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Hiking Adventure in Joshua Tree National Park

3 nights
Moderate

Hike, explore and stargaze among the Southwest’s most iconic flora

What's Included?

Small Like-minded Groups

Solo-friendly by design, join our small n’ sociable groups of up to 10 like-minded, active and outdoorsy people
From

excluding flights
From

excluding flights

What's it like?

Learn about the unique ecosystem of the California Desert in the Joshua Tree National Park as you hike through it's iconic rugged rock formations, stark desert landscapes and signature twisted trees.

Spend hours marvelling at the clear desert night sky - an oasis for stargazing.

Take in the highlights including spectaular views from the summit of Mount Ryan, and the eight-mile Boy Scout Trail into the boulderstrewn Wonderland of Rocks.

Key Information

Day 1

Head to Joshua National Park

Hiking

1-2 hours · 2-3km

Your adventure begins in Los Angeles, where you'll meet your guide and fellow travelers. After a quick greeting, you'll load up and head out for a 2-3 hour drive to Joshua Tree National Park. There is time for a short walk to re-energise, before heading to your campsite to get set up. Tonight, you'll enjoy a camp cooked dinner and your first opportunity to see the legendary night skies.

Day 2

Ryan Mountain and the Lost Horse Mine

Hiking

4-5 hours · 12km · 500m up

After a delicious breakfast cooked over the fire, you'll head out on a morning hike to the summit of Ryan Mountain (5457m). The hike is short, but steep, and affords beautiful views around the park. From the summit you are rewarded with impressive panoramic views: the perfect spot to get top-down view of the heart of the park. After a hearty lunch back down from the mountain, a gentle hike through wild flowers takes you to Lost Horse Mine: one of the best-preserved mines under National Park protection. Tonight, relax under another stunning night sky while enjoying a mouthwatering group meal.

Day 3

Hit the Boy Scout Trail

Hiking

6-8 hours · 20-25km

A big hike awaits today! Leaving right from camp, you'll head out on the extraordinary Boy Scout Tree Trail: a showcase of the world’s best redwood scenery. The trail feels wonderfully remote and is one of the most pristine old-growth trails in existence. Depending on trail conditions and what you're up for, you may hike all the way out to Willow Hole or explore the Wonderland of Rocks. Along the way, as you hike along the remote trails, take in views of the otherworldly trees, blooming wildflower, and bizarre rock formations. A full day on the trail behind you, you'll enjoy one final group dinner and your last chance to stargaze before tomorrow's departure.

Day 4

Time to head home

After one last campfire breakfast feast, you'll pack up and say farewell to the desert. You'll have time for a few final photos and one last walk before heading back to Los Angeles.

The Area

map

Logistics

Starts

Los Angeles International Airport

12pm on Day 1

Ends

Los Angeles International Airport

14:00 on Day 4

Transfers

Your host will meet you at LAX Airport at 12pm on Day 1 so please ensure your flight arrives in advance of this. The drive to the park takes around 2.5 hours.

At the end of your trip, your host will drop you back at LAX at around 14:00 for your onwards travel home. We recommend booking any flight departing 16:00 onwards.

Travel options

There are direct flights to Los Angeles International Airport from major cities in the US and Europe.

Day 1

Campsite · Twin tent

Breakfast

Lunch

Dinner

Day 2 – Day 3

Campsite · Twin tent

Breakfast

Lunch

Dinner

Day 4

Departure day

Breakfast

Lunch

Dinner

What is the food like?

Breakfasts and dinners will be prepared at camp by your expert guides. Breakfasts may include foods such as oatmeal, eggs, toast, pancakes, and bacon. Dinners are hearty and include a rice or grain, fresh vegetables, and a protein. Lunches will be sandwiches prepared each day with trail snacks such as nuts, bars, and fruit. Vegetarian, vegan, and gluten free options are available but must be requested when booking.

What is the accommodation like?

Campsites

You will sleep in twin-share tents.

Upgrades

For solo travellers looking for their own space, an optional private tent can be requested. See Optional Extras for prices. Please request at the time of booking (this is subject to availability).

This trip is brand new

We’re still waiting to collect any reviews from other travellers on this trip. However, all our hosts go through an extensive vetting process to ensure that your adventure is awesome.

Enjoy 12.5% Off Outdoor Gear

In need of a few more items? All bookings receive a 12.5% discount to use at Cotswold Outdoor, Snow + Rock and Runner's Need.

What's included?

  • All your camping equipment including tent, sleeping mat and cooking items.

What's available to hire?

  • Sleeping bag (see optional extras for prices)

What do I need to bring?

Bags

  • Daypack (20-45 litres)
  • Duffel bag (max 1 per guest)

Clothing

  • Hiking boots with sturdy soles
  • Light wool hiking socks, multiple pairs
  • Athletic shirts for hiking (synthetic and moisture wicking)
  • Long sleeve sun protection shirt (synthetic and moisture wicking)
  • Hiking pants or shorts
  • Long pant base layer for sleeping at night
  • Long top base layer for sleeping at night
  • Insulating layers for cool evenings (fleece jacket or vest, down jacket)
  • Hat
  • Casual clothes for camp
  • Camp shoes such as sandals or crocs

Sleeping

  • Sleeping bag (rated 40 degrees or lower). Also available to hire.
  • Cotton or silk sleeping bag liner (optional)

Other

  • Water bottles or Camelbak, 3L total minimum capacity
  • Headlamp
  • Small towel or facecloth
  • Toiletries and personal first aid
  • Sunscreen and insect repellant
  • Sunglasses
  • Personal mess kit (bowl, plate, mug, utensil/s)
  • Trekking Poles (Optional)
  • Camera
  • Book
  • Ear plugs
*Requests for optional extras can be made after booking on your “My Bookings” page

Sleeping Bag Hire

Payable Before Departure

Sleeping Bag Hire

Per Person

We partner with the World Land Trust to ensure this trip achieves Net-Zero emissions. We also support their Buy an Acre programme, helping local communities to buy and protect natural habitats in perpetuity.

What's the number?
It works out on average at 72kg of CO2 emissions per person, including all local transport, accommodation, food, activities, guides, staff and office operations.

The only thing it doesn’t include right now is flights and travel to the destination. We do make an overall estimate across all our customers separately, but as we don’t book flights, have customers from all corners of the world, and no way of reliably knowing their travel plans, we simply can’t include an individual number in the figure on display here. We’ve got a goal to fix that, so that when you book, there is a way to measure and mitigate the carbon emitted by your flight too.

But what does the number mean?
Yep, hard to picture eh? To give you an idea:

  • Driving 1000miles/1609km would be approx. 281kg of CO2 in an average car (or 140.5kg per person if there was 2 of you in it).
  • A return economy class flight London - New York would be approx. 1,619kg (1.66 tonnes) per person.
  • 10 trees in a temperate forest are estimated to remove approx. 250kg of CO2 from the air in a period of 5-10 years.

What are we doing about it?
Our trips are relatively low-carbon by design, and we're working with all our hosts to develop long term carbon reduction plans. We partner with the World Land Trust to ensure this trip achieves Net-Zero emissions. We also support their Buy an Acre programme, helping local communities to buy and protect natural habitats in perpetuity, ensuring the protection of the reserve and its wildlife.

Want to know more?
Amazingly, no international travel company has ever publicly published their carbon measurements before, as far as we know. We believe that must change, quickly. So we’re openly sharing the method we used in the hope that other companies will be able to more easily follow suit and build on what we've done so far. You'll find it all here.

Tips are not included in the trip cost. The amount to tip is entirely at your discretion but there is an expectation to tip in the USA; your guides will rely on tips for a considerable portion of their income.

We suggest to budget for 10%-20% of the trip cost as a guideline.

Of course, you are free to tip more or less, and the amount should be reflective of your perception of service and quality - a tip is not compulsory and should only be given when you receive excellent service.

Water will be bulk purchased in advance by the guides and stored in the van at camp. Refills are available but guests should bring their own bottles for storage (bottles should total at least 3L capacity per person).

Additional bags can be stored in the van, but must be limited to one duffel per person.

Sure can! Over 70% of our travellers travel solo, it’s a great way to meet like-minded people.

Our team of Adventure Hunters co-create exclusive adventures which are run by highly vetted, specialist hosts. The trip is run by our trusted host partner in the destination. We only work with independent, local, in-destination experts who know the very best places to explore and how to stay safe. Read more information about the local teams we partner with. You’ll be introduced to the host straight after making a booking via the Much Better Adventures platform.

Much Better Adventures refer to the UK Government’s official travel advice when designing trips and monitoring trip operations. We recommend that all customers are familiar with the practical information provided on the Government’s FCDO website, where current travel advice can be found by searching for the applicable destination(s).

For customers joining this trip from other international destinations – please also read the official travel advice applicable to your country of residence/origin, as this may differ.

Our recommended travel insurance provider is Campbell Irvine.

Travel insurance is compulsory for all of our adventures and you are required to provide your policy information before departing.

Your insurance should include adequate protection for overseas medical treatment, evacuation/repatriation, your baggage and equipment and the specific activities involved on your adventure. We also strongly recommend it includes cancellation and curtailment insurance, should you be unable to join your trip for specific reasons such as illness.

We fully endorse Campbell Irvine as their insurance offers all of the above, so get in touch with them or call on 020 7938 1734 to get your insurance sorted. We suggest that you book travel insurance as soon as you book your adventure, just to cover you for any last-minute life changes. We know you’re an active lot and injuries do happen!

We recommend checking out the country-specific information and also talking to a travel nurse.

We automatically convert prices from the local currency that a host receives to your chosen currency. We update our exchange rates on a daily basis so this does mean that prices displayed on the site are subject to currency fluctuations, which is why you may see them change over time.

If you wish to change the currency you pay in, head to the bottom of the page.

All of our group adventures are specially designed for adults to enjoy (18+) as we want these adventures to bring together outdoorsy people who are truly like-minded. Children can be accommodated on some private departures.

You're always in good company on one of our adventures.

Our trips are typically made up of a mixture of solo travellers and small groups of 2 or 3 friends, with most in their 30s-50s.

Our sociable adventures are solo-friendly by design and naturally attract outdoorsy people with a shared mindset; a love for adventure, a desire to push themselves and meet awesome, like-minded people along the way.

It’s this camaraderie that has so often turned a great adventure into a life-changing one.

Don't just take our word for it:

  • 95% of people rate the group dynamics on our trips 5/5
  • 90% of people recommend joining a trip to make new friends
  • 75% of people have met people on our trips that they would now consider friends

See here for more info about the Much Better Adventures tribe.

Interested in a more exclusive experience? Opt for a 'Private Group' through the dates and prices tab to book this adventure for just you and your chosen companions.

We've got your back

Guaranteed to run

All our trips are now guaranteed to run. Once you’ve booked your spot you can immediately make your travel arrangements, no uncertainty, no hanging about (excludes 'request to book' departures). Full details

Flexible payments

Secure your spot with the minimum deposit and pay off the remaining balance in as many instalments as you like, with no interest or fees. Full details

Happiness Guarantee

We’re so confident you’ll have an amazing time we’ll put our money on it. Full details

Full financial protection

To give you complete peace of mind we’re backed by ABTOT, ABTA and ATOL memberships. Full details

Tried & Trusted

We’re rated ‘Excellent’ on Trustpilot with over 1000 verified trip reviews averaging 4.8/5.

Connect before you go

You'll be invited to join a WhatsApp group to get to know each other before your big adventure together. Full details

DEPARTURE DATES

Contact support

Go private and split the bill with ease.

Forget complex logistics, we've taken care of all the details to ensure a hassle-free get together. All of the adventure, none of the faff.

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