What the days and nights are like
Winter is the cool stretch of the desert year. The park's own guide puts winter days around 60°F and nights near or below freezing. At the weather station in Twentynine Palms, near the North Entrance at about 2,000 feet, the average December high is 62°F and the low is 40°F, and January and February run only a few degrees warmer.
Much of the park is higher than that. The Joshua tree forests along Park Boulevard sit between 3,000 and 5,000 feet, so plan on it being colder there, and colder still after dark.
Days are short. The sun sets before 6 PM all winter and before 5 PM in early December, and the park warns that temperatures drop quickly in the evening. It occasionally snows at the higher elevations, and now and then a storm closes a road like Keys View Road for a morning while the ice clears. Strong wind can blow in any season.
December
The shortest days of the year, with an average high of 62°F and a low of 40°F in Twentynine Palms.
The Geminid meteor shower peaks around December 13 and 14, and in 2026 the moon will hardly get in the way. The moon is full on December 23, so Christmas week nights are bright enough to walk by.
Christmas and New Year's
The park is open 24 hours a day, every day of the year, Christmas Day and New Year's Day included. Holidays are among its busiest times, so the popular trailheads and parking lots fill early. Go early in the day.
The park's campgrounds are usually full on weekends from fall to spring, and reservations open up to six months ahead. Visitor center hours can change over the holidays, so check the park's site before you count on one being open.
January
An average high of 63°F and a low of 42°F in Twentynine Palms. The Quadrantid meteor shower peaks around January 3 and 4.
At the lowest elevations, around Cottonwood, the park usually starts to see wildflowers in January and February, more of them after a wet fall and winter.
February
An average high of 67°F and a low of 44°F in Twentynine Palms, and the days are noticeably longer. Joshua trees usually bloom between mid-February and April, but only after timely rain and a cold winter, so some years see few flowers. Presidents' Day weekend is one of the busy holiday weekends.
What to pack
- Layers: a warm jacket, a hat and gloves for the mornings, evenings and wind, and something lighter for the middle of the day
- Sunglasses and sunscreen
- Water, at least a gallon per person for the day, even in the cold
- Food for the day, since there is none to buy inside the park
- Shoes with grip, because rocky trails can hold frost or ice after a storm
- A flashlight with a red setting if you will be out after dark, and offline maps, since cell service in the park is very limited
What is open in winter
All of it. The park is open 24 hours a day, every day, and winter sits inside its busy season, which runs from October to May, so the campgrounds that close for the summer are open. Roads close only now and then after snow or ice, and the park's alerts at nps.gov/jotr say which.
When it is cold or windy
Desert wind can turn a fine day raw. A few ideas for those days:
- The park's visitor centers, in the town of Joshua Tree and in Twentynine Palms, for the exhibits and a ranger's read on conditions
- Short walks over long ones, like the one mile Hidden Valley loop, so you are never far from the car
- A drive along Park Boulevard with stops at the pullouts. The park calls the drive a way to see a lot of it in a couple of hours
- The Hi-Desert Nature Museum in Yucca Valley, run by the town
- An hour indoors with the Gamelatron in Morongo Valley, more on it below
Kaleidoscope Desert in winter
Our sanctuary is in Morongo Valley, 15 minutes from the town of Joshua Tree and 20 minutes from Palm Springs. More than 100 rescued animals roam free among the art, Rubs the zebra, mini horses, mini cows, goats, pigs and giant tortoises among them, and they come over to meet you.
The Sanctuary Tour is a guided walk of about 90 minutes and runs daily. On a cold or windy afternoon, the Gamelatron is a full hour indoors in the Center, a light-filled room where fifteen bronze gongs play themselves, with sessions on the hour from 1 to 7 PM. In winter the last ones run after dark. The Day Pass covers the whole afternoon, 12 to 6 PM, with the tour and a Gamelatron session included. Every visit is for adults, 18 and over.
100% of proceeds go to the animals: their rescue, their care, and the sanctuary they live in. Kaleidoscope Desert Foundation is a registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit.
Winter nights and the stars
Long nights mean more hours of dark sky. Joshua Tree is an International Dark Sky Park, and the darkest nights fall around the new moon: December 8, January 7 and February 6 this winter. The park says the Milky Way is at its best on moonless summer nights, but a clear winter night here is still thick with stars. Bundle up, because it gets cold fast once the sun is down.