3 Best Sights in Joshua Tree National Park, California

Many areas that fall under the auspices of the National Park Service are on what was Native American land and encompass spots of sacred, archaeological, historical, and cultural importance to indigenous tribes. This beautiful new 4,100-square-foot visitor center—which opened in 2022 in Freedom Plaza right in downtown Twentynine Palms—is indicative of a commitment by the park service in recent years to tell this side of park history. Displays and programs focus on the Maara’yam (Serrano), Nüwüwü (Chemehuevi), Kawiya (Cahuilla), and Aha Macave (Mojave) peoples whose traditional homelands or use areas fall within today's park borders.

The four original cultures who lived, farmed, worshipped, or hunted in this region have descendants in 15 modern-day bands, tribes, and nations, which worked in partnership with the park service, City of Twentynine Palms, Joshua Tree National Park Association, and Bureau of Land Management to create the permanent exhibition. The center also has an information desk, a bookstore, a gift shop, and restrooms with flush toilets.

This 150-acre 1910 ranch, which once belonged to William and Frances Keys and is now on the National Historic Register, illustrates one of the area's most successful attempts at homesteading. The couple raised five children under extreme desert conditions. Most of the original buildings, including the house, school, store, and workshop, have been restored to the way they were when William died in 1969. It's only open via ranger-guided, 90-minute, half-mile walking tours offered from October to May. Reservations are required.

At 5,185 feet, this point affords a sweeping view of the Coachella Valley, the San Andreas Fault, the peak of 11,500-foot Mt. San Gorgonio, the shimmering surface of the Salton Sea, and—on a very clear day—Signal Mountain in Mexico. Sunrise and sunset are magical times to head to the wheelchair-accessible crest lookout as the light throws rocks and trees into high relief before bathing the hills in fiery shades of red, orange, and gold.