Joshua Tree National Park Guide

It used to be that Angelenos who had outdoor play on the brain largely ignored southern California's deserts. Joshua Tree was an infrequently visited national monument—it had plenty of desert scenery but lacked the kind of dramatic natural wonders that put Yosemite, Death Valley, and Yellowstone on the map. Then, slowly but surely, word began to trickle out that the best winter rock climbing anywhere in the United States was here. Instead of stowing their ropes and rock shoes when snows ended the season in Yosemite and other Sierra Nevada hot spots, climbers began to make pilgrimages to the warm monzogranite faces of Joshua Tree. Read More »