How to plan a romantic weekend in Joshua Tree
7 min readThe first time I went to Joshua Tree, I approached it all wrong. First off, I thought Joshua Tree was just one epic tree LOL. When I arrived, I thought, “this looks like a bunch of dust and rocks, I don’t get it.”
Lol oh boy.
But now that I understand the area more, it’s one of my fav getaways in Southern California. It’s super serene, makes you enjoy small moments, nature, cooking, and spending time at your home away from home.
So here are some tips for planning a romantic weekend (or a self love solo trip!) in Joshua Tree.
1) Book a retreat style Airbnb.
If you can spend a little more for a place, you’ll get a lot of uniqueness and serenity for your money. Def a better value than many Airbnbs in LA/San Diego.
Whenever I want a unique stay, I look at Joshua Tree, Palm Springs, and the surrounding area.
I’ve stayed in hotels in Palm Springs & Joshua Tree, and I don’t recommend it. You really don’t get the same unplugged effect.
Tips for finding a good Airbnb in Joshua Tree
I filter by: superhost, entire place, AC, heater, kitchen, and hot tub.
Then I look at the lowest reviews to see if I’m ok with the cons. Lately I’ve also been searching reviews for search terms: comfortable, bed, bugs, cons, clean.
Check the reviews to see if the hosts are hospitable. When I first started using Airbnb, I met many hosts that loved hosting. Unfortunately, recently this has been less of the norm, which has led to worse stays.
From there I pick the best value for my money, or splurge on something unique, knowing we will save a little by cooking most of the time.
If you can’t find anything in Joshua Tree, expand your search to Yucca Valley.
Awwwgg hiiii! Antelope squirrel grabbing a peanut.
2) Watch the sunrise at the Cholla Cactus Garden.
We are not morning ppl but this was worth it.
We used google/weather apps to find the time of sunrise and planned from there.
Based on my photo timestamps, we got there around 6:07am on Feb 14, and the photo of the glowy sunrise was taken at 6:33. It was an hour drive, so we woke up in the 4’s to get here bahaha whaaa, but it was dope.
I’m glad we arrived when we did, bc as we pulled out of the parking lot, we saw more ppl arriving — they totally missed the glowy effect at sunrise. At that point it was just sun lol but still pretty =)
No one was at the park checkpoint when we arrived (I think they open 7am?) but we did end up paying on our way out.
3) Pick something up from On The Mark Palm Springs.
It’s a gourmet food market and deli with awesome service.
Since we drive from LA (or if you fly into the Palm Springs airport), I suggest heading here first on the way to Joshua Tree.
The day before our arrival, I call to place an order for a delicious charcuterie board (priced well considering how trendy they are these days!). They can add or remove things, and they size/price it by # of people. We’re repeat customers with these boards and highly recommend them.
When we pick up the board, we get craft beers for a tasting at the Airbnb. Another activity for the weekend, check!
Finally, we love taking inspiration from their products to guide what we cook. One time we spotted a bag of grits, and decided to make shrimp & grits for dinner.
Those little red teardrop peppers (Incan Red Drops / Sweety Drops) were so different and yummy!
Put together our own beer tasting, with drinks from On The Mark Palm Springs
So good I went onto their website to buy more & sent jars to my parents.
4) Enjoy cooking and eating at home.
We look forward to cooking in Joshua Tree- it feels like a fun activity rather than a chore.
Turn on the record player.
Enjoy the awesome view from the kitchen.
Take your time cooking.
I’d suggest even picking things that take a long time to cook — to lean into the feeling of slow living.
So, we made shrimp + grits, pecan butter + fruit toast, yogurt topped with fruit + almond honey, s’mores, and (my fav food on earth) baked potatoes!!! Fuhhhhh
Homemade shrimp and grits with sausage. My hub said this is the perfect V-Day dinner bc you really gotta love someone to stir grits for that long.
I LOVE BAKED POTATOES. This was for 2 of us, but I accidentally ate 3 of the halves woops.
After dinner sunset
5) Explore the good eats.
La Copine is the BEST place to get brunch. Some would say best in SoCal.
The flavors are so punchy, and pound for pound, it’s such great value.
Get there before they open to put your name on the wait list. If you arrive toward the end of their service, they may be booked for the day.
Natural Sisters Cafe made me fall in love with vegenaise. My go-to is their Eggless Tofu Sandwich. The creaminess and crunchiness of this sandwich makes me crave healthy things.
What’s awesome is Joshua Tree Coffee Co is across the street from Natural Sisters Cafe. It’s a locally loved coffee shop and a lot of Airbnbs stock their beans.
Joshua Tree Bottle Shop is across the street on the other side. They have a unique wine selection and great service. We loved the Famiglia Carafoli Nicchia Lambrusco di Modena. Super super drinkable!
6) Hot tubbbbb.
Hot tubs are so luxurious I try to make it more ridiculous by eating brownies, drinking wine, etc in the hot tub. The most satisfying snack I’ve had in a hot tub was a pepperoni pizza hot pocket lololllll
This is Anthony exclaiming that his fingers and toes are pruny.