Joshua Tree National Park, California – Volunteer Vacations 2022

Come enjoy springtime in the desert! Two distinct desert ecosystems, the Mojave and the Colorado, come together in Joshua Tree National Park. A fascinating variety of plants and animals make their homes in a land sculpted by strong winds and occasional torrents of rain. Dark night skies, a rich cultural history, and surreal geologic features add to the wonder of this vast wilderness in southern California. On this trip, join National Park Service (NPS) staff and work together with fellow volunteers to build and repair section of trails to improve the visitor hiking experiences in Joshua Tree National Park. The trail work will range from assisting with dry stonework, building structures out of dimensional lumber, and brushing trail corridors that have vegetation growing into the trail. The crews will hike between .5-3 miles from trailhead to project site, depending on the project that is assigned. Crews should expect to commute by personal vehicles / carpooling from basecamp to trail heads and be prepared for a full day of work in warm, dry and sunny conditions.

AHS acknowledges with gratitude that this project takes place on the traditional lands of the Cahuilla, Serrano, Chemehuevi, and Mohave peoples past and present. We honor the land itself, the Indigenous communities who have stewarded this land for generations, and those who continue to steward these lands today. AHS invites all volunteers to join us in our commitment to support and amplify the work of Indigenous communities as they work to dismantle the systems of oppression that these communities continue to face today.