Name: Cholla Cactus Garden Trail
Rating: 4.3

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Dogs No Dogs

Features Wildflowers

Family Friendly Kids will love meandering through the whimsical-looking cholla along this classic trail.

Overview

Take care to not touch the "fuzzy" teddybear cholla as you wind your way through this unique cactus garden.

Description

From the Pinto Basin Road, stop at the well marked parking area for the Cholla Cactus Garden. The very short path is a dirt loop with zero elevation gain. It winds delightfully through a forest of cholla cactus. One species of this cactus looks exceptionally fuzzy and, for this reason, it is commonly known as "teddy bear cholla".

Obviously, you should not touch the cactus - it damages the plant and will leave you with hooked spines embedded in your flesh and clothing. Otherwise, enjoy this profusion of stubby, cute desert life!

Flora & Fauna

Cholla cactus!

Contacts

Land Manager: NPS - Joshua Tree National Park

Shared By:

Megan W

Full Details

Trail Ratings

4.3 from 18 votes

#9

in Joshua Tree National Park

#1194

Overall

4.3 from 18 votes

5 Star		50%
4 Star		33%
3 Star		11%
2 Star		6%
1 Star		0%

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12 Views Last Month

1,086 Since Apr 23, 2015

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Photos

Droves of cholla are highlighted by the setting sun at Cholla Cactus Garden. Photo credit: NPS/Brad Sutton.

May 25, 2017 near Twentyn…, CA

Dec 8, 2015 near Twentyn…, CA

Mar 15, 2022 near Twentyn…, CA

Mar 29, 2018 near Twentyn…, CA

Mar 21, 2019 near Twentyn…, CA

Cholla Cactus Garden Trail in Joshua Tree National Park

Apr 22, 2015 near Twentyn…, CA

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Weather

Current Trail Conditions

Unknown

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Check-Ins

Oct 26, 2024

Colleen Gebauer

Busy but cool

Oct 19, 2024

Ashley Zagari

0.2mi

Sep 15, 2023

Dan Shemon

No Joshua Trees yet hmmm 0.2mi — 0h 12m

Feb 27, 2023

Hugh Jass

Feb 17, 2023

Deacon Klemme

Feb 4, 2023

Peder Bisbjerg

Worthwhile loop. 0.2mi — 0h 15m

Dec 31, 2022

Saravanan Varadan

Dec 29, 2022

Rosie Betenbaugh

0.2mi — 4h 07m

Dec 28, 2022

Rosie Betenbaugh

4h 07m

Sep 16, 2022

Neha M

May 18, 2022

George Vogel

Mar 15, 2022

Stewart Carnes

Feb 9, 2022

Jeff McCarthy

Nov 23, 2021

Amy Kolor

Nov 12, 2021

Ellie Sveum

May 10, 2021

Ebert Cabrera

Mar 30, 2021

Rick Brunet

Jan 18, 2021

Janice Jiang

Jan 3, 2021

Lou Hibbard

With Janelle - unique density of plants 0.2mi

Nov 28, 2020

Bruno Guisard

Nov 25, 2020

Jon C

Nov 11, 2020

Casey Chu

Jul 16, 2020

Jessie Smith

Mar 9, 2020

Michelle F

Mar 8, 2020

Beth N

Feb 25, 2020

Jenn Kole

Feb 16, 2020

Lian Zhu

Feb 8, 2020

Scott George

Jan 25, 2020

Paige Crowley

0.2mi

Jan 24, 2020

Reid Lewis

0.2mi

Jan 12, 2020

Megan Davidson

Jan 5, 2020

Donna Coffman

Dec 13, 2019

Tim Loosier

Dec 12, 2019

Hoss G

Oct 13, 2019

Marisa Pashby

Sep 28, 2019

Dennis Dixon

Sep 14, 2019

Allison K

0.2mi

Sep 1, 2019

Heather Alford

11h 56m

Aug 15, 2019

A H

Aug 12, 2019

Hiking Bear

Bees may be out looking for water, including in your bottles, sweat, and car A/C. Park rangers suggest turning off A/C 15 min before parking. — 0h 20m

May 25, 2019

Madeleine Grace

Apr 16, 2019

Milly S

Yeah it was .2 miles not 2. But still cool! 2mi — 0h 15m

Mar 18, 2019

David Kohl

Mar 14, 2019

Ryan Gillikin

9h 00m

Feb 1, 2019

Trent Caldwell

Dec 29, 2018

Aga Szyman

Dec 25, 2018

Florence Doo

0.2mi

Sep 8, 2018

Kris Gaudart

Sep 2, 2018

Erin Hart

Jul 22, 2018

S M

Jun 18, 2018

Joseph Matan

Jun 17, 2018

Clint Ferguson

May 25, 2018

Evan McCord

Beautiful. Worth the drive down to it. 0.1mi

May 4, 2018

Brooke Campbell

Jan 13, 2018

Chris McCloud

Done as part of stop at JOTR during California swing with Jiaxin December 2017-January 2018

Jan 12, 2018

Chris McCloud

Did with Jiaxin as part of tour of California, Dec 2017-Jan 2018.

Sep 8, 2017

Dylan Payne

May 29, 2017

Ciprian Bot

Apr 29, 2017

Lauren Goetz

Apr 22, 2017

Ciprian Bot

Apr 13, 2017

Jeff Boyle

Took a quick walk through the garden while the boys napped in the car. Fun how the cacti propagate through mini tumble-sprouts!

Feb 19, 2017

Mai Tran

Jun 28, 2016

Lisa Kessel

Jun 2, 2005

Vipul Lakhani

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Cholla Cactus Garden Trail

“This completely level loop visits a wonderfully dense concentration of cholla cactus. ”

0.2

0.4

Loop

2,197' 670 m

2,185' 666 m

12' 4 m

14' 4 m

2%

4%

Toolbox

Know This Trail?

Dogs No Dogs

Features Wildflowers

Family Friendly Kids will love meandering through the whimsical-looking cholla along this classic trail.

Overview

Description

Flora & Fauna

Contacts

Shared By:

Trail Ratings

#9

#1194

#9

#185

#1,194

Photos

0 Comments

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Weather

Current Trail Conditions

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Nearby Recommended Routes

Arch Rock Nature Trail

Lucky Boy Vista

Ryan Mountain Trail

Cap Rock Nature Trail

Hidden Valley Nature Trail

Fortynine Palms Oasis Trail

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