Joshua Tree National Park, CA
A half-mile paved loop beneath fan palms, with history on the signs.
Overview
Map & elevation
Plan your hike
The highest, rockiest slopes around here are a summer buffet for grizzly bears.
Joshua Tree Tour Guide
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
Oasis of Mara: Palms and a Serrano Story“Up ahead is the Oasis of Mara at park headquarters in Twentynine Palms. For an easy look at a fan-palm grove, the half-mile paved loop takes about fifteen to thirty minutes and is wheelchair accessible.”
Plays as you drive up to this trailhead in the Parkwolf Joshua Tree Tour Guide.
More stories near here in the app
“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
Oasis of Mara Trail is an easy 0.5-mile paved loop from Joshua Tree headquarters in Twentynine Palms. A short approach leads to the fan-palm oasis, then the trail circles it and returns. The grade is minimal, and the park lists the route as wheelchair accessible and stroller friendly. Give it about 15–30 minutes if you read the signs and pause for birds. Dogs are not allowed on park trails, including this paved route.
People of the Serrano community called this oasis Mara, a name associated with small springs and abundant grass. A Serrano oral tradition tells of 29 palms planted in the first year, then another whenever a boy was born. The spring rises along the Pinto Mountain Fault; its water once supported gardens of corn, beans, pumpkins and squash. Palms also supplied food and materials for clothing, cooking and homes.
Signs along the loop share Indigenous history and continuing connections to the place. Look among the palms and desert shrubs for cactus wrens, phainopeplas and Gambel’s quail; orioles and palm-boring beetles also use the grove. The headquarters grounds have benches, picnic tables and a shelter, with flush restrooms and drinking water with a bottle-filling station near the parking lot.
Wildlife
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.
Keep exploring
ModerateContact Mine Trail3.8 mi · 2.5 hr · 3.9 mi awayA quiet desert walk ends among century-old mine workings.
ChallengingFortynine Palms Oasis Trail3 mi · 2.5 hr · 4.3 mi awayA desert ridge hike ending at a hidden fan palm oasis.
ModerateCorral Wall Loop Trail0.9 mi · 36 min · 6.6 mi awayA short, unmarked rock loop for hikers comfortable scrambling.
EasyPine City Trail4 mi · 2.5 hr · 7.6 mi awayA desert walk to pinyons tucked among granite boulders.
EasyDesert Queen Mine Trail1.5 mi · 1.3 hr · 7.6 mi awayOld mine gear rewards a short desert walk; stay outside the gates.
ChallengingEagle Cliff Mine Trail3.5 mi · 3 hr · 7.6 mi awayA hidden cabin in boulders, reached by a faint desert route
EasyIndian Cove Nature Trail0.6 mi · 36 min · 7.9 mi awayA gentle loop for desert plants, granite, and spring wildflowers.
EasyLucky Boy Vista Trail2.5 mi · 1.5 hr · 8.1 mi awayAn easy desert walk to mine remains and a wide valley overlook.
Sight · 0.1 mi awayOasis of MaraA palm grove with a surprisingly deep Serrano story.
Visitor center · 1.2 mi awayJoshua Tree National Park Visitor CenterA focused cultural introduction before the desert roads.
Sight · 3.4 mi awaySky’s the Limit Observatory and Nature CenterWalk a Solar System model scaled for human steps.
Entrance station · 3.6 mi awayNorth Entrance StationA quick north-side stop to sort your park pass.
Sight · 4.2 mi awayFortynine Palms OasisA shaded palm grove at the end of a desert ridge hike.
Sight · 4.3 mi awayContact MineOld mine gear at the end of a quieter four-mile desert hike.
Ranger station · 6.8 mi awayIndian Cove Ranger StationA useful water and information stop for Indian Cove.
Picnic area · 7.2 mi awayRattlesnake Picnic AreaA quiet lunch stop beneath Indian Cove’s boulder walls.Parkwolf’s Joshua Tree ranking
The audio tour guide for the drive, plus offline maps, trails, and wildlife heatmaps for when the signal drops.
