San Diego Itinerary ~ Plus a Day Trip to Joshua Tree National Park

Sat – Flight leaves OHare at 10:40 am

         Arrives in San Diego at 5:37 pm

Airport to Sunset Cliffs Natural Park 

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If close encounters with seals appeal to you, you have to check out La Jolla Cove in California. Technically you will be seeing hundreds of seals and sea lions if you decide to stop by. They visit the shore in droves and you can get as close as you dare,

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Have you ever wanted to visit an oasis in the desert? Joshua Tree National Park has several. One of the easiest to get to is at Cottonwood Spring, located near the southeastern entrance to the park. The trail is one mile east of the Cottonwood Spring Visitor Center.

This was our seventh and final hike of the day and the first hike to offer us shade from the relentless sun.

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This post is going to be short and sweet, just like the Cholla Cactus Garden Loop. The Cholla Cactus Garden Loop is a very easy, flat .25 mile loop located in the Colorado Desert of Joshua Tree National Park. It is almost in the center of the park, about a 10 minute drive from the Arch Rock Nature Trail.

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Arch Rock Nature Trail is an easy .5 mile loop located in the White Tank Campground of Joshua Tree National Park. I thought it had some of the most unique rock formations in the park.

This was one of my favorite formations. It looked like a two-headed turtle with a heart carved on its shell.

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Skull Rock Nature Trail in Joshua Tree National Park is a 1.7 mile loop which contains one of the popular rock formations named Skull Rock. The beginning of the trail is located across from Jumbo Rocks Campground and is rated as an easy trail.

This formation marks the beginning of the trail and is easy to identify from the road.

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While visiting Joshua Tree National Park if you’d like to see part of the San Andreas Fault, simply drive up to Keys View and have a look around. Keys View is a 20 minute drive up the Little San Bernardino Mountains. You will be at an altitude of 5,185 feet and have an amazing view of the Coachella Valley,

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Cap Rock Trail in Joshua Tree National Park is a very easy .4 mile loop. It is a well maintained, mostly flat, trail that meanders past rock formations as well as groves of Joshua Trees.

There are not as many rock formations on this trail as there are on the Hidden Valley Picnic Area Trail.

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We woke up bright and early to drive from San Diego to Joshua Tree National Park (about a 2 1/2 hour drive). We stopped for breakfast at a popular diner, the C & S Coffee Shop, in Yucca Valley, about 15 minutes outside of the park.

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Joshua Tree National Park is simply amazing. It is one of the most unusual places we have ever visited. It has been speculated that Dr. Seuss’ Truffula Trees were based on the Joshua Tree. It is known for a fact that Dr. Seuss did visit Joshua Tree National Park before his first drawing of a Truffula Tree appeared. 

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