Frommer'sFrommer's
      21 Activities 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

      Activities

      21

      Duration

      4 days

      Length

      490 mi

      Price
      Free

      In partnership with

      Visit California

      Guide details

      Starts from

      Los Angeles

      Transportation

      By Car

      Guidance

      Self-Guided

      Duration

      4 days

      Length

      490 mi

      Price
      Free
      Unusual LocationsArts and CreativityGastronomy
      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

      In partnership with

      Visit California
      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 Activities 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 Activities 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 Activities 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 Dramatic Saga of the Salton Sea
      6 Activities to Visit

      Day 4

      238 mi

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

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

      Route on Map

      Map preview