As we continued our March 2018 California trip, we stopped at the Cholla Cactus Garden in Joshua Tree National Park. The garden consists of nearly 10 acres of teddy bear cholla,
Cylindropuntia bigelovii in one of the alluvial fans of the Pinto Basin. The appropriately named Cholla Cactus Garden Trail is a level, ¼ mile loop trail that wanders through the stand of cacti.
To reach the garden from Interstate 10, drive north on Cottonwood Springs Road, continuing as it changes names to Pinto Basin Road, for 26.7 miles. Parking for the garden will be on the left. If you are arriving from Twentynine Palms, drive south on Utah Trail from California highway 62, continuing as it becomes Park Boulevard for 8.6 miles. Turn left (still south) at Pinto Wye onto Pinto Basin Road and continue another 9.9 miles to the garden on the right.
The paved parking area contains spaces for 21 passenger vehicles, two busses or RVs, and one handicap placarded space. The trail surface is packed sand and is by a wooden fence near the parking area and by a row of rocks on either side for the majority of the distance. A couple of low wooden bridges span washes in the garden. While the trail is hard packed, wide, and level, the park service does not include it in its list of accessible trails.
A display near the beginning of the trail contains the following quote that I found amusing:
If the plant bears any helpful or even innocent part in the scheme of things on this planet, I should be glad to hear of it. - J. Smeaton Chase, California Desert Trails, 1919
The plant obviously provides beauty in the desert, although it should be experienced from a distance. It also provides habitat for the desert woodrat and the cactus wren. The sign also includes the following warning:
Unless you are a cactus wren, be careful as you walk the trail not to brush against the cholla cactus. The slightest touch can cause the cactus spines to penetrate your skin. Removing the embedded spines is difficult and painful. Keep children close at all times. Pets are not allowed on park trails.
I would add that even on a ¼ mile clearly marked route it would be wise to carry and drink water while in the desert.
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| View from the sidewalk |
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| Near the trail head when traveling in a counter-clockwise direction |
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| Cholla fruit |
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| Typical trail condition |
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| More cholla fruit |
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| A single cholla seems to stand watch like a prairie dog |
Entrance to Joshua Tree National Park requires an entry fee of $25 per passenger vehicle for a 7-day pass. Any of the
America the Beautiful passes may be used instead.
The park website is
https://www.nps.gov/jotr.
