California Joshua Tree & Death Valley Hiking Tour

Welcome to Palm Springs, California. An MT Sobek representative will pick you up this morning from your pre-trip hotel. After an orientation meeting, head out on your first desert hike this morning; discover the remarkable resilience of plants and animals that have adapted to the desert and visit a lush oasis. Marvel at cracks in the earth formed by the San Andreas Fault and explore Indian Palms Canyon or the Coachella Valley Preserve (depending on conditions). Along the way, your guide will provide interpretation and share stories of local geology, native culture, and plant and animal life. In the afternoon, you'll transfer to your accommodations, a historic inn set on 25 secluded acres and surrounded by towering Washingtonia fan palms and lush gardens.

Rise for a day of exploration in Joshua Tree National Park, covering 400,000 acres of designated Mojave Desert wilderness! The morning starts in Hidden Valley, dubbed the Wonderland of Rocks, where you will follow trails past monzogranite boulders and colorful petroglyphs. Along the way, learn about the history of Barker Dam and see one of the region's best-preserved gold mills. Be wowed by native flora, including palms, yuccas, and the park's namesake Joshua trees. This afternoon, travel deeper into the park for a hike through outstanding rock formations and cholla cactus gardens.

After breakfast, travel through the Mojave National Preserve toward Death Valley, taking a short rest stop in the desert outpost of Baker. Continue to a hidden oasis and historic ranch near the Amargosa River, China Ranch Date Farm. Enjoy lunch beneath the date palms before setting out on a scenic hike through colorful canyon walls and lush desert vegetation. This guide-favorite stop offers a surprising blend of natural beauty and frontier history at the edge of the valley. Continue to Death Valley National Park and hike the lowest point in North America at Badwater Salt Flats—282 feet below sea level! This evening, enjoy the spring-fed pool, spa, and other amenities at the Ranch at Death Valley and Oasis Resort.

Start the day with a hike along the rim of the spectacular 600-foot Ubehebe Crater, created by a powerful volcanic explosion around 3,000 years ago. Hike into Mosaic Canyon, named for its beautiful water-polished marble rock walls, and finish the afternoon with a hike to the highest sand dune in Mesquite Flat Dunes. Marvel at the vast dunes and twisted Mesquite trees, which provide a habitat for desert wildlife. After dinner at Stovepipe Wells Resort, end the day with one of the best nighttime experiences in Death Valley—stargazing! Death Valley is a designated International Dark Sky Park—with minimal light pollution in a vast wilderness, the stars and the Milky Way shine more brightly.

Rise early for a hike to one of Death Valley's premier experiences—sunrise at Zabriskie Point. The park's iconic craggy badlands are bathed in golden light at this hour, with pink skies above. Continue into Golden Canyon for different perspectives as the sun climbs and strikes its honey-hued walls. The colors continue at Artist's Palette, where minerals have oxidized, painting the hillside with pinks, greens, and purple hues. After a stop at the Furnace Creek Visitor Center, head for Dantes View, another top experience in Death Valley. Enjoy a geology talk and take in 360-degree views of Badwater Basin, the Black Mountains, and the Panamint Range. Return to your accommodations to enjoy the amenities and perhaps do a little more stargazing.

After breakfast, take in your last views of the park before heading to its eastern border and the fabulously unexpected Amargosa Opera House—its colorful murals and rich history at odds with the dusty desert town with a population in the single digits. Head to Ash Meadows Wildlife Refuge, a desert oasis and protected wetlands. Isolated by the surrounding desert, some species here are found nowhere else on Earth. This is also a great place to spot migratory birds or even a bighorn sheep or bobcat! Depart for Las Vegas, stopping for lunch on the way. Arriving in the late afternoon, you can catch a flight home or spend a night—or two—on your own in the city.