From its sprawling, surfrider beaches to soaring mountaintops to multicultural metropolises, the bounty of California is a marvel. Amidst all that action, it can be hard to remember the beauty and mystique of its most powerful terrain: the desert. Compared to more lush offerings, the desert can indeed feel barren or even foreboding. And yet, few weekend getaways from the Los Angeles area are as staggering, as transfixing, as a visit to Joshua Tree — the vast national park about a two hour drive inland marked by its alien landscapes, extreme weather, and sweeping vistas.
The area’s main draw is, of course, the National Park it’s named after, but there are other transcendent draws and enticements in the broader surrounding areas. Most excitingly, there’s been an uptick in new businesses and other commercial ventures in recent years, blossoming like wildflowers across the remarkable vistas. Here is our guide to the area and some of its many highlights, including a mix of new and archival attractions that are beckoning yet a new generation of visitors to come and fall in love with the strange sweeping charms of California’s High Desert.
Stays
Lodgings made to soak in their cinematic and spiritual surroundings.
The Joshua Tree region is relatively spread out and encompasses a few loosely strung-together municipalities (calling them towns would be a bit of an overstatement), and there are few traditional hotel options available, especially compared to a tourist town lousy with them like Palm Springs, around 40 miles away. Post-COVID, a robust industry of home rentals has blossomed, via sites like Airbnb and Vrbo, many of which offer similar high-end hotel furnishings. Still, there’s something about a real hotel experience, and for that we have two recommendations.
First, there’s Two Bunch Palms in Desert Hot Springs, a wellness-oriented retreat on an oasis-like property flooded with lush palm trees at every turn. The boutique hotel — which recently underwent a $2 million renovation — is centered around a 600-year-old natural hot spring, which provides guests access to naturally-heated water rich with minerals. As the hotel puts it, soaking in these springs is akin to, “a return to something elemental.” Spread across 77 acres of rolling lawns, desert flora, and glittering pools (both public and private), the property has a mid-century meets Spanish-style aesthetic, with the rooms embracing an earthier desert vibe (think warm wood, terracotta, stone fireplaces, and textiles that nod toward Native American handcrafts). Guests can reserve anything from traditional rooms to larger suites to full villas with enclosed patios (four villas can be reserved in a shared block for large groups).
The real draw of Two Bunch Palms is its robust spa program, featuring massages, facials, body wraps, reiki treatments or programs that combine two or more of these services. At the center of all the treatments, however, is the hot springs, and guests are encouraged to soak in them and embrace their natural healing powers. There’s also the hotel’s well-regarded restaurant, which features a seasonal, plant-forward menu that’s inspired by Southern California cuisine. Similar to the architecture, it’s a mix of Southwest and Mediterranean styles.
For a folksier, more laid-back vibe, there’s the Pioneertown Motel, originally built in the 1940s as a stopover for stars of Hollywood Westerns (legend has it Gene Autry would play poker through the night in room #9). While it may lack the finesse of Two Bunch Palms or fancier fare of Palm Springs, it has character, history, and a shaggy charm of its own. Across 19 cabin-like rooms in three styles (King, Queen, or Double Twins) there’s a cinematic quality that conjures a Western fantasy: rustic wood-beam ceilings, cowhide rugs, weathered leather furnishings, and art that nods to the dazzling desert vistas — made to enjoy from the lazy hammocks throughout the property. More crucially, it is centrally located, connected to the nearby Red Dog Saloon, and a stone’s throw from some of the most popular spots that Pioneertown has to offer.
Exploration
Awe-inspiring connections to both the landscape and metaphysical plane.
