These hiking poles are sturdy, and great to help keep your balance on short or longer hikes
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The Willow Hole Trail is a moderate hike that takes hikers into the Wonderland of Rocks inside Joshua Tree National Park. This trail features all the wonderful characteristics of Joshua Tree National Park from its namesake Joshua trees to the imposing and interesting rock formations and a seasonal water source protected by a thicket of willow trees. Willow Hole trail is also a great place to see big horn sheep. It is one of our favorite hikes in Joshua Tree National Park.
Boy Scout Trail
64568 Park Blvd, Twentynine Palms, CA 92277
34.040943, -116.185482
There is a small paved parking lot in front of the trailhead for Willow Hole.
There is a fee to enter Joshua Tree National Park. For more information, check out the park’s website. You can also use your America the Beautiful pass!
Vault toilet at the trailhead.
Leave your pet at home. They are not allowed on the trail!
7 miles R.T.
320 ft
Moderate
3-4 Hours (we took 3 hours)
The best times to hike Willow Hole trail are October through April, when the weather is nice a cool. There aren’t any shades on this trail.
The Willow Hole trail shares the same trailhead as Boy Scout Trail. To get here, use the west entrance of Joshua Tree National Park (the one in 29 Palms). Once entered the park, drive for about 6.5 miles where you’ll turn left into the parking lot of Boy Scout Trail.
Since most of the trail doesn’t have shades, we wanted an early start to avoid the heat. So, we arrived at the Boy Scout trailhead early in the morning. Besides sharing the same trailhead, the Willow Hole trail also shares the same path with the Boy Scout Trail for about ⅓ of the way. This hike is well-marked and quite easy to follow. There are many smaller, offshoot trails meant for climbers and campers. Just stay on the main trail and you’ll be fine.
After parking, we followed the signage to embark on our adventures. This section of the Boy Scout trail is about 1.2 miles. Since this is a popular trail for backpacking, even though it was sandy, the sand is mostly compacted so it was very easy to walk. Along the way, we came across multiple signs for overnight camping. As we mentioned above, if you’re interested in backpacking, the Boy Scout trail is a wonderful trail to do so. This area is also popular with climbers
At the 1.2-mile mark, we came to a junction on the main trail. At the junction, we followed the small signage for the Willow Hole trail to the right. As we hiked further, the scenery got more and more beautiful. The sand also became more squishy, and harder to walk. The rock formations also became more prominent. Most of the Willow Hole trail from here follows the washes. There are signages along the way pointing toward the right corrections so you won’t get lost.
Eventually, the trail narrows up significantly and turns into a slot canyon. This section is very beautiful. It’s hard to do this area justice. There is nothing like hiking between the giant rock walls and formations. The scenery is breathtaking.
Not too long after entering the slot canyon, we reached a sign marking Willow Hole. This is the end of the official trail. The wide wash area turns into a dense thicket of vegetation. This is Willow Hole, a seasonal waterhole in Joshua Tree National Park. Most of the time, this area is dry. However, sometimes, the entire area is like a pond. Other times, we can find water in bogs and puddles. When we were there, we didn’t see any water. This area is popular for wildlife, especially if there is water. If you see wildlife, please keep your distance and don’t approach them.
While at the Willow Hole, we saw a small worn trail that led into the dense vegetation. We followed it to cut across to the other side of the waterhole. After we got to the other side, we hiked further into the Wonderland of Rocks. However, there is no trail here so we don’t recommend going too far unless you know where you’re going. We went a bit further to check it out before turning back. Return the same way you came from. If you’re looking for more things to do in Joshua Tree, check out our list of 9 amazing stops in Joshua Tree, or the 7 awesome easy hikes here.
Happy Adventuring. Don’t forget to check out the related posts below for more inspiration on your upcoming adventures. While at it, follow us on Instagram and subscribe to our YouTube channel! We’ll love you forever!
These are the gear that we personally use and find helpful for this particular adventure. Don’t forget to check out our Recommended Gear section as well.
These hiking poles are sturdy, and great to help keep your balance on short or longer hikes
If you tend to have foot blisters on hikes, get this! We use this all the time.
Our favorite hiking/travel jacket. It's warm and packable, perfect to bring on a hike or a road trip.
Our favorite hiking/travel jacket. It's warm and packable, perfect to bring on a hike or a road trip.
This jacket is packable into a super small and light little ball. Perfect for when you just need a little…
This jacket is packable into a super small and light little ball. Perfect for when you just need a little…
It's always good to bring a GPS tracker with you. We use the Garmin inReach.
This is Vy's favorite hiking bag! It has tons of room for snacks and water!
Our favorite biodegradable, eco-friendly, reef-safe sunscreen!
This is our go-to camera for all of our adventures. It comes with us everywhere!
Compact GoPro pole that extends to 25", perfect to bring on your adventure.
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Hi! We are Dustin & Vy, the proud creators of Live That Adventure. We created this website because we wanted to inspire others to live their lives to the fullest. On here, you’ll find everything from hiking, canyoneering, kayaking, and snorkeling to adventure and travel tips, gear reviews, and bucket list items such as bungee jumping or wing walking. We’ll show you the ropes so you can do them too!
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