So maybe you also tried to visit Palm Springs from Seattle lately and have realized that the flights are incredibly expensive and the hotels are totally full. Joshua Tree is about a 45 minute drive from Palm Springs and while I used to think of it as a camping destination, there are many options for stays these days and there is lots to see in the area. We thought we might use Joshua Tree as a home base to even see Palm Springs for Spring Break but there were so many things that we barely left the park. We wanted a holiday that would be interesting for our teens and this turned out to be a great destination.
So how do you choose a Joshua Tree Accommodation?
I looked at several options in Joshua Tree. A search of the best Joshua Tree hotels will likely get you options like the Joshua Tree Inn and the Pioneertown Motel. Both of these seemed like they would be good choices if this were a trip without kids but with kids we looked up Airbnb’s for more space. We ended up with one near the entrance to the park, walkable to Joshua Tree Coffee (we still drove) and with bedrooms for each of the kids and a hot tub (that we thought we would use but didn’t) If you want the listing, please send me a message, this rental was comfortable, well stocked and very clean. In the process of looking up our airbnb we also found the invisible house and that led people to tell me about a Netflix show “the Worlds most amazing Vacation Rentals” and if you like cool places to stay you’ll probably love this show too. And we stayed for two nights in April (as part of a 6 night California trip.)
What does a day in Joshua Tree in April look like?
We visited in April, and it was actually a cooler week in California than usual. I think the Joshua Tree area can get quite hot at different points in the year so check the weather in the area before you book to see if you are choosing a good time to visit. The highest high was around 70ish when we were there. The lows were in the 50’s. We woke up early to do hikes like the Mount Ryan Trail and went back to our rental house for the afternoon to relax then headed back an hour before sunset to go to the Cholla Cactus Garden , Skull Rock and Hidden Valley. We also spent a bit of one afternoon driving to Pioneertown to walk around for a little bit as well. We got ice cream at La Michoacana Ice Cream Delicious, pastries at Boo’s Organic Oven (oh that carrot cake!), coffee at Joshua Tree Coffee and food at Yucca Kabob. We also made a few meals and went to the Joshua Tree Farmer’s Market early on a Saturday morning.
Joshua Tree is also a National Park. Make sure you plan for weather and outdoors accordingly if you go for a hike. And make sure to check about how many days you get with the outdoor pass here too when we visited you had to pay $30 for 7 days in the Joshua Tree National Park,
And are there any good stops between Joshua Tree and LAX?
We were coming from the Waldorf Astoria Monarch Beach and it took about 2 and a half hours to get to Joshua Tree. We stopped at Hadley Fruit Orchards at Cabazon for their “famous” date shakes and could have shopped a bit in the area too at the Desert Hills Premium Outlets. We also thought about stopping at Palm Springs but ran out of time. Our flight back to Seattle ended up delayed and we changed our last hotel to Shutters on the Beach in Santa Monica because choosing some “Fine Hotels” with American Express guarantees a 4 pm checkout when we booked.
If Joshua Tree is an appealing destination we have been to many other California destinations that we’ve also loved visiting with our kids too. Most recently we went to San Luis Obispso, Santa Barbara and Oxnard and also planned a last-minute trip to Disneyland.
Terumi Pong is a Seattle-based family travel writer and mom of twin teenage boys. She loves coffee and pastries, shopping local and looking for greener ways to live. She is also known as Scout’s mom (Scout is a 5ish pound little black yorkie-poo)
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