The Densest Joshua Tree Forest In The World

Going to Joshua Tree National Park to see Joshua trees this weekend? Well, maybe you should actually head over to the Mojave National Preserve instead. Teutonia Peak is an area that actually contains the most amount of Joshua Trees in the world. The specie is closely related to the more famous brother at JT National Park. The ones at Mojave are smaller in size. The summit view is spectacular, and Mojave is generally much less crowded compared to JT, so you will most likely have the whole place to yourself on any given weekend.

here’s a panoramic view of the summit

overview of the trail

Where: Cima area of the Mojave National Park right off of Kelso Cima road (one of park’s main roads)
Miles: 3.4 miles roundtrip
Elevation: 700 gain and loss
Difficulty: medium
GPS coordinates: 35.316255, -115.552474
Season: whenever but you may die of heat stroke during the summer
Highlight: So many joshua trees, an abandoned mine, and a great view of the desert region
Nearby Hikes: Kelso Dunes (one of North America’s largest sand dune )

This place is right off of Kelso Cima road and only about 20-25 minutes drive from the Kelso Depot Visitor Center.

From the visitor center, drive on the Kelso Cima road for about 15 minutes or so and you will see a sign for Hole In A Wall, just ignore that and keep on driving until you hit a “Y” junction where you can either continue going forward or making the right turn; you want to make the right turn. Continue on the road for about 5 to 10 minutes and you will see a big sign for World War I Memorial, then the parking for the trail will be on your left shortly after.

The trail is largely flat with majority of the climb being the last mile, so take it slow and you will get there. Although being relatively low in elevation and an easy peak to summit, the view at the top is nothing short of spectacular.