Joshua Tree & Environs
Joshua Tree & Environs
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Joshua Tree National Park is gigantic (larger than the state of Rhode Island!!) and encompasses parts of two deserts, the Mojave and the Colorado. When you visit, you base your exploration of the park from one of the surrounding towns – usually Palm Springs, Pioneertown, Joshua Tree or Twenty-Nine Palms. Joshua Trees were allegedly named by the Mormon pioneers who thought the limbs of the trees resembled the arms of Joshua leading them to the promised land. And now they do the same for hipsters, hikers, rock-climbers and people from LA in need of a mini-break/place to do shrooms. I’ve been twice now and can’t get enough of the weird, otherworldly, Wile E. Coyote environment and I hope you enjoy it, too! At 2.5 hours-ish from LA, it makes a fun weekend trip if you are ever headed that way.
ON THE WAY
Palm Springs is a magic little vacation town chock full of mid-century modern architecture about 40 minutes South of Joshua Tree/Pioneertown. On our most recent trip we stopped there on the way to and from LA. I want to come back and make a weekend out of it, but for now here are two excellent food options to check out. Expect a full Palm Springs Half Moon Guide one day soon! Cabazon is an interesting prehistoric pit stop off RT. 10 on the way to Joshua Tree/Palm Springs.
Elmer’s
Palm Springs. It’s technically a chain hailing from the Pacific Northwest from the ‘60s, but the Palm Springs location is hopping and offers plenty of perfect diner options to soak up your journey. Definitely get the gigantic Dutch pancake to share. Also, they’re so nice there. (And it’s not just because I’m from New York and expect everyone to be a jerk.)
◐ Holiday House
Palm Springs. I found this one on Eater’s Heat Map of Palm Springs and it is so so good. We had a lunch of the best chicken salad and rose, sitting in the shade in a mid-century hotel courtyard and it was heaven. The restaurant is part of a recently renovated boutique hotel, and I think next time I come back, this is where I’ll have to stay.
In-N-Out
Cabazon California’s favorite burger chain, that every visitor to CA must have at least once on their journey. There’s a location on Rt. 10, right by the Cabazon dinosaurs. Order everything “animal style,” which is an off-menu secret, but essentially means they’ll dump Thousand Island spread and pickles on everything (plus cheese on the fries.)
◐ Cabazon Dinosaurs
Cabazon A 1960’s roadside attraction made famous in “Pee Wee’s Big Adventure,” that is a must for a quick stopover and photo op. In the 90’s, the inside of the dinosaurs, and surrounding park, were turned into a creationist museum. No need to visit that, just enjoy the dinos from the parking lot.
Joshua Tree
EAT
Crossroads Cafe
Joshua Tree My favorite breakfast/lunch spot in JT. Tons of options for every kind of eater. We loved the huevos rancheros. Perfect for fueling up before or after visiting the park, as it’s located just down the road from the park’s Visitor Center.
The Restaurant at the 29 Palms Inn
Twenty-Nine Palms This place is a dream. The restaurant is situated around the inn’s swimming pool, and when were there, there was a charming keyboardist serenading us. Yes, I realize that sounds like a nightmare for some people, but I promise it only added to the magic of the desert oasis.
◐ Pappy & Harriet’s Pioneertown Palace
Pioneertown. A BBQ restaurant and honky tonk built into the facade of a former “cantina” film set of Pioneertown. It’s the only restaurant in that area, and it doesn’t matter when it’s a restaurant with mesquite BBQ, live music and a rollicking cowboy atmosphere.
STAY
The 29 Palms Inn
If you don’t do the whole Airbnb thing, I can’t recommend The 29 Palms Inn in Twentynine Palms enough. The inn is made up of individual cabins of different sizes built around the Oasis of Mara, with the oldest parts dating back to the ‘20s. It’s just so charming, with their very own naturalist who gives tours of the oasis, homemade muffins for breakfast, live music and poolside dining. I caught myself multiple times mumbling just how beautiful everything was.
PLAY
◐ Integratron
Landers. In the late 50’s, UFO-ologist Albert Van Tassel was contacted by aliens from the Planet Venus who passed along instructions to build the Integratron, a structure meant to harness electromagnetic fields of the desert to aid in the rejuvenation of human tissue. Yup. Today, you can take a sound bath inside the domed structure, something I highly recommend even if you don’t buy the healing power of rubbing quartz crystals. The experience is relaxing, interesting and the building smells gorgeously of Palo Santo. This is not to be missed – make sure you book your sound bath when you plan your trip as they can fill up.
◐ Pioneertown
An Old-West movie set developed in the 1940s by Roy Rogers, among others, that also provided homes for the actors while they were filming. It became a kind of clubhouse for cowboy actors, complete with old jail, saloon and bowling alley. Now, it’s a fun place to walk around in to admire the odd surroundings. They stage Old West shows, and you can still go bowling. It’s also where Pappy & Harriet’s is, for when you’re ready for a drink and some BBQ.
◐ Joshua Tree National Park
The reason you’re here, right? Start at the Visitor Center near the West entrance (by Joshua Tree) or the North Entrance (by Twenty Nine Palms) to pick up a map and plan your trip with a Ranger. If you’re there during the height of the visitor season, March/April, it’s sometimes easier/less traffic-y to enter at the North Entrance, but again that all depends on where you’re staying and what’s actually closest to you.
Before entering the park, remember to bring water and snacks with you as it’s a National Park, and there are no restaurants once you pass the ranger check points. The desert is no joke – it gets HOT, you guys – and the Park recommends you carry at least 1 gallon of water per person per day. There’s also limited cell phone service, so make sure you get that map and pay attention to the signs where posted.
If you’re an experienced hiker and rock-climber, there are plenty of places for that throughout the park, but since I’m more of a walker and clamberer, I can’t help you! (That said, it was very cool/terrifying to watch people belaying around the rock piles.) I’ve listed our favorite JT destinations from our trip on the right, in case you are in need of direction to point yourself. Again, it’s worth saying that JT is HUGE, so when you’re planning your visit, make sure you consider how much time you want to be driving from place to place so that you don’t feel like you’re just stuck in the car all day. All of these locations can be found on the JT park map.
- Hidden Valley. Easy 1-mile loop in a valley allegedly once used by cattle rustlers. If you only have a 2-3 hours in the Park, this is a good pick as you’ll see a lot of the weird lunar landscape JT is famous for all in one place – cacti, giant rock piles you can climb on, distant canyons. It can get crowded, as it’s a relatively simple trail, but once you’re in the valley, everyone walks at their own pace and you will often find yourself walking alone.
- Cholla Cactus Garden. ¼ – mile trail through a field of cacti. Very pretty, especially during the blooming season.
- Keys View. Magnificent view of the San Andreas fault line, Mount San Jacinto, Mount San Gorgonio and the Salton Sea. Very accessible – you drive here on a paved road.
- Skull Rock Trail. 1.7 miles. Perhaps the most popular site in JT – a large rock that kind of looks like a skull. The trail passes around it, and there are plenty of boulders to climb on. This one can get a little crowded.
- Pine City/Desert Queen Mine. A 4-mile trail that winds around the deserted Desert Queen Mine scattered with rusting mining equipment, abandoned cabins and caves. It’s a there-and-back trail, so you don’t have to do the whole 4 miles and can see plenty of cool stuff.
- Keys Ranch Tour. The one thing I’m kicking myself that I missed because the timing didn’t work out! A ranger-led tour of homesteader Bill Keys’ ranch, where he lived with his family in the desert for 60 years, from 1910 on.