Tree of Life

 Joshua Tree National Park

April 2023

We pulled over at the Tree of Life wayside to take in the view of scattered trees set against a jumbled rockscape. I got out to read about the area and snap a few pictures when I realized there were trails leading away from the small parking area. I investigated a little to determine if it was worth getting Kellisa out and in her wheelchair for some exploring. I was conflicted because the trails weren't marked and didn't look official, but they looked interesting and I knew I could push Kellisa across the natural terrain. We ended up exploring for about 15 minutes and covered about a 1/3 of a mile. We were the only ones at the Tree of Life and we enjoyed our solitude. 

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Lower Keys View

 Joshua Tree National Park

April 2023

At barely 1/10 of a mile in length, I was questioning if the effort required to get Kellisa in and out of the SUV with her wheelchair would be worth it, especially since I could see the viewpoint from our disabled parking spot. I can say we are both glad we took the time because the view from the lookout was spectacular across the valley with the Salton Sea and Santa Rosa Mountains visible. It is reported that you can even see into Mexico on a clear day. We did not have a clear day. While we would have liked a longer trail, the paved sidewalk was worth our effort. 

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Oasis of Mara

 Joshua Tree National Park

April 2023

The Oasis of Mara is the standard 1/2 mile paved ADA accessible paved trail behind a visitor center in a national park. It has informative signs spaced out along the path for visitors can learn about the local features of the desert. We shared the trail with a few visitors, but didn't observe any wildlife. Viewing different cactus was a highlight and seeing houses scattered across the desert was a unique sighting.  

2013 Flashback:

Pictures from July 2013 Visit

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Bajada Trail

 Joshua Tree National Park

April 2023

Our third trail in the southern section of Joshua Tree National Park was the Bajada Trail. 

We found the natural surface trail to be fully accessible just as the park's website claimed. The trail was wide and barrier free with minimal slope. This is the type of trail we love, especially when Kellisa is touring in her wheelchair instead of her specialized trail chairs. If we had one complaint, it would be that the loop trail was only a 1/3 of a mile long. We did spend 20 minutes on the trail as we stopped at bench for a few minutes, read the interpretive signs, and took many pictures as we took in our beautiful desert surroundings.

This is an example of a perfect ADA accessible natural surface trail...we just wish it was longer! 

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Cholla Cactus Garden Nature Trail

Joshua Tree National Park

April 2023

The Cholla Cactus Garden Nature Trail is not considered "Accessible" but we decided to check it out anyway even though we only had Kellisa's travel wheelchair with us. We left her off-road specialty chairs at home for this trip. We were filled with immediate optimism when we saw a couple disabled parking spots near the start of the trail. We knew we would at least try this trail when we saw the beginning section was wide and despite being natural, the surface appeared to be solid. 

After unloading Kellisa and her chair, we read the trail signs, including a warning not to touch to Cholla Cactus due to stinging barbs that can easily detach and embed in your skin. We had no reason to doubt the park's signs describing the removal of these barbs as extremely painful. 

The trail is a short 1/4 mile loop and we weren't sure if it would be accessible the entire route, but we were eager to find out. The trail passed through 10 acres of Cholla Cactus and they were quite close to the trail, but it was always easy to avoid touching them. The trail had a couple of short boardwalks over what I assume to be occasional washes. These were easily navigated with Kellisa's chair because they had very minor height differences from the trail.

We traveled in a counterclockwise direction around the loop and found the only real obstacle for a wheelchair towards the end when there were a few decent sized rocks scattered along the path. It looked like these rocks were kicked or placed on the trail, maybe by children? They definitely looked out of place. There weren't many and they could easily be kicked to the side of the trail. Since I could wheel Kellisa around these rocks without disturbing them, I decided to leave them how we found them since I couldn't be absolutely sure they didn't belong in the middle of the trail.

With the exception of the above mentioned rocks, we found the trail accessible. I'm not sure what is keeping the trail from being designated as accessible, but we would love to see the minor improvements take place so more disabled visitors could enjoy this beautiful trail through one of the few Cholla Cactus gardens in Joshua Tree National Park. 

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