Hiking
At El Ranchito’s Joshua Tree Container Resort, Wellness Inn and Spa you can walk out the front door and take off hiking, devising your own routes and outdoor adventures over miles and miles of scenic Mojave desert splendor. Aside from the magical delights up in the park, there's great hiking, biking and desert wandering going right out from the ranch house, across the open desert, or ride the dirt roads in our area, or bushwhack cross country in the nearby foothills.
We are also close to the coolest entrance to Joshua Tree National Park, the Northern entrance (those in-the-know will tell you this is by far the best entrance to the park, with quick access to prime locations like the Jumbo Rocks, Skull Rock, Ryan, Cap Rock and Hidden Valley areas, and, best of all, no long lineups to get in) for world class climbing, hiking, riding, running and sightseeing.
The weather should be pretty good during your stay, it is usually 10 degrees cooler up in the park. For more challenging hikes, I highly recommend Lost Horse Mine; rolling hills but not a serious elevation gain and takes you to a cool old mine. Ryan Mountain, an epic short, hard hike with a 360 degree view of the entire park reward at the end, that is an unforgiving Stairmaster of a climb.
For Lost Horse, drive all the way down the dirt road to the trail head at Lost Horse and park there (It will be less crowded the earlier/later you go). Always take water with you!
Also an absolutely wonderful 1/2 hour flat hike is the Real Hidden Valley Loop trail. It is easy and short and gives you amazing vistas of some of the most majestic rocks and some world class rock climbs.