Beautiful box canyon, easy hike, lots of interesting rock formations and vegetation. Markers along the way explain a lot about all aspects of the hike. A must see if you visit the park. The only drawback is that the trail is not well marked, but don't worry. It's a canyon, so its pretty hard to get lost.
The trail is rather easy by my standards, basically a walk around a valley that is hidden. The reason it is hidden that the pathway into the valley was blasted out of the rock. The pathway into the valley goes up some stairs(rocks laid out as stairs) then into a valley that has a loop you can walk around. The "stairs" can get sand on them and this creates a grip issue, and a person can slip. Once in the valley you find a wide variety of rock structures and lots of different plant specimens. Will definitely be back!!
This is a great trail where you can let your imagination go to wild thinking about what Indians, Cowboys, and Cattle Rustlers once roamed here. The rock formations are awesome along with the flora and fauna that surround them. Climbers of all ages can have fun exploring the rocks from small children to expert rock climbers. We took some beautiful photos. It was a perfect day with clear skies and temperatures in the low to mid 80s.
Good little hike and very neat area. Kids will love it...the urge to climb! It was an easy trail but....there are 2 parts that were abit difficult to navigate for 1 of us who has abit of a bunged up knee....so if you walk with some minor difficulty or use a cane, just know you'll need to watch it a little bit.
This was a short loop that was well interpreted. The park was pretty crowded but it is in California after allSort of amazing how the area got so much drier in only about 30 years towards the early part of the last century. We really know so little about our climate and change caused by whateverThe park is a great place and this a great little hike
We stopped at Hidden Valley to look at the monoliths but it was very congested with traffic and people. It was hard to even take a photo that didn't have vehicles or hikers in it. We preferred Cap Rock because the trail there was wheelchair accessible. We didn't try the nature trail at Hidden Valley because we didn't see it, so can't comment on that.
We had not done any research before traveling to the park. The staff at the Oasis visitors' center were able to assess our group and make recommendations. While most were able bodied, a couple of folks could not do this trail.You start by walking up a small number of "stairs" rather than a path. That was difficult for accessibility so two of our group turned back. Those of us who continued were not disappointed. What a magnificent display of nature. The rock formations were very impressive. It was easy to get "lost" in the crevices between the rocks or to play (like the many groups of school children were) climbing on the rocks and sliding down.The color of the sky was so blue. The whole place looked like a postcard. There were lots of photo opportunities. If you have come from Palm Springs, you start to appreciate the difference between the high desert and the low desert.At times it is easy to "lose" the trail. People seemed to be walking all over the place and not following any sort of loop. Our group managed to find their way out!
Very easy hike with lots of rock formations to view. Not good for wheelchairs. We went off season which made it nice as we did not have to share the area with many others making photography easy! Many short hikes to be found for those with children or distance limitations!
Joshua Tree has been on my list of places to see since I was a child. Hard to explain, but my husband was just as eager after watching the educational video in the Oasis Visitors Center on Park Avenue in Joshua Tree. Easy hiking or rock climbing, you can make it as simple as you want.Hidden Valley was a special treat in Joshua Tree with its beautiful trails, picturesque views and tranquil hiking in this area off-season. At the beginning of February, the temperatures were in the 70s with clear sunny skies. I was camera ready for this experience of a lifetime. We're already making plans for our next visit. Highly recommended!
It's a beautiful valley with an easy hike and so perfect for young kids. Kids can either walk or climb rocks. There are few great spots for serious rock climbers.