Southern California Desert Day Trips

Dublin Gulch is not your typical ghost town. Most of the city is underground. In the early 1900s, miners and railroad workers carved out living quarters in the cliffs near Shoshone, California. The cave dwellings served two purposes. To escape the searing summer heat and as insulation from the … [Read more...]

The Old Mojave Road takes off-road adventurers from the Colorado River through the Mojave National Preserve to Afton Canyon near Barstow, California. This historic route has been used by native Indians, Spanish explorers, and settlers. Today the Mojave Road is a popular adventure trip for groups of … [Read more...]

There's Mt. Sinai, and then there's Salvation Mountain. On the barren badlands east of San Diego, there is a 30-foot high, 100-foot wide concrete and adobe mountain covered in religious slogans and over an estimated 150,000 gallons of lavish multi-colored acrylic paint. Located near the salty … [Read more...]

Harvey House Railroad Depot also is known as the Casa Del Desierto sits by the railroad tracks in Barstow, California. The Barstow Railroad Depot opened in 1911 as a Santa Fee train station and Harvey House. Before there were dining cars trains would stop at Harvey Houses so passengers could dine … [Read more...]

Situated in the foothills above the floor of the Coachella Valley, the inhabitants of Desert Hot Springs get a bird’s eye view of the bustling life of the rich and famous in nearby Palm Springs. Plenty of sunshine with average temperatures in the mid to upper 80s allows visitors to enjoy one of the … [Read more...]

Death Valley Junction started out as a water stop along the Tonopah and Tidewater Railroad which operated from 1907 until 1940. In 1914 a 20-mile side spur was constructed from Death Valley Junction to the mines at Ryan, near Death Valley; the line operated until 1928 and carried Borax to the mill … [Read more...]

Pioneertown was originally built in the 1940s as an old western movie set. Today, locals keep the western tradition alive, holding mock gunfights from April through October on Pioneer Town's Main Street. Pappy and Harriet's Palace offers live music, touring bands and dancing on Thursday, Friday, … [Read more...]

Trona Pinnacles located about twenty miles east of the town of Ridgecrest in northeastern Kern County. The landscape here looks like it is right out of a science fiction movie. Scenes from Star Trek V The Final Frontier along with the original Planet of the Apes filmed in and around tufa … [Read more...]

Answer Natures Call with a View The Glass Outhouse Art Gallery 29 Palms is where. Visitors will find themselves viewing a unique art gallery with a very unusual outhouse. The Glass Outhouse Art Gallery, located on Thunder Road just off Highway 62, is unique in several different ways, beginning … [Read more...]

There are two ways you can enter Titus Canyon in Death Valley National Park. The easy way is to park at the west entrance and walk-in. The fun route is to drive in from Nevada Highway 374. The 27-mile trip starts near the Nevada town of Beatty and climbs to 5,000 feet before winding down to lower … [Read more...]

Shields Date Garden is a historic landmark that has been at the same location since 1924. Opening its doors on Christmas Day of that year, they have continuously offered quality date, citrus, and organic food products to customers all over the world. Inside Shields Date Garden’s store, visitors … [Read more...]

While it is possible to visit many of Death Valley's attractions in one-day most visitors spend a night or two in the park. There are plenty of campgrounds in Death Valley but hotel accommodations are limited. Hotels in the Death Valley National Park include The Ranch at Furnace Creek, The Oasis … [Read more...]

Anza-Borrego Desert State Park is California's largest state park, and second-largest in the United States, spanning 600,000 acres. It is tucked into the southeastern corner of California, bound by the rugged mountain of the Santa Rosas in the north, the Jacumba Mountains on the South, and the … [Read more...]