Joshua Tree Roadtrip

One of my all-time favorite places in California is Joshua Tree (and basically all of its surrounding areas). It’s such a unique and remote place. The town is located in the Mojave Desert and is part of the San Bernardino County. Joshua Tree is a short two-hour drive from Los Angeles and there’s lots to see on the way there and back. The perfect road-trip if you ask me!

I posted a ton of pictures from Joshua Tree on my instagram and I want to share with you where you can find every single place I visited.

1. Cabazon Dinosaurs

If you need to use the potty, pump gas, grab some snacks, or take pictures with huge dinosaurs on your way to Joshua Tree, make sure you do a quick pit stop at Cabazon where you can find this roadside attraction featuring Dinny and Mr. Rex the Cabazon Dinosaurs.

2. Palm Springs

Make sure you take a quick detour and visit Palm Springs, it’s a super cute desert oasis. They have some amazing boutique hotels, stylish bars and cafes, and vintage shopping stores. Not to mention their gorgeous palm-tree-lined streets! I highly suggest that you stay a couple of nights in Palm Springs to truly enjoy it!

3. Moorten Botanical Garden

Once you’re in Palm Springs, head over to Moorten Botanical Garden where you’ll find succulents of all kinds and you can purchase as many as you want. The property is so cute, you can even rent out the space for events and weddings.

Check Out My Oregon Road Trip Here!

4. Joshua Tree National Park

When you finally reach Joshua Tree, make sure you visit their national park. You can find some crazy rock formations here and some pretty wild looking succulents… and of course, Joshua Trees. Those cool, weird looking trees that look like they have strong arms that are about to reach out to you and smash you! Haha! That was my first impression 😀 You can only find them in California, Nevada, Utah, and Arizona. No where else in the world will you find these crazy looking yuccas.

5. Stay at the coolest Airbnb EVER!

I stayed at Joshua Tree Acres. It’s a property that contains 4 airstream buses and a communal area (kitchen, dining area, and living area) to host all guests. If you stay here, you’ll also have access to a hot tub, hammocks, outdoor showers, firepit, and an extensive collection of vinyl records. This was, by far, the best experience of my entire trip! I daydream about Joshua Tree ALL the time, simply because this property was such a dream. On our first night, my boyfriend and I met an Australian couple and quickly hit it off. We ended up drinking wine while we chatted for hours on end, and listened to the best music records. After several glasses of wine, we jumped into the hot tub, stargazed, and ended our night with new lifelong friends. The second night was just as perfect! We met some amazing girls that invited us to join them for dinner, so we all cooked our own meals and created a potluck. Again, the music playing and the firepit lit. We then stragazed and shot some amazing photographs of the Milky Way. It was just the perfect getaway, ALL thanks to a single Airbnb! 😀

Stay at Joshua Tree Acres! 

Use my code for a $40 Airbnb credit!

6. Pioneer Town

Pioneertown was originally build as an old west movie set so when you visit you’ll find yourself traveling back in time and getting ready for a gunfight. Haha, kidding! But, seriously, be prepared to feel like you entered a time warp.  This deserted town has a total population of 420 inhabitants and they even have a cute little post office. It’s quite mind boggling. You can easily visit Pioneertown, it’s only a 20 minute drive from Joshua Tree.

7. Salvation Mountain

Salvation Mountain is nowhere near Joshua Tree. It’s, yet, another two-hour drive, but I thought I’d add it to the list since it was such cool experience. For those of you who haven’t heard of it, Salvation Mountain is a privately owned visionary environment that is devoted to God. The cool thing about it is that the owner basically created a massive art piece by laying colorful paint over a desert-sand hill. It’s like nothing I’ve seen before and definitely worth the drive. But please remember that this is the dessert and it can get VERY hot, especially during summer! Make sure to pack lots of water and prevent your car from overheating by checking all the service levels.

That completes my itinerary for this Joshua Tree road trip! I already can’t wait to go back!