Inspiration Peak in Joshua Tree
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About this place
Ditch the crowds & automobiles of Keys View for breathtaking, sweeping vistas of the Coachella Valley, the San Andreas Fault, the San Bernadino Mountains and the entire interior of Joshua Tree National Park.
Most automobile-bound visitors to Joshua Tree make their way to Keys View, and why wouldn't they? It has some of the best views in the park and with it, some of the biggest, loudest crowds. Most don't realize that a short hike away is even *better* views and, if you're lucky, solitude, on top of Inspiration Point.
Inspiration Peak (or Mount Inspiration on some maps) is a 5,550' peak just to the north of the Keys View Parking lot. It's almost impossible to miss the use trail to the summit. Just head north following the switchbacks (and occasional cairn). You'll hit a false summit and then will drop down about a 100' before heading up to the obvious high point.
The trail continues onwards along the high ridgeline of The Little San Bernadino Mountains eventually connecting to the Stubbe Springs Trail several miles to the north.