A Day in Joshua Tree

TRAVEL

Jan 15

Written By Julia

One of my favorite things about living where I am in Southern California, is that I am only about an hour’s drive from Joshua Tree National Park. I grew up visiting Joshua Tree to go rock climbing…those were always such amazing memories; rock scrambling with friends in the desert. The good old days…

The area around the national park has a few small town gems I have discovered, and I recently took a day to explore them. Even with the day, I hardly scratched the surface of this fun area, so I am looking forward to more day trips out that way in the future!

My first stop was in Yucca Valley; just north of the town center I stopped at Moon Wild Trading Post, and adorable boutique and vintage shop. It’s out in the middle of nowhere, which I LOVE, and the vibe of the place is so western and beautiful!

After the out-of-the-way stop at the trading post, I headed into the downtown area of Yucca Valley for lunch. Cafe Frontier is the place to go for food in this town. It was a constant revolving door of customers coming, and then leaving with the most beautiful iced lattes and iced matchas. I opted for the BLT for lunch, and man, was that the right choice! It was the best BLT I have ever had, and it included and herby mayo spread, which was perfection!

My next stop was the town of Joshua Tree. My main focus was finding this vintage clothing shop, which upon arrival, appeared to be out of business…but I stumbled across the Joshua Tree Blanket Co. next door, which was a great little find!

Afterward I grabbed a hot chocolate from Joshua Tree Coffee Co. and headed into the park.

About 15 minutes from the center of town is the west entrance of the National Park. I love the Hidden Valley Nature Trail area. It’s an easy trail, with lots of rock climbing options and fun rock scrambling. But I’m partial to it because it’s where Joseph and I went on our first date. (Please note, going off trail is NOT recommended, it is so easy to get lost out there…but if you do, be careful to keep the trail in sight so you don’t get confused in the maze of rocks.)