This National Park lies north of Interstate 10 and west of the California/Arizona border. The park is part of the Sonoran Desert and the Mojave Desert. Joshua Trees grow only in the Mojave Desert (northern) portion of the Park.

29 Palms (Town) adjoins JTNP on the north. A former name of 29 Palms was, "The Oasis of Mara".

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.

Another interesting fact of 29 Palms are its murals depicting various historical events of the area and its early settlers. They are on the exterior walls of many of the buildings. there are at least three that are over 100 feet in length, with the longest being 140 feet.