We picnicked here and enjoyed the area. Lots of good bouldering and 4-5 picnic tables for a quick lunch spot.
The Rock seems to be struck into half by natural axe or karate “knife hand”. You might want to climb/hike a little along a well-marked loop trail before you settle dome for lunch at the picnic table. Enjoy the spectacular view!
My wife and I hiked this based upon the recommendation of the ranger at the Oasis Visitors Center, he was right in the mark when he told us that it was an excellent hike to see a nice variety of the rock formations, plant and tree life as well as small animals. It was easy, we walked it on gym shoes casually in just under 2 hours. That was including stopping many, many times for taking pictures and watching some guys rock climb.
Little over 2 or 2 1/2 miles though it felt like more for some reason. Really beautiful rock formations and seems to be less traveled than some others which is nice. We were there on a week day and passed maybe 5 to 7 people on the trail. The trail is not marked really well from about 1.3 to 1.8 miles nor is marked all that well towards the end so pay attention to where you are walking. Highly recommend this for all age groups.
This spot looks like a giant came through and swung his axe. A chasm runs for several hundred feet with split rocks and interesting rock formations. Picnic benches for your lunch. A good spot to stop to eat your sandwiches and take some photos.
Not many people on this trail so it was very pleasant. It's a 2 mile loop trail and the middle section is kind of uninteresting ---- but the beginning and the end of the trail have great rock formations. So --- if your time is limited -- you might want to consider doing part of this hike --- either end (since it's a loop) The counter-clockwise entrance is near the Split Rock. The clockwise entrance is just over to the left side of the parking lot. (That section would be our first choice if time is limited / if you walk in 10 or 15 minutes, then return to the parking lot - you'll have a scenic short hike)
There're many rocks in Joshua Park, but only some of them are good for climbing. This is one of them that doesn't require gears to climb. If you're brave enough you could climb with your bare hands. Only need to wear anti-slip shoes and long pant, since the rock is knife like and for some steep ones you may even need a pair of gloves to keep your hands from being cut. And it truly intrigued my interest in climbing~
Go sit in the crease of Split Rock. It's 10 degrees cooler in there. Oh, and the hike nearby is real nice.
We were here in the late afternoon and the area and rocks are beautiful with the afternoon sun.Being so late and all the warnings in prior postings about the trail not being marked very well, we only hiked about 1/2 mile. This first part of the hike was beautiful and at least this part of the trail was very well marked.I can't wait to go back on next visit and hike the full 2+ mile loop trail.
Split Rock is a 2 mile loop, bring water. We walked in only about 1/2 mile. The scenery was beautiful, however I still would have to say Hidden Valley was better. This is worth a visit however. A bit more quiet as it is not one of the recommended sites that the visitors center tells you. Easy to lose track of the path. More holes in the none trail area, I freaked out that it was snake holes, but never saw any.