Shuttle: 4-hour drive

Hiking Mileage: 5 miles

Elevation Gain/Loss: 1,200 feet

Our four-day Joshua Tree Autocamp Tour begins with your morning pickup at the Tuscany Inn and Suites in Las Vegas, Nevada. Leaving the bustle of the city behind, we’ll enter the other-worldly landscapes of Joshua Tree National Park. At times driving past the “forests” of Joshua Trees can feel more like the African savannah than the Mojave Desert.

Our hike today is to the summit of Ryan Mountain. At first wrapping our way around its base, we’ll then ascend as piles of boulders shrink below us, becoming like distant drip sand castles. The stunning 360-degree summit vista is reminiscent of something Salvador Dali might have painted – granite rock piles seem to melt into the surrounding plateau while otherworldly Joshua trees spread out in the broad valley bottoms, forking and sprouting at odd angles. Having finished our first hike, we’ll descend victoriously back to the trailhead for a 30-minute shuttle to our accommodations.

After cleaning up, we’ll reconvene for a delicious first dinner together.

Drive Time: 60 minutes

Hiking Mileage: 7-10 miles

Elevation Gain/Loss: 1,000 feet

Today we’ll rise with the sun to share in a wonderful breakfast. Our first stop will be at the charmingly unique Teddy Bear Cholla Garden, where we’ll stroll among a family of deceptively inviting cacti. Dropping down through an ecological transition zone where the lower Colorado Sonoran Desert meets the Mojave, we’ll make our way to our main hike for the day: The Lost Palms Oasis.

Sustained by water seeping up through fault lines, five oases can be found within Joshua Tree National Park. Today we’ll visit two! Beginning at Cottonwood Spring Oasis, former home to the Cahuilla Indians, we’ll meander our way over arroyos dotted with ocotillo and through sandy smoketree washes to reach at last the largest group of California Fan Palms in the park. After a delicious lunch in this remote desert oasis, we’ll wind our way back to the trailhead, soaking in views to the south of California’s largest lake, the Salton Sea.

Drive Time: 30 minutes

Hiking Mileage: 5-10 miles

Elevation Change: 600+ feet

Perhaps already awakened by a dawn song of coyotes, you may decide to indulge yourself in rising just before breakfast today. Soaking in the sight of the desert mountains silhouetted against the break of day, or enjoying a walk around the Autocamp property to greet the morning is an experience you’ll not soon forget.

Our first hike today will loop us through Barker Dam. This valley is rich with petroglyphs, bouldering problems and tall tales from the days of gold mining and cattlemen, as well as lush with plant life thanks to the precious reservoir of water.

We’ll then embark on a journey into another portion of the famed Wonderland of Rocks: The Maze. This trail will weave us through a jungle of spires, granite monoliths and delusionary rock formations, opening up to tantalize us with breathtaking views of the National Park. Returning back to Autocamp, we’ll enjoy one last evening of fine dining, good company, and a campfire beneath the desert sky.