Parking
Use the Cottonwood Spring parking area at the road end, about 1 mile southeast of the Cottonwood Visitor Center. The road dead-ends at the trailhead.
Overview
About Cottonwood Spring Nature Trail
Why go
- A shady palm oasis, a cultural site, and good birding in a very short walk.
Heads up
- Most of the palm grove is off-limits to protect its habitat and water source.
Map & elevation
The route
Loading the Joshua Tree map
Full mapElevation2,991–3,007 ft
Plan your hike
Before you go
Parking
Safety
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 Spring Nature Trail, 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 trailhead
Cottonwood Spring for a Short Oasis Stop0:00 / 0:32
“You're coming up on Cottonwood Spring, an oasis of fan palms and native cottonwoods a short walk from the parking lot. Allow ten to twenty minutes for the easy path, staying outside the protected grove.”
Plays as you drive up to this trailhead 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 Visitor Center: Water, Maps and a View
- The Tortoise Underground
- 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!!!!”
Trail guide
Hiking Cottonwood Spring Nature Trail
A tiny walk to a rare oasisCottonwood Spring Nature Trail is an easy 0.
Cottonwood Spring Nature Trail is an easy 0.2-mile out-and-back from the parking area to a spring-fed palm oasis in the Colorado Desert. The one-way stroll is about 0.1 mile; give it 10–20 minutes to look around. It’s a worthwhile stop if you want palms, a little shade and a piece of park history without committing to a longer hike.
Down to the palmsThe path drops from the paved parking area onto hard-packed dirt and sand.
The path drops from the paved parking area onto hard-packed dirt and sand. You can see Cottonwood Spring from the lot, but the walk brings you closer to the fan palms and cottonwood trees, with a bedrock mortar just past the oasis. Much of the grove is closed to visitors so its fragile habitat and wildlife access to water are protected. Stay on the established path and respect the boundary. On summer days, the park recommends starting short walks before 9 a.m.
A water stop with a long memoryEarthquake activity created this spring.
Earthquake activity created this spring. Cahuilla people used it for centuries; bedrock mortars and clay ollas remain in the area. The spring later supplied water for miners and teamsters coming up from Mecca. A gold claim from 1875 already mentioned the cottonwood trees, and the remains of an arrastra and two later gold mills are nearby. Leave every cultural object where it is.
Watch for birds, then pick your distanceThis is one of the park’s better birding spots, and bighorn sheep often come up the wash to…
This is one of the park’s better birding spots, and bighorn sheep often come up the wash to drink in the early hours. The three-mile Mastodon Peak hike and 7.5-mile Lost Palms Oasis hike also start at this parking area; their extra distance isn’t part of this short walk. Pets aren’t allowed on park trails. Service animals are allowed under the park’s leash rules.
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.
