Best Places to watch a Joshua Tree Sunset, Stars and Moonrise

(Last Updated On: December 1, 2019)

Everyone waxes poetic about a Joshua tree sunset. But where exactly is the best place to go if you want to watch one?

There’s hardly a bad place to watch the sunset in Joshua Tree, but on my recent visit I was particularly interested in learning about the “best” spots to watch the night sky as we were there for the Super Moon and wanted to make the most of our chances to see both the sunset and the moonrise.

We rolled into town on the first night a little after the moonrise, and even in our rather “random” location (the parking lot of the 29 Palms Inn) we caught some rather awe inspiring snapshots of the oversized orb peeking out over the desert landscape. It just makes me want to shut my mouth and hush up and listen when I see a moon this large. I’m not sure why. Perhaps it’s some ancient “gather around the fire for storytime” instinct. The moon makes me watchful and listen-ful too!

We hopped in the car right after snapping these shots and raced up the hill to the Sky’s the Limit Observatory and Nature Center to see if we could get some more pictures up there. Instead we used the rest of the daylight to check out the carefully arranged and ever changing star maps and beautiful garden set up to assist night sky gazers. The Observatory hosts Saturday Night star parties where attendees can look through powerful telescopes and get a guided tour of the night sky. These regular events are free and open to the public.

There is no other way to describe this place other than “cool”. There are a series of barrels that help you identify the position of the planets. These are moved by hand, to keep the map current throughout the year. We were not there on a Saturday night, so there was not a tour going on and I don’t trust myself to explain what little I gathered. Suffice to say that it’s a must see on my return trip with my kids. I’ll be sure to return on a night when there is a Star party in session!

The following night the Supermoon was still doing its super thing, and we sought out a sunset vista as well as a place to see the moon rise again. We planned ahead, speaking to one of the Park Rangers at Joshua tree, who recommended we head to Key’s View for the Sunset, and then move along to Cholla Cactus Garden for the Moonrise, some 40 minutes later.

These two locations were about 15-20 minutes apart from each other in the park, so this plan was definitely workable, so long as we did not get lost. Make sure you have a decent map if you are in the park, particularly after dark. Your phone/GPS may not work, so an old fashioned paper map is essential.

The sunset in SW facing Keys View, which has an elevation of over 5000 feet, simply could not have been any better. You can see all the way to the Salton Sea from this wide open vista and the quality of the light makes you wish you were a cinematographer, just so you could spend years trying to recreate it and win a massive award.

It’s magical, this #nofilter golden hour desert light, like the oily film on a soap bubble. It’s there and then it suddenly pops and it’s gone, leaving you wondering if it really was that vivid or if you just imagined it.

Before the night cloak of desert dark completely enveloped us, we rolled along the purple dusk dusted road to our next location, stopping to admire some skull shaped rocks and the still changing light from the sunset. Pink, purple, black, done.

It’s very, very, dark at night in Cholla Cactus Garden. I lit my way with a cell phone, carefully stepping between man height cactuses and Joshua trees to find a good place from which to watch the rising moon. The anticipation was incredible. The glow of the superbright, super huge orb radiated out from behind the mountains for what seemed like an hour before the moon finally made its diva entrance. It almost seemed to pulse, and you could feel the crowd growing restless.

When it did rise, I chose to simply watch it, rather than catch it in a jar this time. Quietly, patiently, in her own good time, she rose, looking like a midnight sun.

When a passing car caught a fellow photographer in the brush, I snapped. How silly we must have looked, picking our way around thorns in the attempt to capture the moon. How utterly ridiculous, and wonderful.

I was grinning all the way back to the car, when I sat down on huge cactus spine that had hitch-hiked along on my sweater.

Nature really does like to have the last laugh.

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