Long after peyote-popping hippies but long before Los Angelino influencers descended upon Joshua Tree National Park, Irish rock band U2 immortalized it by name. Their 1987 album was named after the boho-chic-est national park. Thanks to the popularity of the album and the band itself, it became one of the most fabulous hipster destinations.
We spent five action-filled days overlanding in this dry corner of California where towering rock formations and of course, forests of Joshua Tree, also known as Yucca brevifolia, pepper the landscape. You can climb, bike and hike on this rocky terrain, and as a bonus, you can immortalize your stay with a selfie and the subsequent bragging rights that come along with it.
Starry nights
If a full day of activities has you worn out, wait until sunset when the park really comes alive. A gaze upward will reveal dark skies full of the most radiant stars. They are absolutely out of sight.
Campsite vs. Wild Camping
There is no wild camping inside the park. The Bureau of Land Management offers free camping near the national park’s North and South entrances.
We decided to stay inside the park.
There is no wild camping inside the Park. The Bureau of Land Management offers free camping near the National Park’s south and north entrance.
We decided to stay inside the Park. And that was a good call. We stayed at Black Rock Campground in the Park’s northwest corner on our first night. This campsite is located on a hillside with beautiful views of the
Iconic Joshua trees.
But that’s not what we were looking for; we were on a quest to find ‘The’ Joshua Tree immortalized by the Rock band U2.
So we headed out to the Forrest Service Center to get some answers. And answers we got turns out that U2’s iconic Photoshoot was not taken at Joshua Tree National Park but at Zabriskie Point in Death Valley National Park. Yes, the inside cover photo where the U2 bandmates gratingly look into the camera, and behind them, a lone Joshua tree is looming in the background was shot in death valley along Highway 190.
That is all the association between the Irish band and the National Park.
We were told an autographed guitar is at the Forrest Service Center in Joshua Tree. Oh, a must-visit is the Harmoney Motel, where the band stayed during their desert escapade.
As for “the Joshua Tree,” it has long died it fell years ago. All that remains is its trunk and a bronze commemorative plaque engraved, posing a simple question- Have you found what you’re looking for?
#U2 #Joshuatree #deathvalleypark
