An easy access stop
Paved, level walkways lead to the buildings, and the parking lot has two accessible spaces. Outside, a small courtyard and picnic tables make it a handy place to pause on a long drive.
Overview
About Cottonwood Visitor Center
Why stop
- Pick up maps and passes, refill water, and get route advice from a ranger.
- Geology and history panels, a tortoise model, and a dated passport stamp add interest.
Map
Where it is
Loading the Joshua Tree map
Full mapPlan your stop
Before you go
An easy access stop
5 active Joshua Tree alerts
- ClosureOasis of Mara Trail closed past the OasisThe Oasis of Mara Trail is closed past the Oasis due to a heavy flooding event; do not continue beyond the Oasis. Check current park conditions before visiting.Official details
- ClosureSR 62 and US 95 closed by floodingFlooding has closed portions of SR 62 and US 95; avoid the closed segments.Official details
The highest, rockiest slopes around here are a summer buffet for grizzly bears.
Joshua Tree Tour Guide
Your drive to Cottonwood Visitor Center, narrated.
Parkwolf is a GPS audio tour guide for Joshua Tree National Park. As you drive, it chimes in with what’s ahead: hidden gems, upcoming stops, history, geology, and wildlife, right through your car’s speakers.
See the Joshua Tree audio tourRecorded for this place
Cottonwood Visitor Center: Water, Maps and a View0:00 / 0:31
“Cottonwood Visitor Center is coming up, a useful south-side stop for drinking water, a map and ranger advice. There's a book-and-gift shop and picnic tables, but bring your own lunch; this isn't a meal stop.”
Plays as you drive up to Cottonwood Visitor Center in the Parkwolf Joshua Tree Tour Guide.
More stories near here in the app
- Cottonwood Picnic Area and Campground
- The Milky Way's Dark Lane
- Cottonwood Spring for a Short Oasis Stop
- Built to Grip the Cliffs
- 89 audio storiesacross Joshua Tree’s roads, triggered by GPS as you drive
- Wildlife heatmapsfor Bighorn Sheep, Golden Eagle, Desert Tortoise, and 13 more
- Works offlinemaps, 60 trails, 64 places, and audio download before you lose signal
- CarPlay readysimple controls built for the drive
“Fantastic app with many points of information… It’s great to just turn on while you’re driving and it gives you an audio tour of the national Park. We love it!!!!”
Guide
More about Cottonwood Visitor Center
Get oriented on the south sideCottonwood Visitor Center is a staffed information stop on Pinto Basin Road near Joshua Tree’s…
Cottonwood Visitor Center is a staffed information stop on Pinto Basin Road near Joshua Tree’s south entrance. Pick up a map or entrance pass, refill drinking water, and ask a ranger about routes or hikes; it works as a first or last stop on a south-side visit. From I-10, take exit 168 for Cottonwood Springs Road, enter at the South Entrance, and continue about six miles. The center is on your right. There’s a book-and-gift shop and picnic tables, but this isn’t a meal stop.
Inside the centerThe one-story building has interpretive panels on geology, history, and geography, plus a…
The one-story building has interpretive panels on geology, history, and geography, plus a life-size desert tortoise model. The shop carries books and gifts. If you collect park passport stamps, look for the dated Cottonwood stamp and picture stamps of a Joshua tree and a desert palm.
Between two desertsCottonwood sits on a high desert plateau where the Mojave and Colorado deserts meet, with Eagle…
Cottonwood sits on a high desert plateau where the Mojave and Colorado deserts meet, with Eagle Mountain rising to the northeast. An east-facing window looks toward Eagle Mountain, Mastodon Peak, and the surrounding desert. Spring can bring yellow prince’s-plume flowers; after rain, ocotillo may grow fresh leaves and red blooms.
Wildlife
Wildlife in Joshua Tree
129 sightingsBighorn SheepMost seen around 6 PMSighting map
15 sightingsGolden EagleMost seen around 10 AMSighting map
413 sightingsDesert TortoiseMost seen around 8 AMSighting map
275 sightingsCoyoteMost seen around 6 AMSighting map
47 sightingsBobcatMost seen around 6 PMSighting map
32 sightingsMule DeerMost seen around 6 AMSighting mapSighting maps show where each species has been reported across Joshua Tree. Wildlife moves, so no sighting is guaranteed.
