YES!

If you don't have time to visit Joshua Tree National Park, just east of Big Bear Lake, CA is a forest with some of the largest Joshua Trees in the world! In fact, the largest Joshua Tree (Champion Joshua) was living here until its untimely murder recently. (vandals w/shotgun!)

You can visit the Joshua Tree forest in Big Bear Lake on your trip between Big Bear Lake and Barstow / Las Vegas just 5 minutes off highway 18.

The forest lies in what is known as rattlesnake canyon at the Cactus Flats turnout off highway 18 just 3.5 east of Baldwin Lake!

A short easy walk on an old dirt fireroad will take you into our Joshua Tree wonderland. Take dirt road 3N03 (Smarts Ranch Road) southeast for 4.9 miles.

(most passenger cars can handle this mostly flat sandy road)

If you are unsure of your cars ability to climb the road across the stream, park at the stream (Arrastre Creek) and walk the remaining .2 miles. Then take a left on a dirt road for .3 miles to a large fenced parking area.

From this parking area look east and find Granite Peak. Look below for a forest of Joshua Trees. This is your destination a half mile away.

CAUTION: Watch out for snakes and prickly cholla cactus! Bring drinking water!

Joshua Tree Information

Joshua Trees have no rings inside them so its impossible to tell how old they are. They are actually more closely related to the lily family than to any tree! In the springtime, joshua trees develop a bunches of greenish-white bell shaped flowers which smell unpleasant.

Native Americans made dye from the Joshua Trees roots and roasted the flower buds for food.

Mormon settlers named the tree because it looked to them like Joshua praying toward the heavens.

The Pronuba moth polinates and gets its food from the Joshua Tree.
Each depends on the other for survival!

The Champion Joshua tree near Big Bear Lake was 14'11" in circumference and over 32' high.