Camping in Joshua Tree

2 days Joshua Mountain, Joshua Tree National Park, California, USA Hidden Valley, Joshua Tree National Park, California, USA Friends Low March Adventure Backpacker Camping Desert Girls' Trip Hiking Roadtrip Sight-Seeing Spring Break Sustainable Weekend Getaway

Francesca Pezza

3 Followers

Posted on April 6, 2024

A quick weekend getaway at the beginning of spring break before driving down to San Diego!

Trip Recap

Day 1: Arrived at Joshua Tree National Park, scored last-minute campsite at Hidden Valley.
Day 2: Leaving Hidden Valley energized for LA after a morning hike and breakfast.

Highlights

One highlight was all of the cool people we met. Immediately when we arrived at the campsite, we were welcomed by all of our campsite-neighbors, which led to a giant game of "hacky-sack." We met Greg and Matt, who showed us the ropes and shared their Joshua Tree rock climbing stories. We met Seth from Colorado. We met 9-year-old Finn and his parents, who helped us start a fire and lent us news paper and s'mores ingredients when ours wasn't working. The man next to us blessed our ears with his beautiful guitar playing, while we sat and read books after a long day of exploring.
Another huge highlight was that there was no service. We turned our phones off and put them away, bringing only film and digital cameras with us. It was a refreshing disconnect from the hustle and bustle of college and the stress of society. Not to mention, we had a sky full of stars silhouetted by the beautiful, other-wordly giant rocks at night.

Day 1

We arrived at Joshua Tree National Park around 8am on Friday, March 22nd, after driving down from San Diego, in hopes of scoring a first-come-first-serve campsite. All of the campsites for that week had been booked months ahead, and this trip was a spontaneous idea my two friends and I had last-minute before parting ways for the rest of spring break. Luckily, we arrived just in time, where a group of people was on their way out of a campsite at Hidden Valley. We set up camp and began a day of adventure and exploration.

Hidden Valley Campground

Must Do

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Day 2

We woke up at our campsite in Hidden Valley, joyfully exhilarated from the day before. We made breakfast, did a morning hike, and were on our way out to our next stop, LA.

Hidden Valley Campground

Must Do

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Anything you would add or do differently?

One thing we would have done differently to avoid the anxiety of getting a campsite, was booking one around two months ahead of time. The trip was amazing nevertheless, but trips are always better when planned ahead.
The only other thing we would have done differently is stayed longer! :)

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