Modern Hiker

A quick up-and-down that not only escapes the crowds at popular, drivable Keys View, but also provides better vistas of Joshua Tree National Park and its surrounding mountains.

Joshua Tree, like all National Parks, has more than its fair share of cargoing sight-seers - that disproportionately loud and messy group that drives on paved roads to the designated vista spots, gets out to take a snapshot or two, and then drives away. This park, I think, has more of them because there’s such a clear and straightforward north-south car route through the park.

Whatever the reason, Keys View is one of those automobile hotspots. It’s the highest elevation in the park that you can get to without setting your foot on actual dirt, and with its ample parking and cement walkways, it’s a popular spot.

… which is too bad, as the actual View from Keys View is pretty amazing. When the air’s not clogged up with smog from My Fair City, you can see the mountains of the San Bernardino range to the west, Mount San Jacinto to the southwest, and south past the Salton Sea and into Mexico.

After I’d finished at Queen Mountain, I headed south to the View, and was greeted with a large crowd. All the parking spaces were full, and the place was swarming with tourists.

I managed to find a spot a bit further down the road and walked up to the clearly-marked trailhead. Inspiration Peak is visible from the parking lot, and looks a hell of a lot more inviting than the cement sidewalk at Keys View.

The trail wastes no time in ascending the small, unnamed peak to the northwest of the parking lot. It’s clearly marked, with few switchbacks, and just steep enough to scare away most of the sidewalkers at Keys. The trail quickly reaches this peak before descending into a small saddle and rising back up to Inspiration Peak.

Here, the trail can get slightly diffcult to follow, but you’d have to be pretty inattentive to get lost. After the saddle, it’s just another short scramble up to Inspiration Peak - an elevated rock ledge that gives almost-360 degree views.

If you make it to Inspiration, not only will you be rewarded with similarly spectacular views of the Salton Sea and San Jacinto …

… but you’ll also get sweeping vistas of the park’s interior, which is not visible from Keys View. Here’s distant Queen Mountain (on the left) and Ryan Mountain - an excellent hike in the center of the park - in the foreground.

You’ll also get a chance to enjoy these views in relative peace and quiet - which I would bet money on you never getting at Keys View, especially on the weekend.

The Basics:

- Distance: 1.2 miles
- Elevation Gain: About 400 feet.
- Time: 40 minutes.
- Trail Condition: Very good from Keys View to the first peak. After that, it can be difficult to spot, but almost impossible to get lost.
- How to Get There: In Joshua Tree National Park, head toward the center of the park. Turn onto Keys View Road near Cap Rock and follow it to the end of the road. The trailhead is in the northwest side of the parking lot.

- Map It

The Notables:

- Better views and fewer tourists than Keys View. This hike is not a Destination per se, but the view from Keys is worth seeing, and this hike is definitely a much better way of seeing it.
- Easy addition to your Hundred Peaks list.

More Pictures:

- In a set with my Queen Mountain hike on Flickr.

* Note: This peak may also be referred to as Inspiration Mountain in some maps and guide books.