We lumbered through obsidian darkness, one deliberate step at a time, the beams of our headlights illuminating the way. The steep path seemed to extend into eternity. My 8-year-old son complained, “We've been hiking for years,” and I wondered why he had invented this ridiculous quest.
It all started in June 2023. My son was not going to school and neither was my husband, who was a teacher. Long, calm summer days were ahead. With no travel plans on the horizon, I still longed to infuse our time with adventure and a sense of wonder.
The author and her family.
(Maggie Downs)
Exploring our own backyard seemed like the obvious answer. But we live on the outskirts of Joshua Tree National Park, where the summer days are scorching hot. Even a modest outdoor activity can be dangerous.
A travel writer I admire once said that the most meaningful travel stories are mission-driven, whether it's climbing a mountain or finding the perfect Hello Kitty backpack at a night market stall. The pursuit of a goal is what makes moments memorable. And that sounded exactly like what my family needed. I simply needed to work within our limitations.
So I came up with a mission that seemed simple enough: find the best sunrise spot in Joshua Tree.
Before I started looking for sunrises, I made a list of potential sites, then mapped their locations and the time it would take to get to each. At 1,242.4 square miles, the park is slightly larger than Rhode Island. Some of the locations were fairly close to our house, while others were over an hour away by car. Some places could only be accessed by hiking, which also had to be taken into account when waking up.
We start with one of the best-known views of the park: Key View (33° 55' 35.20” N, 116° 11' 14.78” W), a vehicle overlook with a paved wheelchair-accessible trail.
We arrived at 5 in the morning and I was surprised to see other families already there with folding chairs and thermoses, as if waiting for a parade to start. Some looked like rock formations, huddled under blankets in the cool morning air. Over time, the sky warmed in color, painting hills in the distance. A nearby group of twenty-somethings applauded fervently in the sun, as if Taylor Swift had just taken the stage.
When I came up with this plan, I assumed we would experience each place alone, because I didn't know anyone else who would willingly wake up that early. (When I told a friend I would be chasing sunrises, she said, “I love it, but I'll never go with you.”) So sharing this with strangers was a pleasant surprise. I like the moments when people collectively pause to appreciate nature.
For the next few months, my family fell into a routine of 3:30 a.m. alarms, cups of coffee, and backpacks full of water and snacks. My husband was driving, I was navigating, and our son was snoring in the back seat. Every day we set out with hope, not sure what heaven would bring us.
Beyond Keys View, we rarely crossed paths with others. The early morning hours were blissfully quiet, even though Joshua Tree saw a record number of visitors in 2023, with more than 3.2 million people passing through its doors. Our schedule allowed us to check out popular spots before the crowds arrived.
This was especially notable in Hidden Valley (34° 00′ 59.14″ N, 116° 09′ 41.17″ W), a 1-mile scenic loop that showcases the park's beauty, from spectacular Joshua trees to massive boulders that turn scarlet at first light . Like dawn chasers, we were already leaving as a line of cars competed for a spot in the parking lot.
Hidden Valley in Joshua Tree National Park.
(Jon Norris)
Over time, as my eyes calibrated to the darkness, I began to recognize rock formations by the way they obscured the constellations. It was another unexpected bonus of this search: the rarity of witnessing truly dark skies. According light pollution researchers, a naturally dark night sky is inaccessible to 99% of people in the United States. The good news is that Joshua Tree is a designated tree dark sky parkand for those who live in the greater Los Angeles area, it is the most convenient place to experience a dark sky.
Against the quilt of star-studded night, we set out toward rock arch (33° 59' 24.6″ N 116° 01' 20.9″ W), a mostly flat out-and-back trail. Shortly before dawn, conditions were just right to show off the Belt of Venus, a phenomenon in which a pastel pink stripe runs along the horizon opposite the sun. My family was playing an epic game of “the ground is lava,” jumping from rock to rock, when the sun burst through the 30-foot natural granite arch. We stopped and looked, amazed.
Sunrise in the Cholla Cactus Garden.
(Jon Norris)
Another place that left us out of combat was Cholla Cactus Garden (33° 55' 30.86″ N 115° 55' 43.50″ W), my choice for beginners in Joshua Tree. It's accessible, with amazing views just steps from the parking lot, and the sunrise propels this iconic scene to another level. When light reflects off the cholla needles, the cactus glows like a neon sign in Las Vegas.
Through these excursions we got to know the park and its inhabitants intimately. Every morning, I knew when to scan the trails for rabbits that were just starting the day. A few times we came across a three-legged coyote, affectionately known to locals as Tripod, running down the empty road. My son saw pockets of wildflowers thriving despite the heat. Some crows began to look familiar.
The author's son on a sunrise hike in the desert.
(Maggie Downs)
Early morning adventures. (Maggie Downs)
Somehow our quest to find the ultimate place broadened into awe of this place as a whole. And we were not alone in that feeling. When I contacted a former Joshua Tree park ranger about the best sunrise spot, the answer was… well, everything.
“I asked some rangers what they thought and all the answers came down to, essentially, everything is amazing,” Perrin Pring said.
There is no perfect place for sunrise, he said. It's more personal than that.
“Having been in national parks for as long as I have, I find that people have the most meaningful experiences when they are in a place that resonates with them,” Pring said. “Truly, the beauty of parks is when people discover something new and delight in it. And for them, the sunset or sunrise they see from a place where I don't even stop becomes a memory for a lifetime.”
For me, that moment came after trudging ryan mountain (34° 00′ 09.25″ N, 116° 08′ 09.38″ W), a 2.9 mile trail with an elevation gain of 1,069 feet.
The hike was difficult to navigate in the hours before sunrise, but once we reached the top, the 360-degree view felt earned. To the west, the clouds spread like strawberry-pink cotton candy. To the east, striking stripes of orange and red.
My family embarked on this quest in an effort to have a little fun during a quiet summer. We ended up sharing the most colorful season of our lives together. Our sunrise chase fostered a deeper connection with nature, but perhaps more importantly, it taught us to be comfortable in the dark and to look toward the sky in anticipation.
At the top of Ryan Mountain, my son spun in joyous circles, arms outstretched, enchanted by the vibrant spectacle unfolding above. I had my answer right there. That was exactly why we did this.
The search helped the family foster a deeper connection with nature.
(Maggie Downs)
Watching the Joshua Tree sunrise? Here's how to photograph it.
Lake Forest landscape photographer Jon Norris fell in love with Joshua Tree a decade ago. There he leads frequent landscape photography workshops privately and through the Desert Institute, the educational arm of the Joshua Tree National Park Association.
Here are his tips for capturing a sunrise on camera.
Scout your location in advance. “When you go out at dawn, you will find yourself in darkness. If you don't know where you want to set up your tripod, where you want to point the camera, it's difficult to get a satisfactory image, because you'll be like a headless chicken running around. If you’re not careful, you’ll miss it.”
I arrived early. “Make the most of the light. “Very often, the best light occurs before dawn, when the sun is still below the horizon.”
Don't always shoot at the sun. “Many people don't realize that at dawn, the best light is usually not facing the sun. “If the atmospheric conditions are right, you can have the most amazing colors in the opposite direction of the sun.”
Sunrise at Quail Springs in Joshua Tree National Park.
(Jon Norris)
Visit Norris' favorite spot, Quail Springs (about 8 miles inside the western entrance). “It's an open plain with quite a few Joshua trees. But unlike many areas of the park, they are quite spread out and well spaced. “So you can isolate one, two or three trees and take a portrait of them with the sunrise in the background, instead of this huge mass of trees where you don't have a fixed subject.”
Work with what you have. “Regardless of the type of equipment you use, no camera can replace taking photos with great light and composing a powerful image. “It doesn’t matter if you have an iPhone or the most expensive new camera, neither of them will replace those two important skills.”
