A tour out here is only as good as the person leading it. Everyone on this page lives in the high desert and guides the country they live in, so you get the back roads, the timing and the stops that only come from driving a place every week. Book direct and the person who answers is the person who meets you at the trailhead.
Run by Joshua Tree Excursions, in Joshua Tree, CA.
Private and group guided hikes, sightseeing tours around four and a half hours, photography tours and evening programs that pair a hike and dinner with astronomer-led stargazing.
Running since 2014 with a physical office on Twentynine Palms Highway and a National Park commercial use permit. Booking runs through their site.
Listed from their public information. Booking happens on their own site.
Night photography workshops inside the park capped at three or four photographers: Milky Way, star trails, light painting and timelapse, with Perseids meteor-shower weekends in season.
The operator publishes his 2026 National Park commercial permit number on his site, where each workshop has its own dated booking page.
Listed from their public information. Booking happens on their own site.
Small workshops with a photographer who knows where the light goes
Run by Fine Earth Photography, in Joshua Tree, CA, $250 per person, half day, 4h.
Small photography workshops led by an authorized park permittee: half-day composition workshops, eight-hour days and night-sky sessions, with private sessions available.
Half days are $250. The eight-hour and night-sky formats are $500, with dated workshops published on his site.
Listed from their public information. Booking happens on their own site.
Books on the operator's own website.
Questions and answers
Do I need a tour to see Joshua Tree National Park?
No. The park is open to anyone with an entrance pass and most of it can be seen from the road. A guide is worth it when you want the parts that are hard to find on your own, or when you would rather not navigate, or when you want somebody who can read the light and put you in the right place at the right hour.
When is the best time of year for a tour in Joshua Tree?
October through May is comfortable all day. In June through September the heat is real, so tours move to early morning and the hours after sunset. Operators here set their own seasons and the listing shows what is actually running.
Is the park entrance fee included?
That depends on the operator and it is stated on their listing. Some build it into the rate and some ask you to carry your own pass.