California: Joshua Tree half-day trip

As part of my friend’s bachelorette trip, we took a half-day trip to Joshua Tree in California. It was roughly a 1 hour drive (1 way) from Palm Springs.

Things to do

Hike at FortyNine Palm Oasis Trail

We woke up early to do a hike/trail called the FortyNine Palm Oasis Trail. It is considered a moderate trail and is 5km in length. It took us 3 hours to go there and back, so approximately 1.5 hours one way. The elevation is not that high, but because of the hot temperatures, it can feel difficult, which is why we opted to go earlier in the morning when it is not as hot. There is one washroom/outhouse at the beginning of the trail and that is it.

It was quite a nice hike/trail with some really great views. I’ve never hiked in a desert before but it’s definitely an out & back kinda trail. While we were there, we did see quite a few people so that was nice because we didn’t feel lost but it was also spaced out so we had our own space and time to continue at our own pace.

There’s not a lot of shade so make sure you stay hydrated and bring lots of water! I also highly recommend a hat because the sun on the top of my head made me feel like I could crack an egg on my skull and cook it.

When you are close to reaching the end of the trail, you will see something really cool – an oasis!

It is really cool to see the trees and the shade at the end of the hike. There are more bugs there beware!

There is no lake or pond or whatever, but you’ll be able to see and feel that the ground there is darker in colour and more moist/wet than the dryness around. Really beautiful spot to take photos and it looks so different from the rest of the area.

Note that we dressed like this because we are from Vancouver but literally everyone else was wearing long sleeved shirts lol.

Joshua Tree National Park

So I mean Joshua Tree has this whole huge national park that we were also thinking of checking out, but it costed us like $30-50 so we decided to just turn around HAHA.

Souvenir shop

We checked out this really cute souvenir shop next to the restaurant we ate at. Lots of fun goodies and cactus ornaments, cowboy hats, T-shirts, cups, etc.

Where to eat

Joshua Tree Saloon

We ate at Joshua Tree Saloon, which looks like an old-school saloon in the wild wild west. We came here for lunch and their indoor dining room wasn’t open yet so we ate out in the patio area, which has lots of colourful chairs and string lights.

Note that prices are in USD.

Sweet potato fries ($8)

We got the sweet potato fries – 1 order comes with 1 lb but we devoured it pretty fast. It didn’t come with any sauce so we asked for some chipotle or aioli but they looked at us weird lol.

Baby back ribs ($27/40)

Between 4 people, we shared a full size portion of the baby back ribs for $40 ($27 if you only want half-rack). It comes with beans and coleslaw (you cannot change the sides). The ribs are Hickory slow smoked and basted with their Jack Daniels no. 7 bbq sauce.

I thought the ribs were pretty tasty but it wasn’t the best American bbq I’ve ever had. As you know, American BBQ is a real culture and the meat is usually fall off the bone tender. These ribs were not fall off the bone, but pretty good and I liked the sauce. Coleslaw was pretty average and I don’t like beans so I didn’t have any.

Final thoughts

We were pretty tired and sunned out after the 3 hour trail and lunch outside (even though we were in the shade, still hot out!). So we decided to drive back to Palm Springs and didn’t stay for much longer in Joshua Tree.

I thought Joshua Tree was a cute little town that definitely felt more rural and “wild west” than Palm Springs, which was where we were spending most of our time during the trip. I liked the trail we did and the great desert outdoors. The shops and restaurants had a unique character to them but I wouldn’t stay more than a day in Joshua Tree, personally. Very small town vibe but great for a day or half day trip.

Sincerely, Loewe