Trip Date: 4/2/2017
Location: Joshua Tree National Park
Permit/Pass: 7 Day Permit ($15), JT Annual Pass ($30) or National Parks Pass
Trails: NPS Joshua Tree Map, NPS Ryan Mountain map
Directions: From Hwy 62 (Twentynine Palms Highway) in Yucca Valley follow the signs to JTNP (south on Park Blvd - Quail Springs Rd - National Park Dr) to the kiosk at the Northwest entrance. Drive 15.7 miles on Park Boulevard (be sure to stay left at the junction with Keys View Rd.) to a right turn into the entrance for the Geology Tour Rd. There is a small parking area and an interpretive signboard where the paved road ends. (From here the park recommends a 4-wheel-drive vehicle.) Continue south on the dirt road. The pullout for the Squaw Tank trail is on the left, approximately 5.3 miles south on the Geology Tour Rd. Find the sign directing you to Squaw Tank on the south side of the parking area.
Synopsis: Another of the neat little rambles in the rocks Joshua Tree offers. Squaw Tank is easy, close to the parking lot, and not much of a worry if parents want to let kids scramble around by themselves a bit. But you're crazy if you let them have all the fun.
Trail sequence: Squaw Tank spur
Type: Out and back
Distance: 0.3 miles
Elevation: Min. - 3459’, Max. - 3505'
Rating: Easy (factors: some simple scrambling, heat)
Notes: Park information about Geology Tour Rd. suggests that only 4WD cars should attempt this trip. Of course you drive this road at your own risk, but for what it's worth, here's our take: Our experience (with an all-wheel-drive Subaru) confirms that high-clearance is important, and certainly 4WD might be necessary in bad conditions, but it also seems to us that many decent-clearance 2WD vehicles might have no problem provided the conditions are good.
Tanks in Joshua Tree are essentially places where either a natural or an artificial (usually the case) dam has created an opportunity for water to pool after wet weather.
Track: Squaw Tank - Joshua Tree NP: AllTrails, GaiaGPS
Turn by turn:
-- Leave the parking area next to the sign for the tank and turn toward the east. You'll almost immediately see a clearly artificial dam amongst the rocks. Climb to the right (south) of the dam and work your way around to the tank area.
Photo Gallery: Flickr