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21 Attractions to Visit

California Desert: Palm Springs, Joshua Tree, and the San Andreas Fault

California Desert: Palm Springs, Joshua Tree, and the San Andreas Fault
Starts from

Los Angeles

Transportation

By Car

Guidance

Self-Guided

Attractions

21

Duration

4 Days

Length

490 mi

Guide details

Starts from

Los Angeles

Transportation

By Car

Guidance

Self-Guided

Duration

4 Days

Length

490 mi

Price

Unique LocationsFamily-FriendlyArts and CreativityGastronomyActive LeisureAnimals and FarmsRelaxation
Map preview

Created By:

Frommer's Travel Guides
Frommer's Travel Guides

Highlights

  • Southern California's beloved desert escapes.
  • Mid-century style of Palm Springs.
  • Ancient microbiomes of Joshua Tree National Park.
  • Weird wonders of the Salton Sea.
The Southern California desert is a fascinating locale of rare natural wonders, carefully curated mid-century lifestyles, and iconoclastic locals. Don’t let the forbidding landscape deceive you. Amid the sandy expanses you'll find upscale dining, unique shopping, and Palm Springs haunts popular with past and present Hollywood stars. Elsewhere, a Coachella Valley oasis shimmers along the San Andreas fault, and a Mad Max-style artists' enclave endures by the desolate Salton Sea. Photo credit: Reagan Kastner

Categories

The Southern California desert is a fascinating locale of rare natural wonders, carefully curated mid-century lifestyles, and iconoclastic locals. Don’t let the forbidding landscape deceive you. Amid the sandy expanses you'll find upscale dining, unique shopping, and Palm Springs haunts popular with past and present Hollywood stars. Elsewhere, a Coachella Valley oasis shimmers along the San Andreas fault, and a Mad Max-style artists' enclave endures by the desolate Salton Sea. Photo credit: Reagan Kastner
Frommer's Travel Guides
Frommer's Travel Guides
  • Southern California's beloved desert escapes.
  • Mid-century style of Palm Springs.
  • Ancient microbiomes of Joshua Tree National Park.
  • Weird wonders of the Salton Sea.

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Travel Itinerary

Roadside Dinosaurs, Joshua Trees, and a BBQ Roadhouse
6 Attractions to Visit

Day 1

153 mi

Roadside Dinosaurs, Joshua Trees, and a BBQ Roadhouse

Ease yourself into the desert lifestyle by retracing the steps of early tourists. By the end of the day, you'll be in one of America's most remote national parks, worlds away from the city. Photo credit: Courtesy Courtesy Mission Inn Hotel & Spa
22:00
Mineral Springs Spa, Mountaintop Panorama, and Dinner at Cary Grant's House
5 Attractions to Visit

Day 2

67 mi

Mineral Springs Spa, Mountaintop Panorama, and Dinner at Cary Grant's House

Transition from the High Desert to the Low by delighting the eye and pampering the body. Photo credit: Courtesy Copley’s on Palm Canyon
22:00
The Palm Springs Lifestyle
4 Attractions to Visit

Day 3

31 mi

The Palm Springs Lifestyle

Learn how Palm Springs became the getaway of choice for America's elite, and meet the locals as you visit some of the most alluring enclaves. Photo credit: Tim Street-Porter
22:00
Natural Wonders and Blunders: The San Andreas Fault and the Sad Saga of the Salton Sea
6 Attractions to Visit

Day 4

238 mi

Natural Wonders and Blunders: The San Andreas Fault and the Sad Saga of the Salton Sea

On the final day of your road trip, venture into the inhospitable Mojave Desert and meet the people who have learned to tame the forbidding landscape in their own unique ways. Photo credit: Jason Cochran

Route on Map

Map preview
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