It leads to a beautiful overview of the national park and is 100% worth it.

2. Arch Rock

Both Arch Rock and Heart Rock (next on this list!) are very easy trails but there is no shade along them so make sure to bring plenty of water. Arch Rock is basically an adult jungle gym with a ton of rocks to scramble up and trails to follow once you reach the Arch Rock.

3. Heart Rock

Heart Rock Trail leads directly to a rock shaped like a heart – just like you’d expect. Again, it’s an easy one but worth the short walk out to see it.

4. Cholla Cactus Garden

Cholla Cactus Garden is incredibly popular and with good reason! It is beautiful and very unique. When driving to this garden you see nothing distinctive until you get right to it. And then there is 10 acres of straight cholla cactus. There is a short path you can walk through the garden and we recommend getting there early so it’s not overly crowded.