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Running trails in Twentynine Palms, CA
Twentynine Palms has 17 trails in the directory — 3 on crushed gravel or dirt, 11 loops that return to the trailhead, 10 with a stated distance, 2 shaded, and 11 open 24 hours. 11 of them post opening hours, so you can check the gate before an early start. They're ranked here by rating weighted by review volume, across 8,474 Google reviews. Filter by surface, loop, distance, shade or lighting to get to the run you're actually planning — no made-up difficulty score, just the facts you'd check before driving out.
Skull Rock Trail
4.6 ★★★★★ 3,287 reviews
Skull-shaped desert granite rock formation with 2 depressions like eye sockets created by erosion.
Hidden Valley Nature Trailhead
4.8 ★★★★★ 2,080 reviews
Scenic 1-mi. hiking loop with huge rock formations to climb & views of Joshua trees & desert areas.
Cap Rock
4.8 ★★★★★ 801 reviews
Short trail through desert scrub dotted with Joshua & juniper trees, plus huge monzogranite rocks.
Arch Rock Nature Trail
4.7 ★★★★★ 619 reviews
Gentle hike through a boulder-strewn desert landscape to the Arch Rock granite formation.
Split Rock Loop Trail
4.8 ★★★★★ 461 reviews
Gentle 2-mile circuit in a boulder field with picturesque rock formations & colorful desert plants.
Fortynine Palms Oasis
4.8 ★★★★★ 405 reviews
Challenging 3-mile round-trip desert path up & over a steep ridge to a scenic oasis with fan palms.
Oasis Of Mara Nature Trail Trailhead
4.1 ★★★★☆ 223 reviews
Spring-fed oasis & nature trail in desert terrain, the historic site of Indian & other settlement.
Indian Cove Nature Trail Trailhead
4.7 ★★★★★ 157 reviews
Gentle 0.5-mile trail near the Indian Cove campground, showcasing desert flora & rock formations.
Boy Scout Trail
4.8 ★★★★★ 148 reviews
Rustic 8-mile backpacking trail amid desert landscape, with some rocky sections & camping en route.
Quail Springs Trail
4.8 ★★★★★ 71 reviews
3-mi point-to-point trail along moderately strenuous terrain through unique desert rock formations.
Indian Cove Boy Scout Trail
4.7 ★★★★★ 57 reviews
Secluded hiking area with a large campground, surrounded by rock formations popular with climbers.
Contact Mine Trail
4.7 ★★★★★ 46 reviews
Hiking area with a well-maintained trail leading up a mountain for scenic views.
Mastodon Peak Loop Trail
4.8 ★★★★★ 43 reviews
Moderately strenuous, 3-mile loop path leading through granite outcroppings & offering park views.
Discovery Trail
4.5 ★★★★★ 14 reviews
Popular 0.7-mi loop connected to the Skull Rock Nature Trail, with brief rocky & steep sections.
No trails match those filters.
How to pick a trail in Twentynine Palms
- Match the surface to your legs. Twentynine Palms gives you a choice: 3 natural surface and 3 mixed. Asphalt and concrete are fast, predictable and runnable year-round but the least forgiving; crushed limestone and dirt take the sting out of high mileage; boardwalk is flat and scenic but slick in the wet. If your shins or knees are complaining, the fix that actually works is varying the surface you run on rather than chasing one "best" one. More natural surface trails →
- Loop or out-and-back? 11 trails here are loops, so you finish back at the car with no backtracking — the easiest way to run a set distance without thinking about it. On an out-and-back you turn round at half your target distance, which makes any trail fit any run. The longest stated distance in Twentynine Palms is Indian Cove Boy Scout Trail at 16 mi. 5 trails are long enough for a 5-mile-plus run without repeating yourself.
- Check the hours before a 6am run. 11 trails in Twentynine Palms are open 24 hours — the rest can sit inside a park that gates at dusk and doesn't unlock until well after sunrise. 11 of the 17 listings carry posted opening hours — worth a look before you set an alarm. 2 are lit, which is what you want for winter evenings.
- Long run? Check water and restrooms first. 12 have trailhead parking, 4 have restrooms, and 1 has a water fountain in Twentynine Palms. Anything over an hour and those stop being nice-to-haves — and in summer, shade counts double.
- The small things that decide it. 2 shaded, 4 with mile markers, 3 that runners describe as quiet, 3 dog-friendly, and 3 smooth and wide enough for a stroller or a wheelchair. Busy or quiet isn't a good-or-bad thing here: a busy path is the safer choice for a solo run at dawn, a quiet one is better for intervals.
More on all of this in the trail-running guides.
Browse Twentynine Palms trails by type
- Natural surface trails
- Mixed trails
- Loop trails
- Long-run trails (5+ mi)
- Shaded trails
- Lit for early & night runs
- Flat & fast
- Hilly trails
- Scenic trails
- Trails with restrooms
- Trails with water fountains
- Trailhead parking
- Trails with mile markers
- Quiet, uncrowded trails
- Dog-friendly
- Stroller & wheelchair-accessible
Running trails near Twentynine Palms
Worth the short drive — the closest towns with trails in the directory.