The California Riding and Hiking Trail in Joshua Tree National Park is a perfect choice for a three- to four-day backpacking trip between late fall and early spring. The trail offers comfortable winter temperatures, easy hiking, solitude, and beautiful desert scenery.
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Trail Information // Getting to the Trailhead // When to Go // Permits // Difficulty // Where to Camp // Maps and Guidebooks // Water // Campfires // Food Storage // Trail Map and Profile // Itineraries // Route Details // Where to Stay Before and After
Trail Information
Location: Joshua Tree National Park, California
Distance: 37.5 miles
Days required: Three to four days
Route type: Point-to-point
Type of trail: Maintained
Vertical Ascent: 3,246 feet
Max Altitude: 5,173 feet
Difficulty: Easy to moderate
When to go: November to April
Permits: No permit required
Fees: $30 park entrance/vehicle fee
Dogs: No
Why You Should Go
- Excellent option for a winter season backpacking trip
- Easy last-minute option because there are no permits to secure in advance
- Opportunity to explore less crowded, off-the-beaten-track areas of Joshua Tree National Park
- Good backpacking trip for beginners because the trail is mostly level with minimal elevation gain
Things to Consider
- There are no water sources along the trail, so so you’ll need to cache water before you start (see the Water section below for details)
- It can get very hot between May and October
- This is a point-to-point route, so you’ll need two cars
Getting to the Trailhead
Joshua Tree National Park is located about a two-hour drive east of Los Angeles and a three-hour drive northeast of San Diego. There are three entrances to the park — West, North, and South. For this hike, you’ll start near the West Entrance and end near the North Entrance.
Because this is a point-to-point hike, you’ll need to leave a car at each trailhead — luckily, it’s only a 40-minute drive between the two. Don’t forget to pack keys for both cars before heading out!
Starting trailhead location: Black Rock Campground Entrance
Ending trailhead location: North Entrance backpacker registration board
When to Go
The best time to do this trip is between November and March, when temperatures average in the 60s and 70s during the day and the 40s at night. While the weather in the winter is usually very comfortable, the high desert can get cold at night, and I’ve experienced several nights in Joshua Tree where temperatures have dipped to around 20 degrees — so be sure to pack some warm layers.
This trip may also be possible in April and October, when temperatures average in the 80s during the day and the 50s at night.
I would NOT recommend attempting this trip between May and September, as daytime temperatures can reach over 90 degrees.
Permits
There are no permits or reservations required to backpack the California Riding and Hiking Trail, though you do need to register at one of the 13 backcountry boards before starting your trip. You can find the list of registration boards here. You can also see the location of each board (labeled B) on the park map below.
Difficulty
On terrain alone, the California Riding and Hiking Trail deserves an easy rating, since the elevation gain is minimal and navigation is relatively straightforward. But the total mileage and lack of water sources push the rating toward a moderate difficulty level. As always, your physical condition, the weather, your pack weight, and your itinerary will affect the difficulty of your individual trip.
Trail: The trail is clear and well marked, making navigation easy. It’s also mostly firm sand and free of obstacles, making for easy hiking.
Elevation: The trail tops out at 5,173 feet, so altitude is not a concern. Additionally, the only “major” climb along the trail is the gradual, 1,000-foot ascent that occurs over the first six miles, after which the trail is mostly flat or even downhill.
Itinerary: Hiking this trail in four days makes for a relaxed pace and a route that can be broken up easily to allow you to camp near water caches. A three-day itinerary will make the route more difficult. Because of the locations of the logical cache points, you’ll likely have one day with big mileage or you won’t be able to camp near a water source.
Water: There are no water sources along the route, so you’ll need to carry all the water you need between your cache points. Carrying extra water means heavier packs and harder hiking (see the Water section below for details).
Where to Camp
There are no designated campsites along the California Riding and Hiking Trail. You can camp anywhere along the trail as long as you follow these simple rules:
- Camp at least one mile from roads
- Stay 500 feet from trails and water sources
- Do not camp in day-use only areas
To avoid carrying extra water, I highly recommend camping near your cache points.
The trail also passes near three conveniently located front-country campgrounds that provide fire pits and vault toilets. These campgrounds cost a small fee and are first come, first served. These sites are great options but are very popular, so don’t be surprised if they’re full.
Maps and Guidebooks
Digital Maps: I researched my route online and printed out maps for free from home using Caltopo. Then, I used the Gaia phone app GPS when on the trail.
Print Maps: If you prefer good old-fashioned paper maps, they are available from the following sources:
- National Geographic Maps: Joshua Tree National Park Map
- Tom Harrison Maps: Joshua Tree National Park Map
Water
There are NO WATER SOURCES on the trail, even at the established campgrounds nearby. Backpackers are allowed to cache water along the route for up to 14 days. A water cache is simply bottled water that you place along the trail before you start. The easiest places to cache water are near the backcountry registration boards and campgrounds, because they are easily accessed by vehicle (see Permits section above for details). We left a water cache near where we planned to camp each night.
Remember to tag your cache with your name and contact information so rangers can contact you if they need to remove it. Of course, it’s important to note exactly where you leave your water cache so you can find it again. I recommend tagging the location with your GPS or taking a photo of the area.
Popular points to cache water are near the backcountry registration boards at Covington Flat, Keys View Road, Geology Tour Road, and Pinto Basin Road as well as Ryan and Belle Campgrounds.
Campfires
Fires are NOT allowed in the backcountry. Gas stoves are permitted.
Food Storage
Rodents, birds, and coyotes are the mains threats to your food. I personally don’t like to store food in my tent or backpack overnight because small animals often chew holes in gear to get at it. For trips like this, when I’m not in bear country, I use an Armored Outdoor Gear Ratsack Bag to keep my food and scented items safe from critters.
Trail Map and Profile
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Itineraries
The listed endpoint for each day was where we’d cached our water. From that point, we hiked until we were one mile from any roads and 500 feet from the trail before we setup camp.
Keys View Road is close to Ryan Campground and Twin Tanks backcountry registration board is close to Belle and White Tank campgrounds. These campgrounds are great camping options if any of the first come, first served sites are available.
Three-Day, Two-Night Option
Day 1: Black Rock backcountry registration board to Keys View Road (18.5 miles)
Day 2: Keys View Road to Twin Tanks backcountry registration board(10.5 miles)
Day 3: Twin Tanks backcountry registration board to North Entrance backcountry registration board (7.3 miles)
Four-Day, Three-Night Option
Day 1: Black Rock backcountry registration board to Upper Covington Flat backcountry registration board (7.5 miles)
Day 2: Upper Covington Flat backcountry registration board to Keys View Road (11 miles)
Day 3: Keys View Road to Twin Tanks backcountry registration board (10.5 miles)
Day 4: Twin Tanks backcountry registration board to North Entrance backcountry registration board (7.3 miles)
Route Details
Click here for a detailed map of the trail, campgrounds, and backcountry registration board locations.
Section One: Black Rock backcountry registration board to Upper Covington Flat backcountry registration board (7.5 miles)
You will start the day by parking and registering at the backpacker registration board located at the entrance to Black Rock Campground. From the trailhead the hike ascends gradually, climbing 1,207 feet over five and a half miles. This is the biggest hill of the entire hike and peaks at 5,173 feet. From there, the trail descends gradually for two miles until reaching the parking area for the Upper Covington Flat backcountry registration board. The Upper Covington Flat parking area is accessible by a dirt road which is usually drivable in a sedan. This trailhead is a great place to start the hike if you are short on time or want to bypass the first section.
One thing to note is that the California Riding and Hiking Trail intersects Eureka Peak/Upper Covington Flat Road after five and quarter miles. Some maps make it look like the California Riding and Hiking Trail actually follows this road. However, the California Riding and Hiking Trail continues as a faint single-track trail along the north side of the road until reaching Upper Covington Flat parking area. You can either follow the single-track California Riding and Hiking Trail or follow the dirt Upper Covington Flat Road, both will end at Upper Covington Flat parking area.
Section Two: Upper Covington Flat backcountry registration board to Keys View Road (11 miles)
The second section travels from Upper Covington Flat parking area to Keys View Road. The first mile of the trail is mostly flat then ascends about 400 feet over the next mile and a half. Once you reach the top, the scenery opens up to amazing views of the park sprawling below. From there, the trail descends moderately for the next two miles, traveling down into a small valley until it eventually turns and climbs right back out of the valley for next mile and a half. After this final climb, the remaining five miles are absolutely delightful as the trail slowly descends through interesting rock formations and the park’s famous Joshua trees.
Section Three: Keys View Road to Twin Tanks backcountry registration board (10.5 miles)
From Keys View Road it is about a half mile further on the California Riding and Hiking Trail to Ryan Campground, a first-come, first-served front country campground. This is a great place to camp if you can grab a spot, however, this campground is popular so it may be full.
From Keys View Road the trail is nearly flat for the first six miles. After six miles the trail crosses Geology Tour Road, an easily drivable dirt road and another good place to leave a water cache. From there the trail descends very gradually for the next four miles until you reach the Twin Tanks Backcountry reservation board where the trail intersects Pinto Basin Road.
Section Four: Twin Tanks backcountry registration board to North Entrance backcountry registration board (7.3 miles)
From Pinto Basin Road the trail begins traveling north. After roughly one mile you will pass a short side trail to the west which leads to Belle Campground. The final stretch of the trail travels gradually downhill the entire way until ending at the North Entrance backcountry registration board and parking area.
Where to Stay Before and After
Hotels: The cities of Joshua Tree and Twentynine Palms are conveniently located just outside the park’s northern border and offer numerous hotel options.
Camping inside the park: The National Park Service operates eight campgrounds within the park. Four of these campgrounds are first come, first served and the remaining four are by reservation only. Campgrounds fill up very fast, so I highly recommend trying to secure a reservation. Black Rock Campground is located next to the starting trailhead, making it a very convenient option.
Camping outside the park: There is free dispersed camping on the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) property located just outside the park’s north and south borders. You can view maps of these areas here. These campgrounds have no facilities, so come prepared. Note also that fires are not permitted at the northern location.
Thanks
Thanks so much for checking out my backpacking guide for the California Riding and Hiking Trail in Joshua Tree National Park. I hope that this guide will help you have an excellent trip. As always, please remember to follow Leave No Trace principles to preserve the natural state of the places we love. Feel free to comment below if you have any questions, suggestions, or good vibes you want to share. If you found this guide useful, please like, pin, and share using the “share” icons below.
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Great info for someone trying to plan their own backpacking trip! Can totally tell you’ve done this before and know what you’re talking about. Thank you 😁 I am definitely going to read your High Sierra and Lost Coast guides too!