The park regularly hosts summer concerts. Bands play everything from jazz to classic rock--and…read moreadmission is always free, family-friendly, and laid-back. Bring blankets, chairs, and coolers: leave alcohol and pets at home. I love watchinhg the little kids showing off their dance moves right in front of the stage. Yucca Valley partners with nonprofit orgs like Reach Out Morongo Basin to address homelessness--this includes food distribution and outreach initiatives. Additionally, church groups, athletic teams, and local artists reach out and share their skills on a regular basis. Unlike other parks in this town there are rooms where events, meetings, and shows can be held. Community Resource events using Park Center spaces often offer services such as mobile legal aid, defense programs, and low cost pet vaccination. Not too long ago my daughter got a chance to hold a number of unique animals. I different time the labrary held a reading challenge and I won a brand new tablet. Park offers major events like Grubstake Days, job fairs, Memorial Day observances, and cultural festivals. Perhaps one of the biggest events is the 4th of July festival. It is a real pleasure to see people from every walk of life to come together an celebrate both being an American and thewir local community.

I gave this park a three because there are Times I come and nasty ass adults are smoking and if it…read morebothers me it must the kids. During after school hrs you have your troubled teen's out doing what they do near the younger kids not much of a fan. Otherwise I enjoy the park my daughter rides her bike and scooter here. We come to watch the sports games. I will say I was disappointed during Halloween time that had a candy give away that lasted all about two mins out side and it was cold. I do enjoy going to the museum and the library is right next door.

+ Nice place to visit Jesus statues and recall his history…read more + Peaceful, quiet ambience. + Free to enter. + Ample parking. Almost no one there. - Couldn't find drinking water or restrooms.

This park right here if you are into Christ, you will love this. It's very peaceful. Make sure you…read moresee everything and read the size you will feel the spirit I will go again

Essig Park is a well-kept, family-friendly place tucked away in Yucca Valley. It's cleaner and more…read morepolished than most parks in the area. Smooth concrete walkways, fresh landscaping, and shade structures give it a pleasant, clean, maintained atmosphere Dog-friendly perks * Separate small & large dog areas * Water fountains & benches - both sides have them, so you stay comfortable * Fully fenced & double-gated - adds peace of mind for dog owners. Family & community feel It's not just about dogs--there's a modest playground, grassy picnic areas, and restroom facilities and is frequently used for public events.

Clean, well maintained. Would stop again. Not crowded, nice shaded area. Would recommend as a good…read moreplace to stop when traveling.

Friendly Hills Park offers great views above old town Joshua Tree. Parking is street only…read more Porta-potty. No Dogs allowed. A few BBQ Grills and picknick tables. Swings. AstroTurf. Playground with slides, bridges, mini-rock wall. For a pocket park it's pretty nice and the views are amazing.

Great park . My son plays tball here . It is always clean and well kept . The park area is nice …read more There are tennis courts , basketball courts , a nice little picnic area , plenty of grass and trees and a nice baseball and tball field . Good amount of parking also available. We come here often .

Hiked Barker Dam Trail in January 2026 and it ended up being one of my favorite spots in Joshua…read moreTree National Park. The dam was filled with water (which apparently isn't always the case), and I had most of the trail completely to myself. Peaceful, scenic, and classic Joshua Tree views the entire way. Easy hike, big payoff, and felt like discovering a hidden gem. Loved it.

Fun hike in Joshua Tree, the payoff is water in a desert. The dam was first built as a water…read morereservoir in 1900 and still works. When we went the lake toward the center of the hike was much more impressive than the dam itself. Along the path there are little signs that explain some of the sights you see on the way. It's an easy 1.1 mile hike out and back and you see many highlights of the Mojave desert including plant life, boulders, and lush greenery and birds near the water. It starts off flat but soon you'll be climbing through rocks and curving through exciting changes in the landscape. Some unique stops along the way are: -the lake/oasis, beautiful reflections in the water if you come at the right time. -theres a stone spiral at the dam that's not explained on the sign, if anyone knows what it is let me know, you can scramble to the left of the mountain here and make your way all the way to the spiral. -there is ancient cave art and petroglyphs that are much easier to see than some others ive been to, unfortunately someone in the past tried to make them easier to see by tracing paint on some of them.

I'm always up for a new hiking spot. First time here which I didn't even know about. No one in my…read moregroup has even heard of it either. It's a good half hour from Palm Springs just along the 62 leading you towards Yucca Valley and Joshua Tree. The road which is somewhat residential at the beginning lead you to a park. We actually parked and started to walk around which found out later that it wasn't the right part. Drive up a little further till you enter a spot where there were some campers and a parking lot. I'm assuming camping is somewhat available from the looks of things. Don't quote me on that as I'm not sure. It's a decent size parking lot available. Before the trail, there's a little introduction information station where you should pick up the map. There's also pamphlets about the area. Billboards explaining how the area came about and the nature of it. The different animals you'll like to see and so on. A nice little helper before you hike. The main trails breaks down and connects to each other. They're not hard and pretty easy. Some are in dirt but guided trails while the others are on wooden planks. The map helps you connect from trail to trails and they're pretty reasonable with difficulty level. Majority are very easy but they also have the trail that wraps around which is about 8 to 9 miles roundtrip. We started off with the trails that go from the dirt path that connects you to the marsh land which mainly is on the wooden planks. Pretty nice seeing what nature has to offer. We did find out that a lot of the places did get destroyed by wildfires a while back and slowly started to make a comeback as well as the tropical storm a couple years ago which I happened to be in Palm Springs as well. The whole trail is pretty easy and mainly on flat land. You will encounter some hills at certain parts of the trail but they're pretty moderate. It's like going from the desert to an oasis and back out to the mountain and desert. The way the trails connect is pretty easy with trail marks and sign posted whenever you come to a connection. They also have free guided tours I believe the first and third Saturday of the month. In the middle of the trail is a visitor center where's there's a little garden area. Nothing too major but something worth checking out. It's nice to see what nature has to offer. The trail is actually well maintained as some parts you could tell that they were manicured for your safety. Overall, it's an easy hike. Main part isn't much of a hike but I'm sure if you do the whole trail, it'll be more of a strenuous hike. Would I go back, yes.

I love visiting this beautiful preserve. This visit was extra special since we had both of our…read moredaughters along! The cottonwood trees are truly majestic as they sway and flutter with the breeze. The preserve is an internationally recognized birding site. Over 247 bird species have been recorded here. National Geographic features the preserve in their guide to bird watching sites. The preserve is 31,000 acres. Home to one of the largest Cottonwood and Willow riparian habitats in California. There are many trails to choose from and various benches to enjoy the wildlife along the way. The restrooms are near the entrance and are well maintained.

. Somewhat peaceful ambience. One of the residential dogs kept barking at nothing…read more + Good restrooms. - Only one pickleball court here. Public & free. But no one to play with in the middle of the day. The pb court looks clean and largely unused though. - No barriers to prevent stray balls. - The park is small, actually. Not much to do here besides play bb.

Great little park! Noise free and very quiet. 2 Beautiful full basketball courts and a pickle ball…read morecourt also. Very clean and well maintained environment with a great playground.

Returned to Joshua Tree for a second stargazing trip, and despite unpredictable cloud cover, the…read morenight sky delivered an incredible show. Sunset at Keys View: The view was great, but parking is extremely limited and poorly managed. Someone parked directly in the middle of the roadway, blocking traffic and leaving everyone else stranded. Camping & Stargazing: Set up camp at Ryan Campground, had dinner, and spent the night stargazing right from the picnic table. The Milky Way was directly overhead, and we caught numerous meteors and shooting stars throughout the night. Drawbacks: The main issue was a total lack of etiquette from other visitors. People were driving around late at night and shining bright white flashlights everywhere past 10 PM, completely disregarding designated quiet hours and ruining dark-sky adaptation. Overall, it is a phenomenal spot for astronomy, but fellow visitors lacking basic night-sky common sense can dampen the experience. Note: On the way back home morning, the park rangers check the annual pass / ticket as they are not when we went around 6.3O PM

* another missing review....thanks Yelp…read more Unfortunately I have no photos left and my review as been filed 13. One of the most serene places I've ever visited. There happed to be exactly 3 other people I saw in a four hour period exploring this erir but beautiful place. Just getting there is 1/2 the fun. Driving up from Palm Springs and gradually the desert and those that live there morphs into something very different. I wouldn't hesitate to return if ever in the area and highly recommend you... Go!