Camping at Joshua Tree
National Park :D
Posted on: 07/14/2024 4 minute read
This page was last updated on 7/21/2024
Major corrections were made regarding stargazing conditions throughout the year. The moon does not always set after midnight. It could actually... not set at all until morning. Please check the moon phase and moonset time when planning your stargazing trip
Introduction
In just this summer alone, I visited Joshua Tree National Park three times! Being my first ever experience camping outdoors and it made for an unforgettable summer. With proper planning and amazing friends to accompany you, camping at Joshua Tree National Park can be a blast! The campgrounds I visted this summer included the Indian Cove and Jumbo Rocks campgrounds. In this blog post, I will be going over the many amazing things about one of my favorite National Parks! For example the uhhh... sand... and uhhh... more sand... (oh darn what else is there) sand... rocks...
So what is there besides sand and rocks?
There is so much more to Joshua Tree than just sand and rocks. Joshua Tree National Park is actually known for the amazing night sky.
Stargazing
I love Joshua Tree because it offers amazing sights while also not being too far from home.
In other parks, it may be difficult to see the night sky because of obstructions such as largegrowth trees or light pollution.
This isn't a problem in Joshua Tree because the park itself is a huge desert with wide open skies- perfect for stargazing.
Of course, this doesn't mean the park doesn't experince light pollution, here is a map from lightpollutionmap.info
which I labled with campsites across Joshua Tree.
You want to choose a campground that has very little light pollution. I will cover campground and campsite selection in greater detail in the next section. However, just looking at this map, Jumbo Rocks, Belle, and White Tank campgrounds are the sites least affected by light pollution.
Generally, you want to go on a day with a new moon so that the sky is completely dark. This is so that the light from the moon does not block out the stars. The moon typically sets after midnight, however this isn't true for every day. So be sure to check both the phase of the moon and the time it sets when planning your trip. My favorte stargazing time is at 1 am. When most of the lights from nearby cities have turned off and the moon has set. When viewing the stars, allow for 30 minutes for you eyes to adjust to the darkness for the best experience. This means not to look at any sources of lighting, including your phone and flashlights. If you require lighting and do not want to have to re-adjust your eyesight, consider getting a red light flashlight.
The best part of stargazing: telling everyone else how great the stars are
See the first star photo at the top of the page? That was shot with my iPhone 15. You don't need a professional camera to take amazing photos! There are certain features built into your phone that allow you to be taking amazing photos of the night sky.You might have already been familiar with the long-exposure photography feature on your phone, which typically activates once the phone detects you are taking pictures in the dark. Long-exposure photos work by keeping the camera's shutter opens for longer periods of time. This allows more light to enter the camera sensors which allows for vivid imagery of the night sky and light painting. That's right! You can light paint with just you phone and a tripod!
(I messed this one up a little bit...)
Here is how to access up to 30 seconds of long exposure photography on an iPhone in just 4 easy steps:
The first time I camped in Indian Cove, I did not know of this feature and utilized the default darkness long exposure time (3 seconds).
Thus, I was not able to completely capture the Milky Way as well as I had hoped.
Choosing the Right Campsite
When evaluating a campground you want to stay at there are a few things you need to consider: enviornment, light pollution, and seclusion.
The Jumbo Rocks campground is the most popular and the highest rated in Joshua Tree- and for good reason.
With this much open space, the sense of confinement that's typically felt at reservation campgrounds is lifted.
Open ranges and high rocks also make stargazing and sunset viewing a beautiful experience.
Of course, most of this depends on which campsite you book within the campgrounds.
No campgrounds are equal, some are a lot better than others.
For example site 117 which was the one I camped on just this week was arguably the best campsite in Jumbo Rocks.
This was because campsite 117 practically had an entire valley of rocks- just to itself
Do you see anything special about campsite 117? That's right! Campsite 117 has no neighbors!
Although Jumbo Rocks is a popular campground, meaning that unfortunately you will be disturbed by other campers via flashlights and noise, you certainly won't be camping adjacent to anyone else.
Site 117 has easy access to the entire circled area above, making site 117 arguably the most free site in Jumbo Rocks.
The only downside I would have with this site is that it is a bit too close to the vault toilets. Vault toilets are the restrooms used in campgrounds
they do not flush, but keep excrament stored in a vault. Oftentimes you can smell the vault toilets if you get too close.
Oh also, another plus about campsite 117 is that it is very close to this sick sunset spot.
During Summer, sunset times are typically around 7:55 pm. However, if you are in a place where the sun is setting behind a mountain, you may want to be there earlier.
I'm gonna quickly mention the Indian Cove campsite, we stayed at Campsite 12 and were lucky that no one else was in our area.
Despite the fact that I went on a new moon, Indian Cove was not as dark as Jumbo Rocks because it is closer to Twentynine Palms, the nearby city.
If I am going camping again, I likely would not camp at Indian Cove.
Just Kidding! lol
Joshua Tree National Park is a desert. It has Sand, Rocks, and Joshua Trees. Since I only ever went to Joshua Tree during summer,
the closest thing I saw to wildlife in Joshua Tree were bees that suck you for sweat, and lizards.
Nonetheless, if I had the opportunity to visit Joshua Tree during winter, I would be expecting snow!
If sand, rocks, and Joshua Trees aren't your thing, maybe this park isn't for you.
But for desert lovers such as myself, this is a wonderful place to visit and definitely worth the trip if you are staying in Southern California.
I will be visiting this park again for a backpacking trip the following week in the Boy Scout Trail.