Lost Palms Oasis - Joshua Tree: National Park: Joshua Tree ❤️❤️❤️❤️

12/10/2020: This is a great desert hike. We got a little up and down, but it was moderately easy. We saw what we thought was a Kit Fox (but now I think it was just a regular desert fox – still pretty cool), Gambel's Quail, and a lot of beautiful and divergent desert scenery. Go early and be the first ones on the trail. It’s worth it. If you like desert hiking, do this hike.

• 7.2 Miles roundtrip – Family Friendly. For older children. 5-year old grandson? No – distance
• Moderate. Note: The National Park Service says that this is a challenging trail. In terms of hiking, it is long and flat. We considered it to be pretty easy. However, per the NPS site, “The following trails should not be attempted during the summer or whenever it is hot out, because they are extremely dangerous due to sun exposure, temperatures, and dehydration risks. Every year visitors have to be rescued and sometimes perish on these hikes.”
• Elevation range: 2982' to 3460' gross: +1142'
• Traffic: Moderate to Heavy
• Getting There: No issues
• Trail Obstacles: Steep spots going down into the Oasis. You go down 400 ft. in 0.9 miles (and then you climb it back up)
• Fees: Yes – National Park Fees
• Trailhead Coordinates: 33.736944, -115.810750
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• Management: National Park Service - Joshua Tree
• Alltrails Info

Marg’s Notes: To Joshua Tree. Got up early again and headed to Joshua Tree to hike the Lost Palms Oasis Trail. Hit the trail at 8:00. Not too cold in the a.m. A really nice trail. Some changes in ecosystems as we went along. At the beginning we saw some cute foxes! At one point we went off trail to look over a hill. Beautiful! It was 4 miles into the oasis! At the end of the trail, we had to scramble down rocks to get to the oasis. (The sign said not to!) Had a snack and headed out. Ran into some (~8) people on the way out. Going in we saw no one! Campground all closed there! Great last hike! Back to hotel to get ready to leave. Pack.

Lasagna.