Best time to visit Joshua Tree National Park
November is the best balance at Joshua Tree: mild and dry for the park (an average high of 72°F), with busy crowds. March is busiest, with about 416,000 visitors. July is the quietest.
- Quiet
- Moderate
- Busy
- Very busy
- Few or no visits (may be closed)
- Best months
Month by month
- Station
- Twentynine Palms, CA USC00049099
- Lat / lon
- 34.13, -116.04
- Elevation
- 1,975 ft
- From park center
- 16.5 mi
- Second station
- Desert Resorts Rgnl AP, CA -118 ft
- Normals
- 1991–2020
- Visits
- 2023–2025
| Field | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Novbest | Dec | Year |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| High, °F | 63° | 67° | 74° | 81° | 90° | 99° | 104° | 103° | 97° | 85° | 72° | 62° | 83° |
| Low, °F | 42° | 44° | 49° | 55° | 63° | 71° | 77° | 76° | 69° | 58° | 47° | 40° | 58° |
| High at -118 ft, °F | 71° | 74° | 81° | 87° | 95° | 103° | 107° | 106° | 102° | 91° | 79° | 69° | 89° |
| Precipitation, in | 0.5 | 0.6 | 0.3 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0 | 0.4 | 0.7 | 0.3 | 0.1 | 0.2 | 0.6 | 3.9 |
| Snow, in | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| Daylight, h:mm | 10:07 | 10:55 | 11:52 | 12:59 | 13:54 | 14:24 | 14:12 | 13:25 | 12:21 | 11:17 | 10:21 | 9:54 | |
| Visitors, thousands | 272 | 295 | 416 | 359 | 251 | 180 | 136 | 147 | 165 | 203 | 304 | 337 | 3,065 |
| Crowds | Busy | Busy | Very busy | Very busy | Busy | Moderate | Moderate | Moderate | Moderate | Moderate | Busy | Very busy | |
| Weather | Mild, wet | Mild, wet | Mild, wet | Hot | Hot | Very hot | Very hot | Very hot | Very hot | Hot | Mild | Mild, wet |
| Month | High °F | Low °F | High at -118 ft | Precip., in | Snow, in | Daylight | Visitors | Crowds | Weather |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 63° | 42° | 71° | 0.5 | – | 10:07 | 272,000 | Busy | Mild, wet |
| February | 67° | 44° | 74° | 0.6 | – | 10:55 | 295,000 | Busy | Mild, wet |
| March | 74° | 49° | 81° | 0.3 | – | 11:52 | 416,000 | Very busy | Mild, wet |
| April | 81° | 55° | 87° | 0.1 | – | 12:59 | 359,000 | Very busy | Hot |
| May | 90° | 63° | 95° | 0.1 | – | 13:54 | 251,000 | Busy | Hot |
| June | 99° | 71° | 103° | 0 | – | 14:24 | 180,000 | Moderate | Very hot |
| July | 104° | 77° | 107° | 0.4 | – | 14:12 | 136,000 | Moderate | Very hot |
| August | 103° | 76° | 106° | 0.7 | – | 13:25 | 147,000 | Moderate | Very hot |
| September | 97° | 69° | 102° | 0.3 | – | 12:21 | 165,000 | Moderate | Very hot |
| October | 85° | 58° | 91° | 0.1 | – | 11:17 | 203,000 | Moderate | Hot |
| Novemberbest | 72° | 47° | 79° | 0.2 | – | 10:21 | 304,000 | Busy | Mild |
| December | 62° | 40° | 69° | 0.6 | – | 9:54 | 337,000 | Very busy | Mild, wet |
| Year | 83° | 58° | 89° | 3.9 | – | 3,065,000 | |||
Year: average high and low, total precipitation and snowfall, total visitors. T = trace (under 0.05 in). – = not measured at this station. Updated .
- Hottest July, average high 104°F
- Coldest nights December, average low 40°F
- Source NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information; National Park Service
- Visitors a year about 3,065,000 (2023–2025 average)
- State California
Elevation matters here: the record's second station, Desert Resorts Rgnl AP, CA, sits at -118 ft, against 1,975 ft for Twentynine Palms, CA. Expect conditions between the two depending on where you go.
Closures, reservations and alerts: Joshua Tree National Park on nps.gov
Nearby
- Mojave National PreserveBest: May, Oct and Nov · California
- Cabrillo National MonumentBest: May, Sep and Oct · California
- Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation AreaBest: Aug, Sep and Oct · California
- Tule Springs Fossil Beds National MonumentBest: Apr and Nov · Nevada