Quail Springs - Joshua Tree National Park

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Quail Springs - Joshua Tree National Park

Sure, I started out strong and in the right direction. I knew that the spot I was looking for was up a canyon, along a wash, just a walk in the park. Unless you miss the wash coming down from that canyon over there, just as you round the corner of that mountain on the north and then continue down the main drainage until you get to the next big wash coming down from the south and then climb a rise to look around and realize that you've hiked way too far.

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Return to Samuelson's Rocks - Joshua Tree National Park

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Return to Samuelson's Rocks - Joshua Tree National Park

The weather was perfect, the air was crisp and clean, my parking spot was open and the desert sand was scrunchy. Gathering my possibles, I set out to see what I could find on the way to Samuelson's Rocks.

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Quail Springs Valley Pumphouse - Joshua Tree National Park

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Quail Springs Valley Pumphouse - Joshua Tree National Park

The parking area at Quail Springs is also a great spot to stage a hike out into the desert, because the desert holds many secrets, and Quail Springs Valley guards them closely. Have you been to the White Cliffs of Dover? Have you seen the Desert Gold of lost mining camps? Perhaps you've heard of John Samuelson's Rocks? Or the famous Boy Scout Trail? All these and many other amazing secret and some not-so-secret places can be visited in the Quail Springs vicinity.

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White Cliffs of Dover - Joshua Tree National Park

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White Cliffs of Dover - Joshua Tree National Park

The White Cliffs of Dover is a well-known rock climbing formation located less than one mile south of the parking area at Quail Springs picnic area. Not used to doing things the easy way, I drove a bit south of QS and parked in a pullout on the west side of Park Blvd. This jaunt was a spur-of-the-moment idea. I was actually heading towards Jumbo Rocks, but caught a nice view of the cliffs as I was driving past, so decided to hike out to them to see what I could find.

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Rock Hopping at Joshua Tree National Park

/ Joshua Tree National Park/
Rock Hopping at Joshua Tree National Park

I recently had the good fortune to spend parts of several days at Joshua Tree National Park. Without any firm destination in mind, or extensive hikes planned, I used my park hopper pass to hop around the park. An annual pass to JTree is a sound investment.

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