twentynine palms oasis (oasis of mara)

I learned so much about the flora of the desert. The walk around the oasis was easy and informative. The park staff was so nice. They helped us find the things we wanted to see and some ideas for new stuff.

The visitor center is fairly educational and worth the visit. The staff is very friendly and knowledgeable about the park and trails, so this is a good place to start if you're looking for hiking or sight seeing suggestions. Also has a nice gift shop. No oasis here that we found. Take the hike in the park to see the 49 palms oasis - a real oasis!

This is a very small visitors center but the staff were so helpful and engaging! Took the short walk to the oasis too.

The Oasis Visitor Center is here, just outside Joshua Tree National Park. There are some exhibits, a small garden, and you can get maps and information about the park. There is a short, wheelchair-accessible trail (concrete sidewalk, really); about 1/4 mile loop that goes to the site of the Oasis of Mara. There is no water here any longer and the oasis appears to be in decline. It's in the town of Twentynine Palms, so not as scenic as other points of interest. If you don't have a lot of time, I would pass on this stop in favor of more interesting locations. Restrooms and gift shop available.

Its recommended to stop by at the visitor center. They helped us in letting us know what places were worth visiting and which you could avoid in case you don't have time.

Lots of information on the oasis plants and animals' biology and ecology. Easy nature walk just behind the visitor center.

This oasis is easy to access and very informative. Lots of great info about its history and the evolution of it as well. Sadly, according to the information, it is no longer a true oasis and is partially irrigated to to overuse by the town of Twentynine palms. If you don't have time to hike to the others, though it is a very easy trail of 0.5 mi or so.

Right outside Joshua National Park is a natural oasis. This is easily accessible, and even with the heat, a pleasant experience. It's literally a stone's throw off the road behind the visitor's center. Having never seen an oasis with my own eyes, it was worth the stop. This isn't a place to stay. This is a site to see, take a picture of, and keep moving, but I think it's worth it. The path to the oasis takes less than five minutes, is handicapped accessible, and FREE!

While not the most spectacular of Joshua Tree’s five fan palm oases, it is by far the most accessible, especially since Cottonwood Springs is closed indefinably due to heavy metal contamination from an old mine, and certainly worth the short time needed to visit. The easy, 0.5mi (0.8k), paved, wheelchair accessible loop trail starts behind the Oasis Visitor Center which is located along Park Blvd just south of the town of Twentynine Palms on the way to the north entrance of the park. Earthquakes over the last several years have shifted the flow of the underground water such that water is no longer at the surface of this oasis all year. Nonetheless, the California fan palms rise high above the surrounding sparse desert and support abundant wildlife with many birds being the most obvious to the visitor but insects, small mammals and reptiles can also be seen with some patience.

Joashua Tree national park is amazing. The Oasis of Mara out by one of the Visitors Centre less so. This was one of the orginal oasis that indians relied on, but what is left is a small walking loop nature trail with not much to see. Visitors centre iteself is useful but compared to the geological wonder that is the Joshua Tree park this was a little disspointing. Stop off for the vistors centre get your park map and head into the park - this is not worth lingering over.

We recently visited the Oasis of Mara, but because of the times of our visits, we did not get to see the Visitor Center. This Visitor Center is not really inside the National Park, but just a few miles from the entrance station.The first time that we went, we brought dinner to eat at one of their picnic tables. It was probably about 7 P.M. It was a wonderful setting for a picnic dinner, just listening to the birds, a short distance away from busy Route 62. We took a stroll (it's not very large; the park brochure has it as a 0.5 mile loop) and saw a couple of desert cottontails, a few Gambel's Quail, and lots of small birds flitting about. It was a beautiful time of the day to be there.We returned early (7:30) the next morning, again seeing several desert cottontails. The birding was much better: a pair of phainopeplas, a cactus wren, and some Gambel's Quail, including on "calling," in plain view, from an elevated branch on a shrub. This, too, was a terrific time to be there.If you're going by the Visitor Center, I would take the walk around the Oasis just to see and hear what's there at that time. It won't take long, and you may see some interesting wildlife.

It didn't look as expected....it's just a nice visitor center. At one time the Oasis of Mara must have been beautiful. According to NPS literature, in 1950 the Twentynine Palms Corporation donated the Oasis of Mara to the National Park to use as its headquarters and visitor center. There is a short nature trail here. Some reviews referred to a long hike but they probably mean the 3-mile hike to 49 Palms Oasis.

The Oasis of Mara is a small walking loop and associated visitor center. Both are interesting and the park rangers are helpful. This was great for birding; we viewed northern mockingbird, house finch, kestrel, and phainopepla. When I say sunset photos, I mean at the oasis itself by the visitor center, NOT the hike (hiking after dark is dangerous). I think a lot of the reviews are referring to another location which is a hike. There is no fee but a small donation can be left in the visitor center if you wish.

Joshua Tree National Park prides itself in the conservation of Native American cultural sites, yet the Oasis of Mara is in shambles. Shame on NPS.

me and my family been here more than once since been station here and finally staying here in the area. it's agreat way to do family hiking and camping during early summer days. we enjoyed and we have taken our grandkids to see what the city does not offer them to explore wild life. they also like that there a drive in here in twentynine palms also.