Articles for Joshua Tree

Joshua Tree too crowded? Try these 3 enchanting desert hikes near L.A.
1 month, 2 weeks ago

Joshua Tree too crowded? Try these 3 enchanting desert hikes near L.A.

LA Times  

The Devil’s Chair Trail at Devil’s Punchbowl Natural Area ends at a fenced-in boulder, one of the coolest lookout spots in L.A. County. Prime Desert Woodland Preserve walking trail Distance: 3 miles Elevation gain: Minimal Difficulty: Easy The Prime Desert Woodland Preserve is a 120-acre open space in Lancaster that’s open daily from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m., weather permitting. …

California Angeles Near Area Tree Lancaster Trail
4 lifesaving tips for if you spot a mountain lion on the trail
1 month, 4 weeks ago

4 lifesaving tips for if you spot a mountain lion on the trail

LA Times  

It’s rare to spot a mountain lion in Southern California. I knew it was extremely rare to see a mountain lion while out hiking, but having heard one in person, it didn’t feel rare. Since 1890, there have been fewer than 50 verified mountain lion attacks on humans in California, including six fatal incidents, according to the California Department of …

Wildlife Land Fish California Mountain Department Lions
Man arrested in Joshua Tree on suspicion of firing gun after chase across two counties
3 months ago

Man arrested in Joshua Tree on suspicion of firing gun after chase across two counties

LA Times  

A 20-year-old man was arrested Saturday afternoon near Joshua Tree National Park after an 11-hour search that began when he allegedly got out of his vehicle following a police chase, fired a weapon and fled the scene. No law enforcement officers were injured, according to a statement by the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department, which assisted Riverside County Sheriff’s Department …

Department Joshua Tree Bernardino County
As crews chainsaw Joshua trees, Mojave Desert community protests solar energy project
3 months, 2 weeks ago

As crews chainsaw Joshua trees, Mojave Desert community protests solar energy project

LA Times  

When Roy Richards spotted workers cutting down and shredding Joshua trees for a sprawling solar energy project near his Mojave Desert home last week, he started taking photos. The solar energy farm won a controversial exemption from rules protecting Joshua trees four years ago after closed-door meetings between industry executives and state wildlife officials. “Solar panels can provide shade and …

Wildlife Energy Solar California Company Trees Site
4 tips for how to start rock climbing in and around L.A.
3 months, 2 weeks ago

4 tips for how to start rock climbing in and around L.A.

LA Times  

I’ve never enjoyed walking into a gym. “If you’re going to be climbing outside, you have to take responsibility of the safety factors and deal with the consequences if you make poor judgments,” Mullen said. If you go to any of L.A.’s popular outdoor climbing spots, Mullen said, you’ll see people climbing without helmets or bouldering without crash pads. L.A. …

Rock California Start Park Partner Gym Native Plants
This Joshua Tree search and rescue team tries to head off calamity before it strikes
3 months, 3 weeks ago

This Joshua Tree search and rescue team tries to head off calamity before it strikes

LA Times  

It’s 4 p.m. in Joshua Tree National Park and the air temperature is hovering around 99 degrees — relatively mild for an August afternoon. “I don’t want my bare feet on that,” says ranger Anna Marini as she shows her thermometer gun reading to a couple visiting from Switzerland, who are appropriately awed. During the last fiscal year, her team …

Social Media Rescue Media Social National Visitation Parks
Very thirsty bees close down parts of Joshua Tree National Park
4 months ago

Very thirsty bees close down parts of Joshua Tree National Park

LA Times  

Busy bees — jonesing for water, including from sweaty park visitors — have shut down parts of Joshua Tree National Park, park officials said. “In the summer, water becomes scarce and bees seek water sources just like our other park wildlife,” the post said. “However, this can include condensation from air conditioners, visitor sweat and bathrooms.” The closure will reduce …

Water Instagram Park Bee Bees Joshua Tree
German tourists spray Joshua Tree with paintballs, authorities say
4 months, 2 weeks ago

German tourists spray Joshua Tree with paintballs, authorities say

LA Times  

Three visitors were cited for firing paintballs at signs, bathrooms and dumpsters throughout Joshua Tree National Park on Aug. 4. Three German tourists were federally cited for shooting Joshua Tree National Park signs, bathrooms and dumpsters with paintballs, authorities said Thursday. “Defacing or altering the NPS landscape, no matter how small, is against the law,” said Joshua Tree National Park …

German Joshua Tree Park Signs Paintballs Authorities
A music executive owns Joshua Tree’s most stunning home. Two local artists say, in police reports, he drugged them there
4 months, 3 weeks ago

A music executive owns Joshua Tree’s most stunning home. Two local artists say, in police reports, he drugged them there

LA Times  

The Kellogg Doolittle house is a modernist mirage, built into a cliffside just north of Joshua Tree National Park. I couldn’t walk and I was screaming.” Dimes told police in the report that she awoke the next morning with “bruises on my wrist … shoulder, stomach and lower abdominals, thighs and a damaged toe.” When she confronted him, according to …

Music Two Women House Tree His House Emi Edwards
Fire risk closes section of Joshua Tree National Park over July 4 weekend
5 months, 3 weeks ago

Fire risk closes section of Joshua Tree National Park over July 4 weekend

LA Times  

An ecologically sensitive portion of Joshua Tree National Park will be closed this week due to extreme wildfire risk as a heat wave is set to broil the region over the Fourth of July holiday. The Covington Flats area, home to some of the park’s largest Joshua trees, junipers and pinyon pines, will be shut to the public Wednesday through …

Conditions Trees Area Tree Temperatures Joshua Joshua Tree
As California’s climate grows ever more hostile, a Joshua tree rescue plan takes shape
5 months, 3 weeks ago

As California’s climate grows ever more hostile, a Joshua tree rescue plan takes shape

LA Times  

When a renewable energy company started razing thousands of Joshua trees this month to make way for a sprawling solar farm, it kicked up a firestorm of outrage among Mojave Desert residents and activists. “Joshua trees are in this triple squeeze pinch,” said Christopher Smith, a professor of biology at Willamette University who co-wrote a 2023 paper exploring how to …

Conservation Climate Change Land Solar California Trees Species
Needing a break from L.A., artists turn a cabin near Joshua Tree into a family escape
5 months, 4 weeks ago

Needing a break from L.A., artists turn a cabin near Joshua Tree into a family escape

LA Times  

On a sunny spring afternoon in the high desert, Adam Miller and Devon Oder prepared to welcome guests — friends, neighbors, artists and family members — to a reception for artist B. Wurtz at their one-bedroom cabin in Yucca Valley. “We dreamed of buying land and building our own home, but once we found this cabin, we knew we wanted …

Couple Los Los Angeles Room Tree Miller Living
Video shows dramatic rescue of couple near Joshua Tree as temperatures are set to soar
6 months, 1 week ago

Video shows dramatic rescue of couple near Joshua Tree as temperatures are set to soar

LA Times  

Two hikers were rescued in the Painted Canyon area near Joshua Tree on June 9, 2024. A couple hiking near Joshua Tree was rescued from a rugged trail over the weekend, prompting warnings from officials about participating in outdoor activities in the stifling heat. The dramatic helicopter rescue — captured on video by Riverside County sheriff’s officials — came Sunday …

Rescue Heat Joshua Tree Shows Dramatic
Opinion: Kill Joshua trees for a desert solar project? Readers want none of it
6 months, 2 weeks ago

Opinion: Kill Joshua trees for a desert solar project? Readers want none of it

LA Times  

Joshua trees, such as this roughly 150- to 200-year-old specimen, are threatened with removal because of a solar project near Boron, Calif. It’s been a while since we’ve had such an outpouring for something that doesn’t have to do with Donald Trump: Dozens of readers wrote letters to the editor expressing dismay over the construction of a solar power project …

Energy Climate Change Solar California Trees Project Los Angeles
Artists priced out of Los Angeles head to this creative hub in the high desert
6 months, 3 weeks ago

Artists priced out of Los Angeles head to this creative hub in the high desert

LA Times  

At high noon on a Saturday, the last aluminum pour of the day is about to commence at the Yucca Valley Material Lab. “It’s really amazing to see my art and pedagogical practice come together outside of myself — in the form of a curved metal building plopped in the Mojave Desert,” Schwegler said. Haydeé Jiménez, an artist in residence …

Artists Los Angeles Los Angeles Shah Workshop Valley
A guide to dreamy stargazing adventures in L.A. and beyond
7 months, 1 week ago

A guide to dreamy stargazing adventures in L.A. and beyond

LA Times  

I’ll never forget my first stargazing experience in Southern California. It was during a spring camping trip to Anza-Borrego Desert State Park, not long after nearby Borrego Springs was designated the state’s first dark sky community in 2009. Whether it’s a public star party at Griffith Observatory or a private astronomer-led tour in Joshua Tree, there is a proverbial universe …

Summer Sky California Los Angeles Los Angeles Park
Why the LA to Palm Springs ‘desert route’ is the perfect California road trip
8 months ago

Why the LA to Palm Springs ‘desert route’ is the perfect California road trip

The Independent  

Sign up to Simon Calder’s free travel email for expert advice and money-saving discounts Get Simon Calder’s Travel email Get Simon Calder’s Travel email SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. A sacred natural source to the Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians, a tribe still around today, this is where …

Spa Laura Tree Park Palm Joshua Palm Springs
How Sequoia became the most polluted national park in America
8 months, 4 weeks ago

How Sequoia became the most polluted national park in America

LA Times  

It’s Monday, March 25. Sequoia and Kings Canyon topped two lists in the National Parks Conservation Assn.’s report on polluted parks, “National Parks With Unhealthy Air” and “Worst National Parks for Hazy Skies,” my colleague Lila Seidman reported. The report called Sequoia, Kings Canyon, Joshua Tree and Mojave “the most ozone-polluted national parks in the United States,” with the ozone …

National Air Parks California Israel Donald Trump Report
America’s four most polluted national parks are in California, study finds
9 months ago

America’s four most polluted national parks are in California, study finds

LA Times  

Some of California’s most treasured parks are threatened by blight caused by pollution and climate change, according to a pair of new reports. The four national parks with the highest ozone levels are all in California, with Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks topping the list of parks struggling with air that’s dangerous to breathe, according to a recent report …

Climate Change National Parks Climate Pollution National Air Parks
How to do the great American road trip: Nevada and Southern California
9 months, 1 week ago

How to do the great American road trip: Nevada and Southern California

The Independent  

Sign up to Simon Calder’s free travel email for expert advice and money-saving discounts Get Simon Calder’s Travel email Get Simon Calder’s Travel email SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. open image in gallery The architectural detail on the Las Vegas Strip stands in stark contrast to the rugged Nevada …

California Nevada State Utah Tree Vegas Valley
Joshua Tree’s famed three-legged coyote Tripod is in danger of being loved to death
9 months, 1 week ago

Joshua Tree’s famed three-legged coyote Tripod is in danger of being loved to death

LA Times  

This image of Tripod, the coyote, was taken along a road near Joshua Tree National Park in March 2023. “You wouldn’t fathom an animal with three legs would do so well in the desert,” said Daly, who is now a public works employee for the city of Twentynine Palms. “I doubt a coyote would ever attack the kid, but it …

Park Daly Joshua Coyote Desert Joshua Tree Coyotes
Editorial: Biden should protect more of California’s mountains and deserts as national monuments
11 months, 4 weeks ago

Editorial: Biden should protect more of California’s mountains and deserts as national monuments

LA Times  

Samantha Alvarez of Boyle Heights stands near Millard Falls at the base of the San Gabriel Mountains. One would create Chuckwalla National Monument on 660,000 acres of federal land next to Joshua Tree National Park, an area mostly south of Interstate 10 stretching from the Coachella Valley to the Colorado River. The two proposals in Northern California would add 13,753 …

National Land California Biden San Area Protect
Our kids died in a crash on the way to Joshua Tree. How could we ever go back?
1 year, 2 months ago

Our kids died in a crash on the way to Joshua Tree. How could we ever go back?

LA Times  

Excerpted from “Finding the Words: Working Through Profound Loss With Hope and Purpose” by Colin Campbell with permission of TarcherPerigee, an imprint of Penguin Publishing Group, a division of Penguin Random House LLC. The four of us — me, my wife Gail, my 17-year-old daughter Ruby, and my 14-year-old son Hart — had such a terrific time in the desert …

Love Memories Kids Pain Crash Los Angeles
You can take majestic night sky photography in Joshua Tree. Here’s a class for that
1 year, 2 months ago

You can take majestic night sky photography in Joshua Tree. Here’s a class for that

LA Times  

It’s no secret that one of the best stargazing spots in Southern California is Joshua Tree National Park. “As it gets dark, you’ll see there’s a kind of light, mottled appearance where the Milky Way band is,” said Jon Norris, who has taught photography workshops in the park for four years. “You will be able to perceive the Milky Way, …

Photography Photos Stars Sky Camera Star Los Angeles