Located just 20 minutes from downtown Joshua Tree, the town of 29,000 boasts its own, less crowded entrance to the national park and a brand new visitors center that opened in 2023.

The High Desert tree is well protected in the county’s 1.5 million-acre Mojave National Preserve, 800,000-acre Joshua Tree National Park, Mojave Trails National Monument, Sand to Snow National ...

Some see Joshua Tree as just another desert landscape, but others swear it is a spiritual vortex with an energy unlike anywhere else. Its twisted, otherworldly trees and massive boulders have ...

A view of Joshua Tree Memorial Park, in Joshua Tree, Calif., on Nov. 20, 2024. The memorial park is one of the few places in Southern California to offer natural burial services.

In Joshua Tree, AutoCamp ’s cabins and Airstream trailers have the feel of a boutique hotel, with minimalist décor that lets the surrounding desert do the talking. Airstreams start at around $269.

Along Joshua Tree National Park’s eastern boundary, there is a missing piece. In 1936, the U.S. government removed thousands of acres from the park (originally named Joshua Tree National Monument) for ...

Long a draw for artists, creatives, and seekers, Joshua Tree and the surrounding High Desert towns offer no shortage of chic hotels, restaurants, and shops.

Ruth Nolan teaches English and creative writing at College of the Desert and is editor of “No Place for a Puritan: the Literature of California’s Deserts” (Heyday Inlandia.) ...