The Deserts
The very name evokes all that is harsh, hot and hellish – a punishing, barren and lifeless place of Old Testament severity. Yet closer inspection reveals…
Must-see attractions in The Deserts
Greater Palm Springs
Palm Springs has long been famous a celebrity playground, but few destinations in the valley better exemplify that pedigree than Sunnylands, the retreat…
Death Valley National Park
Not many national park features can say they were celebrated in a 1969 film of the same name, but Zabriskie Point claims that honor thanks to director…
Death Valley National Park
Dante's View is an overlook that sits perched at 5475ft atop the Black Mountains, affording stunning panoramic views of the entire southern Death Valley…
Joshua Tree National Park
High atop the Little San Bernardino Mountains, Keys View offers panoramic views of the whole Coachella Valley spread out like a picnic blanket. On clear…
Greater Palm Springs
Art fans should not miss this museum and its changing exhibitions drawn from a stellar collection of international modern and contemporary painting,…
Greater Palm Springs
This rotating cable car climbs nearly 6000ft vertically and covers five different vegetation zones, from the Sonoran desert floor to pine-scented Mt San…
Greater Palm Springs
This amazing animal park showcases desert plants and animals alongside exhibits on regional geology and Native American culture. Highlights include a walk…
Noah Purifoy Desert Art Museum
Joshua Tree National Park
The 'Junk Dada' sculptures and installations of African American artist Noah Purifoy (1917–2004) are collected by the world's finest museums, but some of…
Joshua Tree National Park
This striking rock labyrinth extends roughly from Indian Cove in the north to Park Blvd in the south and is predictably a popular rock climbers' haunt…
Death Valley National Park
The most accessible dunes in Death Valley are an undulating sea of sand rising up to 100ft high next to the highway near Stovepipe Wells Village. They're…
Death Valley National Park
Closed due to flood damage and not likely to reopen until at least 2020, this whimsical castle was the desert home of Walter E Scott, alias ‘Death Valley…
The Deserts
As if from a page out of a Dr Seuss book, the whimsical-looking Joshua trees welcome visitors to this 794,000-acre park at the convergence of the Colorado…
Joshua Tree National Park
It may look just like a white-domed structure, but in reality it's an electrostatic generator for time travel and cell rejuvenation. Yup! At least that's…
Death Valley National Park
Named for a lucky French miner who struck gold at the nearby Eureka Mine, Aguereberry Point sits at a lofty 6433ft above the desert floor and delivers…
Death Valley National Park
An opera house in the middle of nowhere? Yes, thanks to the vision of New York dancer Marta Beckett who fell in love with the 1920s colonnaded adobe…
Joshua Tree National Park
Looking like an 1870s frontier town, Pioneertown was actually built in 1946 as a Hollywood Western movie set. Gene Autry and Roy Rogers were among the…
Joshua Tree National Park
Behind the park HQ and Oasis Visitor Center, this natural oasis encompasses the original 29 palm trees that gave Twentynine Palms its name. They were…
Death Valley National Park
The lowest point in North America (282ft below sea level) is an eerily beautiful landscape of crinkly salt flats. Here you can walk out on to a constantly…
Joshua Tree National Park
Old West history buffs will delight in the 90-minute ranger-led tour of this ranch named after its builder, William Keys. He and his family built a…
The Deserts
This endearingly hokey Old West attraction consists of a cluster of pioneer-era buildings amid the ruins of a 1881 silver-mining town, reconstructed…
Joshua Tree National Park
Named as one of California’s important birding areas by the Audubon Society, this preserve encloses a natural spring-fed desert oasis that’s a native…
Greater Palm Springs
Salvation Mountain is a mighty strange sight indeed: a 100ft-high hill of hand-mixed adobe and straw slathered in paint and decorated with flowers,…
Death Valley National Park
The far-northwestern reaches of Death Valley cradle these spectacular dunes that, at up to 680ft high, are the tallest in California. It’s a tough slog to…
US Naval Museum of Armament & Technology
The Deserts
Touch a Tomahawk missile or mug with a 'Fat Man' (atomic bomb, that is) at this museum on a classified US Navy base. The weapons collection will likely…
The Deserts
Inside the beautifully restored Casa del Desierto, a 1911 Harvey House (architecturally significant railway inns named for their originator Fred Harvey),…
Death Valley National Park
Past the northern end of Hwy 190, it's slow going for 27 miles on a tire-shredding dirt road (high-clearance and 4WD usually required) to the eerie…
The Deserts
What do the movies Battlestar Galactica, Star Trek V: the Final Frontier and Planet of the Apes have in common? They were all filmed at Trona Pinnacles,…
Greater Palm Springs
Driving along the I-10, about 20 miles west of Palm Springs, you may do a double take when glimpsing 'Dinny the Dinosaur' and 'Mr Rex' on the north side…
Death Valley National Park
Fed by the mostly belowground Armagosa River and at the end of a narrow canyon, this family-run, organic date farm is a lush oasis in the middle of the…
Death Valley National Park
Just outside the Death Valley eastern park boundary (about 35 miles from Furnace Creek), Rhyolite epitomizes the hurly-burly, boom-and-bust story of…
Greater Palm Springs
Elvis and Priscilla Presley had stayed at the iconic 1960 Alexander Estate in 1966 and liked it so much that Elvis carried his new bride over the…
The Deserts
Colorful as a box of crayons, this roadside folk-art collection is a forest of over 200 ‘bottle trees’ made from recycled soda and beer containers,…
Antelope Valley California Poppy Reserve
The Deserts
The golden poppy is California's state flower and in this park it's given centerstage, especially from mid-March through April when the hills are…
The Deserts
This grizzled cafe was the main filming location of Percy Adlon's eponymous 1987 classic cult flick starring CCH Pounder and Jack Palance. The interior is…
The Deserts
In the ghost town of Amboy, this beautifully kept landmark was for decades a popular watering hole for Route 66 travelers. If you believe the lore, Roy…
Death Valley National Park
Near the ghost town of Rhyolite, just east of Death Valley National Park, this outdoor sculpture park was begun in 1984 by the late Belgian artist Albert…
Death Valley National Park
Hwy 190 ends at 600ft-deep Ubehebe Crater, formed some 300 years ago by the meeting of fiery magma and cool groundwater. As the water turned into steam,…
The Deserts
Rising to 700ft, these beautiful dunes are the country’s third-tallest sand dunes. Under the right conditions they emanate low humming sounds that are…
The Deserts
On a hilltop on the grounds of the Rio Tinto Boron Mine, California's largest open pit mine, this museum reeks 'corporate promo' but actually has some…
