This post is going to be short and sweet, just like the Cholla Cactus Garden Loop. The Cholla Cactus Garden Loop is a very easy, flat .25 mile loop located in the Colorado Desert of Joshua Tree National Park. It is almost in the center of the park, about a 10 minute drive from the Arch Rock Nature Trail. The landscape changes drastically in those 10 minutes, as you leave the Mojave Desert and drive into the Colorado Desert.
Cholla Cactus Garden
The dramatic rock formations give way to rolling mountains of rock and some wide open expanse of desert. If you’ve never seen Cholla cacti, also known as Teddybear Cholla, it is a pretty neat place to stop. If you’ve done a lot of other desert hiking, it might not hold a lot of appeal for you. Either way, if you are planning on making it through the entire park to see the palm oasis at Cottonwood Spring, you will pass the garden. If you’ve never seen anything quite like this, park, hop out of your car and take an easy stroll through the garden.
Teddybear Cholla Cacti
If it’s your first encounter with Teddybear Cholla you will probably be impressed. We took 30 minutes to walk the loop, stopping frequently for photos.
Teddybear Cholla Cacti
The park recommends wearing closed toe shoes, especially if you plan on coming to this area of the park. Not only do the spines of the cacti fall on the path you will be walking on, but this cacti also goes by the name of Jumping Cholla. If you happen to be here on a windy day, it is very possible that part of the cactus may be blown off the main cactus and will ‘jump’ around until it finds a place to stick. You do not want that place to be you. Do not try to pick one up! They have minuscule barbs on each and every spine that will lodge itself into your skin. They are very difficult and painful to remove.
Teddybear Cholla Cacti
I’m not sure how long the cacti generally live, but this is what they look like when they die. This one looked like it had a face on it, and it reminded me of the Wicked Witch from the Wizard of Oz. This led my husband and myself to doing our best impressions of the “I’m melting! Melting! Oh, what a world! What a world!” scene.
Next, we hopped back in the car for the 30 minute drive to the Cottonwood Spring Trail which is located very near the southern exit of the park. Although it would be our seventh and final hike of the day, it was the first one that offered us shade! As always, wishing you happy travels and fantastic adventures in this thing called life.
If you’d like to check out some other hikes located in Joshua Tree National Park click on the links below.
Hidden Valley Picnic Area Trail
Hiking Skull Rock Nature Trail
All pictures are available for purchase as Fine Art Prints or Digital Downloads at full resolution through Alamy. If you see something you like, click on the link. If you are unable to find it, use the Contact Me page and I will make sure the image is available.
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Cholla Cactus Garden
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