Joshua tree National Park

Over the Christmas break, I got to visit Joshua tree National Park with my family. Joshua tree is a very unique and picturesque desert landscape situated midway between the Mojave and Colorado deserts. I found the desert landscape to be very peaceful and relaxing. Joshua tree is a photographer's paradise, beautiful compositions abound everywhere in the park. Picturesque Joshua trees and rocky outcrops are everywhere offering you infinite opportunities for composition. I find the typical vista points in the park (Arch road, Heart rock, Skull rock etc.) very crowded and prefer to visit the more offbeat locations.

I was unsure about winter weather in the National park. The day we arrived at the park it was pouring down. The forecast was for a couple of days of intermittent rain, however I was surprised at the intensity of this rain given the desert landscape. Mud and water were rushing down everywhere, the sides of the road and in some cases across the road. I arrived at the park apprehensive that this trip was going to be a wash (photography wise) due to the weather. Just when I was ready to pack up my gear and head back, the skies partly cleared and I was treated to a beautiful sunset at the edge of the weather. The beautiful colors and the storm clouds sure made for some unique pictures.

My favorite entrance in the park is the west entrance. During the day the queues to get into the park are fairly long. Luckily if you are a photographer shooting sunrise or sunset you don't have to contend with the lines. The main road entering from the west entrance is called Park road and it pretty much gives you access to most of the important areas in the park. In my opinion, the view from the Park road drive is pretty much the best view of Joshua trees in the park. I typically pull out along Park road and shoot sunrise, sunset on either side of the road. Some people prefer the North entrance, but I found it a little too barren for my taste. I did all my sunset and sunrise shots around pullouts on Park road. Sunrise in winter was around 6.45am and sunset was around 4.45pm. The best colors were ~15 minutes before sunrise and sunset.

Sunrise was bitterly cold and the temperature dropped down to around 30F. After about 30-40 minutes of standing around in the dark, I could barely feel my face and my toes and fingers were killing me. I need to find some better gear to keep my fingers and toes warm when it gets this cold.

In the early morning you can see the snow covered San Jacinto mountains at the higher elevation points in the park. I also stopped at a couple of points along the Yucca trail road outside the park to shoot some compositions with the San Jacinto mountains in the background.

I wanted to shoot sunset from Keys view which gives you a panoramic view of the park, however for some reason keys view road was closed for sunset. Also I did not get a chance to shoot the Cholla Cactus Garden and will add it to my list for my next trip. If you are visiting with family there are many easy trails to take in all the beauty, the Barker dam trail and the Hidden valley nature trails are my favorites. I look forward to visiting the park during the spring bloom!