49 Palms Oasis (Joshua Tree)

Trail: 49 Palms Oasis

Miles: 3.1

Type: Out and Back

My Time: 1.5 Hours

Elevation Gain/Loss: 636 ft.

Difficulty: Easy

Parking Permit: Yes (National Park Entry Fee or America the Beautiful Pass)

Location: Joshua Tree National Park

First of all…when at this oasis, you are atop a crack in the Earth’s crust. Geological faults crisscross the park area. When groundwater hits a fault plane, it rises to the surface and creates conditions for an oasis.

Which is pretty cool considering you are in the middle of the desert!

This trail is located inside of Joshua Tree National Park. But you will not enter one of the three main entrances, as this trail is located outside of Twentynine Palms between the Joshua Tree and Twentynine Palms entrances. So, if you want to do this hike make sure you plan to do it before or after you enter one of the main entrances. (Only go before if you already have your national park entry pass, don’t want you getting a ticket.)

I would not consider this hike very difficult…consider it a family friendly hike. We saw people of all ages and all experiences hiking this trail. We saw plenty of people not in hiking boots/shoes, but I would recommend them. Or at least trail running shoes. The trail is extremely easy to follow along, so you won’t have to worry about getting lost. I would recommend hiking poles for those with shorter legs and/or the elder hikers. Because the steps were fairly steep along the trail. An older lady was using them as she stepped down off the rocks on the trail, which was aiding her majorly.

The trail is a gradual incline up to about halfway to the oasis. From here you drop down almost the same elevation to get to the oasis. When you are approaching, you can see it from a short distance away. As you approach the oasis, you realize how cool it is to see all these palm trees in the middle of the desert, especially packed in one small section. If you look closely you can also see the small creek which keeps these trees alive. Make sure you don’t cross past the boundary signs they have in order to preserve this oasis. I did not count to see if there were 49 palms(haha), but there sure were a lot! If you’d like to hangout, there are some boulders you can sit on and enjoy the view.

As I mentioned, you will have to hike up to get out of the oasis and then back down to the trailhead. So consider this a double pyramid style hike. You get to hike up, down to oasis, then up and down to finish back where you parked. The reason I am telling you is so you don’t run out of water too soon. Luckily there is not a crazy amount of elevation gain, nor distance on this one. With this being said you don’t need to be overly worried, but should always error on the side of safety. If you choose to go out here in the summer, definitely make sure you bring plenty of sun protection, sunscreen and water! We were here for New Years. Even at this time of the year it still was warm enough for me to break a sweat.

If you’re planning a trip to Joshua Tree National Park in search of a shorter hike. Or if you are looking for something abnormal for the area, I would recommend looking this one up on AllTrails. As my first oasis, it was wonderful! Don’t forget to purchase your park entry pass or display your America the Beautiful pass.

As always pack it in and pack it out!

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