Joshua Tree is a small desert town on the northern edge of Joshua Tree National Park in the Mojave Desert of southern California, about 200 km east of Los Angeles. The park, which it borders and serves as a gateway for, is one of the most striking landscapes in California — a high desert of enormous boulder piles, twisted Joshua trees (a type of yucca), and the meeting point of the Mojave and Sonoran deserts. The town is a hub for climbers, hikers, artists, and people seeking a particular flavour of desert mysticism.
The boulder formations at Skull Rock, Hidden Valley, and countless other sites in the park offer world-class bouldering and rock climbing. The park has miles of hiking trails from short nature walks to multi-day backcountry routes. Cholla Cactus Garden and the Cottonwood Spring oasis are good for birdwatching. The night sky here is exceptional — the park is an International Dark Sky Park and on a clear night the Milky Way is dramatically visible. The town itself has a genuine arts and music scene that has drawn musicians and artists since the 1970s, including a long association with Gram Parsons and the broader cosmic country movement.