Journey into Joshua Tree On-Demand Audio Tour and Locals Guide
Description
Immerse yourself in the wonder of Joshua Tree National Park on this self-guided driving tour from Drives & Detours. Using our mobile app and GPS-triggered audio, you’ll cruise through surreal desert landscapes and discover iconic stops like Skull Rock, Hidden Valley, and the Cholla Cactus Garden—along with hidden gems you might otherwise miss. Start the tour from either the West or North park entrance and travel at your own pace. Whether you're snapping photos, hiking short trails, or just enjoying the views from your car, the tour offers a flexible, informative, and offline-friendly way to explore. You’ll also receive free access to our Local’s Guide, packed with handpicked recommendations for restaurants, art galleries, roadside attractions, and more in Joshua Tree, Yucca Valley, and Pioneertown—perfect for planning a full day or weekend in the area.
Tour Options
Itinerary
Quail Springs is a trailhead and picnic area. It's a great place to get out and walk around, explore some boulders, and take some pictures. An optional hike can take you to a nearby homestead site with rock carvings.
Boy Scout Trail provides hiking access to Indian Cove as well as Willow Hole, which is an oasis tucked into the Wonderland of Rocks area. The rock formations and unique landscape can make this a mesmerizing place to hike, especially at the right time of day.
The Hidden Valley Trail is a relatively easy one-mile loop that circles a secluded valley surrounded by towering rock formations. It’s a particularly scenic hike, especially given how short and level it is.
Take a short loop hike to a natural tank that was artificially fortified by ranchers in the early 1900’s to collect rain and runoff for livestock. On the way back, keep your eyes out for some petroglyphs and rock art.
Optional hike from the Barker Dam area to visit the Wall Street Mill, which processed ore that was extracted from nearby mines. Also along the way are the Wonderland Ranch homestead ruins.
Stop at this scenic overlook that provides a sweeping panorama of the Coachella Valley. On a clear day, you can see for miles, from the Salton Sea to the south, to Mount San Jacinto which towers above Palm Springs at an elevation of 10,830 feet.
Take a short hike (optional) to this old homestead site of a wealthy rancher turned mine operator.
Get out and explore a mini slot canyon tucked into the boulders!
Optional but challenging hike to the top of Ryan Mountain. Because of its central location within the park, the views from the top can be stunning.
Located right along the road, Skull Rock is a natural rock formation and popular photo spot.
Another optional loop hike that gets a little less traffic than some of the other sites in the park.
Relatively easy and popular hike that lets you visit 2 natural rock formations on one hike, Arch Rock and Heart Rock.
Get a taste of Joshua Tree's lower desert ecosystem, the Colorado Desert. You'll be surrounded by fuzzy-looking Teddy Bear Cholla, but you don't want to touch them!
Highlights
What's included
Traveller Ratings
Important Information
- Infants and small children can ride in a pram or stroller
- Service animals allowed
- Suitable for all physical fitness levels
- Works entirely offline once downloaded—no cell service required
- GPS-triggered audio plays automatically based on your location
- Start from either of the main park entrances (West or North)
- All suggested hikes are optional—tour takes ~3 hours without hiking
- Free Local’s Guide included with additional sights and activities nearby
- Flexible - Buy once, use any day/time—access never expires
- One purchase covers everyone in your vehicle
- Download the Drives & Detours app and tour before arriving in the park
- Bring a car charger or fully charged phone
Reviews(3)
It was a great tool and way to experience Joshua Tree National Park . Ensured we saw the entire park.
Glad you enjoyed the tour! Thanks for taking the time to leave a review.
Directions are not clear. It is very awkward to use. There must be better apps out there. I have designed software and this is not well designed.
Thanks for taking the time to leave a review. We'd love to know more about what you found unclear or awkward, or to understand if it was something particular to your device. Please shoot us a note at support@drivesanddetours.com.
Joshua Tree Park is like another planet - amazing scenery and not too crowded. Saw it 5 years ago and it was just about unchanged this time. The audio tour was a great way to learn more about the park on the road seeing it first hand. Stopped at the Park Visitor's Center to check in and pay the park fee - nice staff and lovely displays. Asked about the Trip Advisor tour and none of the staff knew anything or offered any advice about it. They suggested we download the Park's app and helped us do that, but it didn't prove to be useful. We took some time to get the Trip Advisor tour loaded and synced up with our car Blue tooth and after a few false starts getting familiar with the app, we got it working and followed along. Found the tour informative, but wished for more info and more specific sites to be included. Enjoyed the convenience of travelling at our own speed and being able to replay specific parts of the audio tour for details we missed the first time. Would certainly recommend this tour for anyone going to the park, whether they be first timers, or return visitors as I was. Wasn't able to take pictures while listening to the tour as I didn't want to risk losing the audio feed. My travel partner took lots of pix on her phone, though. Nice to have two phones to use.
Glad you guys enjoyed it and thank you for taking the time to leave a review! You are correct in that we are not affiliated with the park so we do recommend you familiarize yourself with the app beforehand. Safe travels!
