5 stars Upon…read moreentering the visitor's center, I was greeted by a little museum that NPS is so well-known for. It details the rock formations and the wildlife that can be expected while hiking. Within the visitor's center is a gift shop with gorgeous Joshua Tree Nat'l Park-inspired clothing and products. I recommend purchasing merch here since a portion of proceeds go back to the parks. The souvenirs are also much more affordable than privately-owned gift shops nearby. I bought a pin ($7) and a Travel Stamp sticker ($3.99). The office staff are also very knowledgeable about the area. The young man I spoke to highlighted the areas I asked about - see photo for highlighted map. I wanted short 1-mile hikes along with Heart Rock & Arch Rock. 5/5 stars for service! The restrooms inside are clean and there are also portapotties in the parking lot with outdoor sinks available. Their parking lot is small, but there's plenty of street parking. The entrance to the national park is really close by as well.

One of four visitor centers for Joshua Tree National Park, each having a slightly different name,…read morethis location is in downtown Joshua Tree, surrounded by other city buildings. It is the one fronting the West entrance to the Park, which is the more popular of the two. It is located before having to pay the park entrance fee. It was manned by two friendly, quite busy volunteer rangers, answering any questions about your visit. We didn't have time to visit the park itself, so took the opportunity to learn a bit more about the park from displays and presentations. As I learned, it is crowded inside (shoulder to shoulder). There is a dedicated parking lot, along with street parking, and a small gift shop. My wife's mom ended up buying a tote bag (or two) to take back home. We didn't get to go inside the park this time, but was able to see plenty of Joshua trees real close, which are only endemic to this area.

As California's largest State Park, Anza-Borrego is another spot everyone should have on their…read morebucket list. They have some great trails, camping, star gazing, and a bunch of giant statues that are fun to check out. The visitor's center was fun with a friendly staff. Don't forget to ask about the Junior Ranger Program. We saw two coyotes outside the visitor's center. We did the Palm Canyon Trail. It was an easy and short trail that was perfect for kids. We walked past 4-5 bighorn sheep. That was very cool. Keep in mind there are certain areas that can only be reached if your vehicle has AWD. The town of Borrego Springs is nice with a couple restaurants, shops, and places to stay. Looking back, it would have been nice to spend the night to stargaze. Don't forget to hiking smart: sun protection and plenty of water. Stay on the trials. Leave no trace. And have fun.

Yes! This is the second time I have visited the Visitor Center and hiked the Palm Canyon trail from…read morethe parking lot. Didn't see bighorns this time but last April they rams were out showing their prowess while the females and young-in's watched from the surrounding cliffs. Action was around #10 marker. Enjoy!

Low quality place with just a bunch of flyers and brochures. Nothing interesting going on here and…read morewhen they do have events they are lame and in bad locations that cause a lot of traffic.

Located next to the Lululemon store, I stopped in because I wanted to find out where the best…read morehiking trials were located. The visitors center has been located here for 3 years and is quite large. The center also has a shop which sells tee shirts, cups, hats and other souvenirs. The young gal behind the counter was really helpful supplying maps of hiking and biking trails. She also gave me detailed descriptions of the trails that were open until the end of December and trails that would close due to the conservation of the big horn sheep. If you're visiting Palm Desert for the first time or a regular visitor like myself - I would definitely visit the Palm Desert Visitors Info Center.

The store is very nice and well decorated. The staff are very friendly and welcoming. They have so…read moremany cute home decors and souvenirs. Make sure to stop by on your way to Joshua Tree

This Center is full of souvenirs. You can find toys, clothing and books about Joshua Tree. The…read morestaff is so friendly. We worked on our Junior Ranger book and at the end completion 9 of us were sworn in to Junior Rangers. It was a beautiful memory we will cherish. They provided us all a badge and they have stamps with todays date to stamp our Badge. They have a little mini museum that we all went through and got to learn a lot from. This is a great center not to busy.

29 Palms,located in Southern California's inland desert area,is a terrific community for a great…read moreexperience for families,singles,teens and senior citizens! A great adventure awaits you as you travel down long peaceful expanses of desert roadway surrounded by scenic mountains,ghost towns,historic sites and wild life! We started our adventure at Joshua Tree National Park drove to 29 Palms to see all the sites there including the city's collection of wall murals on many of the towns buildings! We then headed north to the town of Amboy and Roys Motel and Cafe and beyond to Afton Canyon. There are trails and slot canyons to hike,places to camp,sand dunes to climb,a crater to see,old mining areas to check out and places just to stop and breathe in clean desert air! 29 Palms is proudly home to the largest US Marine base and also features many stores,shops,restaurants and areas to explore! . . . . . #visit29palms #ilove29palms #usmc #murals #wallmurals #29palms #29palmscalifornia #mojavetrailsnationalmonument #trails #camping #californiadeserts #amboy #roysmotelandcafe #route66 #aftoncanyon #visitamboy #visit29palms #shop29palms #cadizdunes #sanddunes #29palms #29palmsmurals #getyourkicksonroute66 #nationaltrailshighway #marinecorp #joshuatreenationalpark #joshuatree #marinecorp #29palmscalifornia #waynesalvatti #seetheusa #marinehaircut #photografxworldwide ##goseejoshuatree

We visited a number of visitor centers - natl. park, city, chamber of commerce etc. in the area…read morewithin a couple of days; this one was the nicest. It's a clean, attractively landscaped building with a lovely mural and a free WIFI spot on the outside. There was a good selection of relevant materials, a charming local art display, and a friendly and informative staff member. We bought metal water bottles (good price for them, btw) and had them filled with chilled water from their refrigerator. How nice is that? :)

I decided to drive out to this visitor center and find out about campgrounds in the area. They are…read moreonly open a few days of the week. The center has spacious parking and the ADA spot is close to the entrance. The bathroom was just outside the main doors and very clean. Upon entering the center, there are free map and brochure displays. There are also some display areas for educating visitors on the different types of wildlife in the area and how to identify their footprints. The staff was friendly, knowelegable and helped me in my camping decision-making. I bought a sticker for my car and exited the building. I would say this is a very nice, friendly environment and I feel like I know more now about the area. I would definitely recommend visitors in the area to stop by.

CA 01-2024 Santa Rosa and San Jacinto Mountains Visitors Center in Palm Springs California. This is…read morea National Monument Park with many hiking trails. There are many of those Rams here but we didn't have time to hike. I wish we had more time. You really need to visit out here with no time constraints. Places are too far a part and need time to enjoy. I'm only able to hit and miss and not thoroughly enjoy the way it needs to be done!!! I highly recommend you enjoy this Free park if given the opportunity.

It's definitely a must do hike when you're visiting Anza borrego, Borrego springs or even Julian. I…read morewent here early May so it was extremely hot, even though I reached the trailhead around 9am. The drive to the parking lot was a little weird because after you get off the freeway, there is a dirt road for about 1.5-2 miles on which there were a lot of signs that said "no vehicles allowed" and "foot traffic only" so I wasn't sure if I should be driving. Once k got there, there were other cars parked too so my assumption is that those signs are applicable only during some seasons. The parking lot looks flat but you can see to trail once you start walking towards the canyon. The hike was really nice, it was definitely more of a walk rather than any uphills. It can get pretty hot so starting early in the summer can be advantageous.

We decided to visit the Slot Canyon during our Borrego Spring trip. Although it doesn't compare to…read morethe slot canyon views in Arizona or Utah, it was picturesque. The slots were fairly easy to navigate except for a few areas where you had to climb down or squeeze through narrow openings. You can also take the trail above the canyon which gives you panoramic views of the desert. There are 2 bathrooms but no sinks in the parking lot. Most cars can get to the parking lot but it's quite dusty. Come prepared with some water, snack, sunscreen, hats, and sunglasses. It's $10 per day to visit the park. It's an honor system where you fill out the form, drop off the cash in box, and leave the parking pass on your dashboard. The one negative and reason for removing a star is the poor signage on the trail and how to get into the slots. When we went, there were only 2 other families but the signs were not clear which direction to go into the canyon or even back to the parking lot so we ended up taking a much longer and harder route than needed.

Great place to grab some souvenirs on your way to Joshua Tree. There's technically a closer welcome…read morecenter but this had a better selection of souvenirs. They also feature local artists. You can purchase your Joshua Tree passes here. Also good to know: clean bathrooms.

This is a great Welcome Center and the staff are more than willing to help out as needed. They have…read moreclean bathrooms, free coffee and tea as well as plenty of brochures and magazines. They have a gift shop of some items. This place is a must place to stop to get an idea of places to see.