Joshua Tree, CA Travel & Photo Blog
Jason and I like to try to set aside time for one to two vacations during the year, just to get away and be together. This fall we decided to take our vacation in Joshua Tree & San Diego, CA! We split the trip up into two parts, so the vlog & this blog post is all about our time in Joshua Tree! Sharing where we stayed and what we did for our 4 days in the desert.
OUR FIRST DAY
Travel day tips
We flew into San Diego to start off our trip - knowing we would end our time in CA back in that place it only made sense! If you’re wanting to travel to Joshua Tree I would recommend doing the same (because San Diego is way better than LA TBH)! We grabbed our Jeep that we rented through Turo and headed for the desert - of course we had to stop at In-N-Out for lunch.
WHY VISIT JOSHUA TREE? WHEN TO VISIT JOSHUA TREE Desert?
If you’ve never been to Joshua Tree before one thing to note is that it’s the high desert (which is a VERY good thing). This means it cools down significantly at night and in the morning during the fall/winter months. This makes it actually really pleasant & I would say October or later is a really great time of the year to visit Joshua Tree for that reason. We were able to wear shorts during the day but throw on a sweatshirt and drive with the windows down at night!
where to stay in joshua tree? Best Airbnb to stay at in joshua tree?
I would have to say that our Airbnb was a major highlight of stying out in Joshua Tree. Jason found this incredible place on Airbnb and it was ideal because of the location!! Located in 29 Palsm, it was settled into the side of a huge hill which blocked a lot of the daytime sun, so we could easily read outside during the day and enjoy the pool and hot tub. A major bonus was that it faced the sunrise so we watched the sunrise every single morning. It also is incredibly quiet where it’s located which made it so peaceful at all times of the day.
tips for your trip!
We cooked in quite a bit while in Joshua Tree. The local grocery store Stater Bros has an incredible meat section for all of your taco needs. We did carne asada a couple of the nights we were there & honestly could have done it every night!
Travel outfit to Joshua Tree
day one - outfit two
DAY TWO | Joshua Tree National Park
Is Joshua Tree National Park worth visiting?
We started our day by waking up to watch the sunrise, journaling, drinking coffee, and making breakfast! We spent a large chunk of time at Joshua Tree National Park. This is a must see if you’re visiting the area. Not too far from our Airbnb we drove to the park earlier in the day before it got too hot (a tip I would highly recommend). The national park has lots of huge rock formations that you’re free to explore and climb. It also has tons of Joshua Trees :)
You definitely don’t need hiking gear to enjoy the park. It’s really beautiful just to drive through if you don’t want to get out of your car. If you do happen to want to climb and explore I’d suggest getting some hiking boots or shoes with grips for the rocks case they can be really steep. Also don’t forget sunscreen & some kind of hat or sun protection. There isn’t any kind of shade in the park.
In the afternoon we went back to our Airbnb and read by the hot tub then made our dinner - you guessed it carne asada tacos lol
day two hiking outfit
DAY THREE | Our Chill day
Honestly not a whole lot happened this day other than a lot of reading and enjoying our Airbnb :)
I finished my first Harry Potter book & started Making Sense of God on my Kindle!
DAY FOUR | BIG BEAR
Things to do outside of johsua tree & places near johsua tree
For our final day in the desert we actually decided to go to Big Bear lake! If I’m being totally honest, you get a little stir crazy in Joshua Tree. There’s no major downtown area. There are lots of little pockets to explore, but I would say 3-4 days is plenty of time for enjoying your stay! Big Bear lake is about an hour and a half from where we were staying in 29 Palms. It’s a ski town in the winter months (we were a bit early for that but it was still beautiful to walk/drive around). We got breakfast at Grizzly Manor - this place is a breakfast lover’s dream!! Then drove around the lake, it reminded me a lot of Gatlinburg, TN.
We spent a few hours in Big Bear then came back to our airbnb to rest before we headed back out for dinner. On our way to dinner we stopped by couple of shops to look for some vintage finds. We had dinner at Pappy and Harriets - again a fun spot if you’re in the area!! The whole Pioneer Town (where the restaurant is located) is an active movie set for western films which was fun to walk around!
day four outfit
We had a really great time in Joshua Tree! At first we found it really hard to rest, but I think being in the desert was a great place to wind down and just spend quality time with one another. I’d highly recommend visiting Joshua Tree if you’ve ever wanted to experience the desert! Be sure to check back in for our San Diego travel blog :)