Barker Dam

Tourist attraction · Riverside County ·

Barker Dam

Tourist attraction · Riverside County ·

Historic cattle dam hike with petroglyphs, flora, and wildlife

Information

Joshua Tree Parkway, Twentynine Palms, CA 92277 Get directions

@travelleisure

28,641 Postcards · 5,542 Cities

Guide to Visiting Joshua Tree National Park

"An easy, quick hike that blends history and beauty, where a dam first constructed by early cattle ranchers like the Keys family sits amid striking rock formations and desert flora; in warmer months, it’s a reliable place to watch ridges for desert bighorn sheep." - Lydia Mansel Lydia Mansel Lydia Mansel is a writer with more than eight years of experience editing and writing for both brands and online publications—with a particular focus on travel, fashion, and lifestyle. She’s also the founder of the travel site justpacked.com. Travel + Leisure Editorial Guidelines

https://www.travelandleisure.com/guide-to-joshua-tree-national-park-11858824

Barker Dam

@travelleisure

28,641 Postcards · 5,542 Cities

Guide to Visiting Joshua Tree National Park

"A relatively quick and easy hike that blends history with scenery: “A popular spot, this area offers a mix of history and beauty. The dam was originally constructed by early cattle ranchers like the Keys family, and it’s surrounded by stunning rock formations and desert flora,” says Christina Sanchez. Visitors often see wildlife here—watch ridges and rocky hillsides for bighorn sheep, which are frequently spotted in warmer months—and the area is a good option for a shorter outing with photographic opportunities." - Lydia Mansel Lydia Mansel Lydia Mansel is a writer with more than eight years of experience editing and writing for both brands and online publications—with a particular focus on travel, fashion, and lifestyle. She’s also the founder of the travel site justpacked.com. Travel + Leisure Editorial Guidelines

https://www.travelandleisure.com/guide-to-joshua-tree-national-park-8770247

Barker Dam

@silverkris

10,054 Postcards · 2,273 Cities

We take a road trip across California's desert vistas in a retro campervan - SilverKris

"As I coast Park Boulevard, the turn‑off to this loop tempts me with a trail that winds to an early‑1900s cattleman’s dam and a petroglyph cave, a succinct window into the park’s human and natural history." - Syahirah Mazlan

https://silverkris.singaporeair.com/inspiration/nature-adventure/road-trips/road-trip-southern-california-joshua-tree/

Barker Dam

Douglas S.

Google

Barker Dam is a truly special and meaningful place, especially when experienced as a family. The trail to the dam is easy and mostly flat, which made it perfect for walking with our kids—they could play and toss a football along the way, and we made such warm memories together. What makes this area even more powerful is the sense of history you feel as you walk. Barker Dam was built by early settlers as a place to store water—something absolutely essential in the desert—so they could survive and raise livestock. And even before that, this was a livable and important place for Native people, including those from the Serrano groups. You can almost tell from the surroundings and the landscape itself that this must have been a good place to live in the past, especially because water in the desert changes everything. Add in the beautiful rock formations and peaceful desert scenery, and it becomes an ideal trail for families to walk together, talk, take photos, and enjoy the moment. If you’re visiting Joshua Tree National Park, I highly recommend Barker Dam—it feels scenic, peaceful, and genuinely important.

Kate M

Google

Gorgeous spot - boulders are huge, sun shines directly on you. Sat down and melted into it all. Parking is easy and all are just enjoying the desert - heals things you didn’t know were out of line. ❤️👁️

Azad E.

Google

A majestic experience, a wonder of what earth and life is. I thought I've seen it all... Joshua Tree National Park is a gem, maybe I'm biased because of my "desert genes". I can't thank enough the federal government of the USA for preserving this area for the public. I lower my head in thanks to the park rangers and the staff who maintain this park. Thank you from a friend residing North of your borders.

Shruti D.

Google

Barker dam is inside Joshua tree National Park. We visited here in April and unfortunately it was dry but the loop is easy with not much elevation and easy to complete with unique rock formations everywhere. The trail is very clean and has a big parking spot and a restroom. Beautiful place to see the sunset and a lot of different cacti and flora! The hike has a lot of areas with shade which makes it easy.

J S.

Google

Great hike. Pretty easy going. Really enjoyed hiking down to the dam and seeing the old wood trough and standing at the cement basin still there with William Keys "signature" still visable from what seemed to be June 1939. Also cool looking up at seeing the "Resting Guerilla" formation that... lies...above it. Really fun hike. Lot's to explore.

Jesse F.

Google

Beautiful hike through the rocks! It was busy, for sure, but totally worth it!

Aishwarya S

Google

Our first visit to Joshua Tree and we hiked the Barker Dam trail. It was a beautiful stretch and the terrain gorgeous! We didn’t get to see any water though- it was towards the end of summer. Will need to return post a heavy rainfall and see the water front attract all the wildlife.

Heather C

Google

Pretty easy hike out to the dam. Lots of room to allow many hikers on the trail. If you are looking for wildlife, cacti, bugs...you can find them on tje trail or nearby. The dam itself was ok. I visited when it was dry.