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A smartphone displaying a map with a route and a car on a desert road. 1
The interior of a vehicle with passengers. 2
A travel app with various local attractions. 3
A mountainous landscape with a cable car system, clouds below, and distant flatlands. 4
A desert landscape with palm trees, a building with a unique architecture, and a mountain range in the background. 5
By Drives & Detours

Reviews

8.0 out of 10
Very Good
Free cancellation available
Price is NZ$26 per traveller* *Get a lower price by selecting multiple travellers
See tickets

Features

  • Free cancellation available
  • 4h
  • Mobile voucher
  • Instant confirmation
  • Multiple languages

Overview

  • Explore Joshua Tree National Park in your own car with GPS-triggered audio that plays automatically as you drive—even without cell service.

    Start from either the West or North Entrance and follow the route at your own pace, stopping whenever you like for hikes, photos, scenic viewpoints, or a break. Along the way, discover iconic sights including Hidden Valley, Skull Rock, Cholla Cactus Garden, and more. Hear about the park’s history, landscape, wildlife, and unique desert environment.

    Your purchase also includes our Joshua Tree Area Guide, featuring recommendations for restaurants, hikes, art, and other places worth exploring in Joshua Tree, Yucca Valley, and Pioneertown.

    • Explore Joshua Tree independently in your own vehicle
    • GPS-triggered narration plays automatically along the route
    • Works offline after the tour is downloaded
    • Pause anytime for hikes, photos, meals, or scenic stops
    • One purchase covers everyone in your vehicle
    • Includes a bonus Joshua Tree Local Area Guide

Activity location

  • Park Boulevard
    • Park Boulevard
    • Twentynine Palms, California, United States

Meeting/Redemption Point

  • Park Boulevard
    • Park Boulevard
    • Twentynine Palms, California, United States

Multiple meeting/redemption points available, see location information for full list

Check availability

Journey into Joshua Tree: Self-Guided Audio Driving Tour in Multilingual

  • Activity duration is 4 hours4h
    4h
  • Opening hours: Fri 6:00 am-8:00 pm
  • English
Price details
NZ$25.82 x 1 TravellerNZ$25.82
Total
Price is NZ$25.82

What's included, what's not

  • Inclusions
    Lifetime Tour Access Once Unlocked
  • Inclusions
    Start from Either the West or North Park Entrance
  • Inclusions
    Offline Tour Access After Download
  • Inclusions
    Bonus Joshua Tree Area Guide — Restaurants, Hikes, Art & More
  • Inclusions
    Interactive Route Map and Stop Information
  • Inclusions
    GPS-Triggered Audio Tour in the Drives & Detours App
  • Inclusions
    One Purchase Covers Everyone in Your Vehicle
  • Exclusions
    Food & Drink

Know before you book

    • Infants and small children can ride in a pram or stroller
    • Service animals allowed
    • Suitable for all physical fitness levels
    • Works entirely offline once downloaded—no cell service required
    • GPS-triggered audio plays automatically as you approach featured locations
    • Start from either the West or North park entrance and follow the route shown in the app
    • All suggested hikes are optional; the driving tour takes approximately 3–4 hours without extended stops or hikes
    • Includes a bonus Joshua Tree Area Guide with recommendations for restaurants, hikes, art, roadside attractions, and more
    • Once unlocked, you retain lifetime access to the tour
    • One purchase covers everyone in your vehicle
    • Download the Drives & Detours app and your tour before arriving at the park
    • Bring a fully charged phone or car charger
    • Pause anytime for hiking, sightseeing, photos, food, or scenic stops
    • This is a private self-guided experience in your own vehicle; no live guide is included

Activity itinerary

Joshua Tree National Park (Pass by)

Explore Joshua Tree National Park on a self-guided driving tour through its two distinct desert ecosystems. GPS-triggered audio plays automatically as you drive, with stops at scenic overlooks, rock formations, historic sites, and optional hiking trails along the way.

Quail Springs Trail

  • 20m
Quail Springs is a trailhead and picnic area. It's a great place to get out and walk around, explore some boulders, and take some pictures. An optional hike can take you to a nearby homestead site with rock carvings.

Hidden Valley

  • 1h
The Hidden Valley Trail is a relatively easy one-mile loop that circles a secluded valley surrounded by towering rock formations. It’s a particularly scenic hike, especially given how short and level it is.

Barker Dam Trail

  • 1h
Take a short loop hike to a natural tank that was artificially fortified by ranchers in the early 1900’s to collect rain and runoff for livestock. On the way back, keep your eyes out for some petroglyphs and rock art.

Wall Street Mill (Pass by)

Optional hike from the Barker Dam area to visit the Wall Street Mill, which processed ore that was extracted from nearby mines. Also along the way are the Wonderland Ranch homestead ruins.

Keys View

  • 15m
Stop at this scenic overlook that provides a sweeping panorama of the Coachella Valley. On a clear day, you can see for miles, from the Salton Sea to the south, to Mount San Jacinto which towers above Palm Springs at an elevation of 10,830 feet.

Ryan Ranch Homestead Site (Pass by)

Take a short hike (optional) to this old homestead site of a wealthy rancher turned mine operator.

Hall of Horrors

  • 15m
Get out and explore a mini slot canyon tucked into the boulders!

Ryan Mountain (Pass by)

Optional but challenging hike to the top of Ryan Mountain. Because of its central location within the park, the views from the top can be stunning.

Skull Rock

  • 15m
Located right along the road, Skull Rock is a natural rock formation and popular photo spot.

Split Rock (Pass by)

Another optional loop hike that gets a little less traffic than some of the other sites in the park.

Arch Rock Nature Trail (Pass by)

Relatively easy and popular hike that lets you visit 2 natural rock formations on one hike, Arch Rock and Heart Rock.

Cholla Cactus Garden

  • 15m
Get a taste of Joshua Tree's lower desert ecosystem, the Colorado Desert. You'll be surrounded by fuzzy-looking Teddy Bear Cholla, but you don't want to touch them!

Boy Scout Trail (Pass by)

Boy Scout Trail provides hiking access to Indian Cove as well as Willow Hole, which is an oasis tucked into the Wonderland of Rocks area. The rock formations and unique landscape can make this a mesmerising place to hike, especially at the right time of day.

Location

Activity location

  • LOB_ACTIVITIESLOB_ACTIVITIES
    Park Boulevard
    • Park Boulevard
    • Twentynine Palms, California, United States

Meeting/Redemption Point

  • PEOPLEPEOPLE
    Park Boulevard
    • Park Boulevard
    • Twentynine Palms, California, United States
  • PEOPLEPEOPLE
    9657 Park Blvd
    • 9657 Park Boulevard
    • 92252, Joshua Tree, California, United States

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