Joshua Tree · Sports & events

Thousands of short granite routes, in condition from October to April. Hidden Valley Campground has been the climbers' base since the sixties; Intersection Rock is the noticeboard.

The boulder problems are as much of a draw as the routes, and several local guiding outfits run beginner days out of Joshua Tree village. Crash pads rent by the day.

A large professional tennis tournament fills the Indian Wells Tennis Garden each March, about an hour south. Early-round grounds passes are cheap and the tennis is close.

Trail races run through the cooler months around the park's edges, and Park Boulevard gives cyclists a long, quiet, rolling road once the summer heat lifts.