Skip Descant

The Desert Sun

When you eventually reach the top of Queen Mountain in Joshua Tree National Park, there is little more up there than a U.S. Geological Survey marker and a Boys Scout log book kept inside a black, plastic water-tight box. That, and the sort of quiet, breezy views of the vast high desert, this perch at 5,687 feet will most surely offer, all under the careful watch of a circling hawk.

(And for reasons not entirely known, there’s a good chance you’ll also have cell service reception.)

Joshua Tree National Park Welcomes Visitors

Look out in the distance in one direction, you’ll see the Marine base and the town of Twentynine Palms; off in the other direction is the beautiful openness that is Joshua Tree National Park, nearly 800,000 acres big and home to more than 800 plant species, 40 reptile species, 41 mammal species, and 240 bird species.

The sound of silence: Photography from Joshua Tree's remote east side

On this particular Saturday in April, I’m joined by three other hikers and David Smith, superintendent of Joshua Tree National Park, for a half-day hike. We get a slow start because we’re waiting for about 25 other hikers to show up. They don’t. Which is unusual. These park superintendent-led hikes this spring – events meant to commemorate the centennial of the National Park Service -- have been popular. Park officials closed this hike at 30 people weeks ago.

Hiking, as an outdoor pastime, has ballooned in interest in the region as visitors look beyond the staples of golf and pool lounging. Tourism agencies like the Greater Palm Springs Bureau of Tourism recently launched a new hiking website to accommodate and grow this trend.

“We have evolved from being known as just a golf destination,” remarked Bob Thibault, vice-president of market at the Greater Palm Springs CVB. “Outdoor adventure as a whole, from Jeep tours to the new BMW Performance Center, have put the focus on unique adventure and excitement in the Oasis.”

The hiking site, which is hikingingps.com, began production about a year ago and was launched a few weeks ago. It’s a searchable site that includes trails across the valley as well as those in areas like Idyllwild. You can narrow your search according to location, difficulty levels or even searching for dog-friendly trails. (Hint: there are about two dozen dog friendly hiking trails in the valley.)

The development is in part a response to visitor surveys that have pointed to complaints that there’s not much to do in the Coachella Valley, despite a seemingly non-stop schedule of festivals, galas and cultural events.

Back in Joshua Tree, we got started on our stroll through the desert on this somewhat backcountry trail that begins two miles at the end of Bighorn Pass Road, which is about 15 miles down Park Boulevard if you enter the park from the West Station in Joshua Tree.

As remote as the setting here seems, we were far from alone. On this particular Saturday, Smith estimates there were probably 10,000 people in the park, stretching the spectrum from casual tourists posing next to a Joshua Tree to back-country campers.

It would seem the park has never been more popular. In 2015, more than two million people visited the park. Part of the popularity, said Smith, stems from its recent connections to popular culture.

Joshua Tree National Park hits 2 million vistors mark

“My kids love watching ‘Modern Family,’ the sitcom,” said Smith, as we walk past desert flora like Black Brush and Mormon Tea. “And I’m looking at Jay’s house, and he’s got all these large pictures of Joshua Trees in his house. And then I look in magazines, and it’s all Joshua Trees.”

“I think there’s a lot of cultural references about Joshua Tree these days,” he added. “It’s having it’s ‘15 minutes.’”

“Hiking has become a hot activity here in the Coachella Valley,” said Rob Osterberg, director of convention sales at the CVB, and who is also a hiker. “While winter hiking may provide greater accessibility due to the weather, off-season -- specifically fall and late spring -- has been of greater interest to all visitors.”

"Yes, hiking has picked up in the area a lot," agreed Gary Burzell, who manages the site hiking-in-ps.com. "We started Hiking In Palm Springs about 14 years ago and our website has gone through several redesigns and does real well for us during the hiking season in the desert."

The CVB site still has some growing to do. Namely, an mobile app, which Thibault will come soon.

"It would be better to have it as an app so it would not need Wi-Fi to operate," he said. "Upgrades are in process for the current web version and we hope soon to have an app version. Most likely in 2017."