eureka peak

We drove this trail in my Nissan Xterra on a Wednesday evening at sunset. We encountered no one. It's a lovely off-road trail, very serene and quiet. The surroundings are beautiful and the Joshua Trees in this part of the park are enormous. The sense of isolation is the best part if you're looking to get away from the crowds on the main roads. If you can time it right, get to Eureka Peak about 30 minutes before sunset and you'll have an amazing view of the mountains to the west. Thumbs up!

... and worth it. You'll need 4 wheel drive and a map to get here. We went on a holiday weekend in winter and encountered no one else. For us this was a good thing. The view was stunning. I hope this information helps the good and conscientious travelers.

This is a good day hike in Joshua Tree National Park. My husband and I hiked it in March 2012. I call it a day hike, but it won't take you all day. Ask a ranger about it before doing it.We had done other easier hikes earlier in our trip, and I was glad. I don't recommend doing this one on your first day or two in the park. We needed time to get ready for longer, tougher hikes before doing this one, especially since we're from Illinois.It was just long and tough enough for me to give me a sense of satisfaction, and the views from the top were sensational. We really liked it. This trail was also very peaceful; I think we saw only about 4 other hikers the entire time up and down. You can find some solitude on this hike. Even at the summit, there were only two other people there, and they had taken the dirt road up in their SUV. The road doesn't go to the actual summit, however, so it was very quiet up there.I recommend it! Have a good hike!

This is a little traveled area in Joshua Tree, but very very good. It is clearly marked on the Park map, and is one of the several dirt road experiences. The two easiest off road trips in the Park are this one and the Geology trail. The others take a braver driver than me.The very first part of this trip is the worst, but still passable by a brave duce driver. This part goes by homes, and is not too well maintained. Once you enter the park (and it's marked), the road gets better. The next 5 miles are washboard type trails. When you take a hard right to go up to Eurieka Peak, the road actually gets better, less bumpy. Toward the end of the Peak drive (10 miles total out, same back), you pass some amazing desert scenery with some of the best and largest Joshua Trees. At the Peak itself, expect to hike around a good hour or two - there are several places to go and look at amazing overlooks and desert. The view is varied and magnificent in 360 degrees. You can see the Palm Springs area, San Gregonio Peak, San Jacinto Peak, 29 palms and Yucca Valley area. and an expanse of desert views down various valley's. This view is the equal of Keys view with almost no one there. On the way back, there is one other Gem of a high desert area, its the road to upper covington flats - not far, and again the road is well maintained. This area is on the California hikiing and riding trail. This whole area combined is a good 1/2 day experience if you "smell the roses". We met with one cycler and 1 park ranger that day, that was it!