Hike The Oasis of Mara, Joshua Tree, California

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Visitor center with educational exhibits, a water station & gift shop, plus picnic tables & a trail. The oasis was first settled by the Serrano who called it Mara, meaning "the place of little springs and much grass." Legend holds they came to the oasis because a medicine man told them it was a good place to live and that they would have many boy babies. The medicine man instructed them to plant a palm tree each time a boy was born. In the first year, the Serrano planted 29 palm trees at the oasis. The palms also provided the Serrano with food, clothing, cooking implements, and housing. In addition, the palms are habitat for a wide variety of desert creatures from colorful orioles to the palm-boring beetle. More than 140,000 people annually visit the Oasis Visitor Center where they receive information about the park and learn about its natural and human history. Many visitors also take the opportunity to walk the Oasis of Mara nature trail.

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