If you are thinking about making a trip to Joshua Tree National Park in California, don’t hesitate. This park is stunning and there is so much to learn about the geological history of earth while visiting here (some rocks here are more than 1.7 BILLION years old!).

**This post contains affiliate links. Please see my Privacy Policy and Disclosures Statement for more information.**

You could spend days hiking an exploring around the park but if you have little ones with a short attention span or aren’t big fans of hiking, it’s best to see the highlights.

Here are my suggestions for a memorable day with your kids in the Joshua Tree area.

Start your Day with Breakfast at Crossroads Café

Just a short drive past the entrance to Joshua Tree National Park is this cute little café. They open as early as seven in the morning, so it’s the perfect place to grab some breakfast before heading to the park.

Fuel up on breakfast classics like buttermilk pancakes, homemade hash or huevos rancheros.

Address

61715 29 Palms Highway

Joshua Tree, California 92252

Joshua Tree National Park Visitor Center

Next up, make your way to the visitor center to grab a map and learn a little bit more about this awesome national park.

While here, make sure your little ones pick up a Junior Ranger booklet (free) which includes coloring pages and other activities to do while visiting the park.

Use the restrooms, grab a cold drink, and make your way into the park.

Address

6533 Freedom Way

Twentynine Palms, California 92277

Early Morning Hike of Hidden Valley Trail

This is my go-to trail when in Joshua Tree with my kids. It’s a mostly flat, one mile loop trail that is perfect for kids.

Beat the heat and get to the park early. Although my kids were not happy about having to get up early, they were very happy to be back at the hotel pool by the time the heat became unbearable.

By mid-morning, it was nearing 100 degrees so we were happy to have had a nice, short hike before the temperature became excruciating.

After our hike, we drove around Joshua Tree a bit, exploring a little more of the park.

We made sure to head to Keys View to look over Coachella Valley and check out the San Andreas Fault Line. We also took the Pinto Basin Road to check out the Cholla Cactus Garden.

Easy Lunch at Sky High Pie

After our hike, we decided to head back to our hotel for a bit to relax and cool down at the pool.

We picked up a couple of pizzas at Sky High Pie to eat at our hotel and they were so good!

Address

61740 29 Palms Highway

Joshua Tree, California 92252

For our most recent visit to Joshua Tree, we stayed at AutoCamp. It was right in the middle of all the activities that we had planned for our trip.

For more information, check out my posts, AutoCamp Joshua Tree and Our Premium Airstream Suite Experience at AutoCamp Joshua Tree.

Visit the World Famous Crochet Museum

This place is interesting to say the least! It’s a tiny little shop filled floor to ceiling with crocheted animals. Founded by artist Shari Elf, it is the last thing that you would expect to see in the middle of the desert, yet here it is.

Right next door is a small shop with various eclectic items to purchase.

It was a fun little stop and my kids thought it was pretty funny.

Address

61855 Highway 62

Joshua Tree, California 92252

Visit Dinny & Mr. Rex at Cabazon Dinosaurs

These dinosaurs are located about an hour drive from Joshua Tree but we stopped to check them out on our way back to San Diego.

My kids favorite part? The fact that there is staircase, up through the tail of Dinny, leading to a gift shops with countless souvenirs.

We were running short on time so we just checked out the two main dinosaurs and the gift shop but there is walk that you can go on to see more dinosaur statues and fossil panning that looked fun too!

Address

50770 Seminole Drive

Cabazon, California 92230

Farmers Market

There are a few farmers market in Joshua Tree on different days of the week. We stopped and grabbed some fresh fruit and other goodies to snack on.

One of my favorite things to do when traveling is check out farmers markets to see what is being grown or made locally and to support small businesses.

Dinner at Kitchen in the Desert

This restaurant was recommended to us by a staff member at AutoCamp Joshua Tree and I’m so glad we went.

We arrived as the sun was beginning to set. We sat outside and although it was still hot, misting fans helped to keep everyone cool on the patio area.

The tables are spaced out between cactus gardens, eclectic décor, and art sculptures. The fun, laid-back vibe was the perfect way to wind down our day and everyone at the restaurant (which filled up very quickly) was having a great time.

The cocktails were amazing and everything that we ordered was delicious – from the smash burgers, curried chick peas, fried chicken sandwich and the house cut fries to the chocolate pie, we ate every last bite.

This restaurant has more of a night club vibe later on in the evening but there were many families there for an early dinner and my kids loved it.

To end our day, we went back to our hotel to do some star gazing. The sky in this park is amazingly clear and absolutely stunning.

I brought along a book about the solar system and a flashlight so we could try to locate stars and constellations in the sky.

We love Joshua Tree each time we get the chance to visit. I can’t wait until our next adventure there!