A Guide to Joshua Tree, California
GUEST GUIDE
Two hours from LA, no airport required, and eighteen minutes from the West Entrance of Joshua Tree National Park — this is what to know before you come.
Getting here
01
Most of our guests drive in from LA or San Diego. It's about two hours from LA, with nowhere to stop and nothing to book ahead — just a straight shot out past the windmills and into the open desert. No airport needed.
Inside the park
02
Joshua Tree National Park has two main faces: the boulder-stacked high desert around Hidden Valley and Skull Rock, and the lower, flatter Colorado Desert near the Cholla Cactus Garden. First-timers usually start at the West Entrance and work east — Hidden Valley for a short walk through house-sized boulders, Keys View for sunset over the Coachella Valley, and Arch Rock if anyone in the group still has energy for one more stop. Bring more water than you think you need.
Hidden Valley
Keys View
Cholla Garden
Tip: Cell service drops inside the park. Download an offline map before you enter.
In town
03
A few places we actually go — no listicle, just the spots worth your time.
Joshua Tree Coffee Company
Coffee
Más o Menos
Coffee & Wine
The Big Dez
Breakfast
Sky High Pie
Pizza
Kitchen in The Desert
Dinner
Where to land after
04
You'll want somewhere to actually rest after a day in the park. The Desert Willow is eighteen minutes from the West Entrance — a pool with a baja shelf, individual cold plunge, cedar sauna, and a private pickleball court for day or lit night play, on 1.4 fully-fenced acres. Pet-friendly, sleeps 8 across three bedrooms.
Baja shelf Pool (heating optional)
1.4 fenced in acre yard
Cold plunge
Sleeps 8
Barrel cedar sauna
Pickleball court (lit at night)
Outdoor movie theater
Backyard games (pool, ping pong, corn hole, & more)
