These hiking poles are sturdy, and great to help keep your balance on short or longer hikes
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Ryan Mountain Trail is considered one of the most popular hikes in Joshua Tree National Park. This steep 3-mile hike goes to the top of Ryan Mountain, where hikers can see beautiful panoramic views of Joshua Tree and the surrounding areas. On a clear day, you can see the massive peaks of San Gorgonio and San Jacinto. Even though the trail is steep, climbing about 1,050ft with tons of stairs, it is straightforward and quite doable as long as you take your time. If you’re visiting Joshua Tree National Park, this is one of the trails that you should check out.
Pro-tip: If you can, hike up Ryan Mountain Trail to watch the sunset. It is one of the best spots in Joshua Tree for sunset.
Ryan Mountain Trailhead:
Ryan Mountain Trail, Park Blvd, Twentynine Palms, CA 92277
34.002722, -116.135972
There is a small paved parking lot in front of the trailhead.
There is a fee to enter Joshua Tree National Park. For more information, check out the park’s website. You can also use your America the Beautiful pass!
Vault toilet at the trailhead.
Leave your pet at home. They are not allowed on the trail!
3 miles R.T.
1,050 ft
Easy to Moderate. The trail is simple but there’s a lot of elevation gain.
Takes average 2-3 hours
Since this is the desert, the best times to hike this trail are October through May when the weather is cooler. This is a popular hike so go early if you’re visiting during peak seasons.
Ryan Mountain Trail is located inside Joshua Tree National Park, along Park Boulevard, Joshua Tree’s main drive. The trailhead is about 15 miles from the West Entrance, not very far from the Hall of Horrors. You can also use the address listed above to map your way there. There are obvious signages and a parking area on the right side of the road if you’re coming from the West Entrance.
It’s kind of funny that as many times as we visited Joshua Tree National Park, we actually never hiked Ryan Mountain Trail before. Considering how popular it is, Dustin and I decided to finally cross this off our list. We got to the trailhead for Ryan Mountain Trail bright and early. We went on a weekday so there were some parking spots left. This parking lot fills up quickly on the weekends so get there early if you’re planning to hike this on the weekend.
The trailhead is located towards the east side of the parking lot, with obvious signage. The trail starts flat and quickly turns into stairs made out of native rocks. Even from the beginning, this trail is quite beautiful. We were admiring the massive rock formations on the right-hand side. These formations are called white tank granite which is over 135 million years old.
At about 0.2 miles, we came to the first and only junction of the whole trail. From this junction, we went right to follow Ryan Mountain Trail. Immediately after this junction, there are more stairs. The stairs seemed to go on forever. Luckily, we were distracted by the beautiful scenery so the stairs didn’t seem that bad. We also took a lot of breaks though, you know, to take photos… 😅. By the way, if you’re attempting this hike, please make sure to bring A LOT of water and snacks. It can get very warm! We hiked this trail on a 65-degree day and we were dying from how hot it got!
After a welcomed break from the stairs, as the trail curved around the side of the mountain, we had to climb more stairs up to the saddle. Ryan Mountain Trail seriously felt like a neverending stairmaster! Once we reached the top of the saddle, the trail via rights. At this point, we were happy because we were done with all the stairs. The trail still ascending but it’s a lot easier than what we just did.
Once we got past the saddle, it was maybe another 0.4 miles before we reached the summit of Ryan Mountain. This is a popular spot for Big Horn Sheep sighting so make sure to keep your eyes peeled! When we got to the top, we found a small sign stating that we were at the summit, at 5,457ft. There’s also a pile of rocks marking the Ryan Mountain summit.
From up here, we could see the panorama unfold before us with breathtaking clarity. We could see for miles, 360-degree views of majestic mountains and vast desert, a symphony of nature’s grandeur. It was quite a humbling experience.
After we were done admiring the views, we hesitated to head back down. The descent, in our opinions, is worse than the way up, especially for those with bad knees. Fortunately, the views on the way down are also spectacular so we were somewhat consolable. It’s ok to take your time and not rush. Some of the steps can be a bit tricky, especially for younger children and the elderly.
By the way, once you get down to the trailhead, don’t forget to check out the Indian Cave, a Native American rock shelter. It’s a super short walk from the parking lot and quite interesting to see.
Even though Ryan Mountain Trail is a popular trail and we could see why, it’s not our favorite trail in Joshua Tree National Park. I mean, if you haven’t done this before, we recommend to check this out. We just preferred more off-the-beaten-path things to do in Joshua Tree instead. As for our favorite trails, it has to be Queen Desert Mine to Eagle Cliff Boulder House and Willow Hole. Barker Dam is also a good, yet popular one.
Happy Adventuring. Don’t forget to check out the related posts below for more inspiration on your upcoming adventures. While at it, follow us on Instagram and subscribe to our YouTube channel! We’ll love you forever!
These are the gear that we personally use and find helpful for this particular adventure. Don’t forget to check out our Recommended Gear section as well.
These hiking poles are sturdy, and great to help keep your balance on short or longer hikes
If you tend to have foot blisters on hikes, get this! We use this all the time.
Our favorite hiking/travel jacket. It's warm and packable, perfect to bring on a hike or a road trip.
Our favorite hiking/travel jacket. It's warm and packable, perfect to bring on a hike or a road trip.
This jacket is packable into a super small and light little ball. Perfect for when you just need a little…
This jacket is packable into a super small and light little ball. Perfect for when you just need a little…
It's always good to bring a GPS tracker with you. We use the Garmin inReach.
This is Vy's favorite hiking bag! It has tons of room for snacks and water!
Our favorite biodegradable, eco-friendly, reef-safe sunscreen!
This is our go-to camera for all of our adventures. It comes with us everywhere!
Compact GoPro pole that extends to 25", perfect to bring on your adventure.
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Hi! We are Dustin & Vy, the proud creators of That Adventure Life. We created this website because we wanted to inspire others to live their lives to the fullest. On here, you’ll find everything from hiking, canyoneering, kayaking, and snorkeling to adventure and travel tips, gear reviews, and bucket list items such as bungee jumping or wing walking. We’ll show you the ropes so you can do them too!
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