Joshua TreeA 800,000-acre national park where the Mojave and Colorado deserts meet — Joshua trees, monzogranite boulders, and the darkest International Dark-Sky Park within a 3-hour drive of Los Angeles

Joshua Tree sits at 2,700 feet on California Route 62 — the northern gateway to Joshua Tree National Park's West Entrance, with the town of Yucca Valley to the west, Twentynine Palms (and the park's North Entrance) to the east, and Pioneertown's 1946 movie set 7 miles up the Pioneertown Road. The park itself spans Hidden Valley's bouldering circuit, the Cholla Cactus Garden's late-October golden hour, the Keys View overlook of the Coachella Valley and Mt. San Jacinto, the 49 Palms Oasis fan-palm grove, and a designated International Dark-Sky Park where the summer Milky Way is visible to the naked eye.

Our rentals concentrate in the high-desert neighborhoods between the park's West Entrance and Pioneertown — minimalist desert-modern homes on 5-to-20-acre parcels with private hot tubs, fire pits, and outdoor showers; mid-century homesteader cabins remodeled around 1950s rock fireplaces; and the more luxe Black Rock Canyon estates with pools (rare in the desert). Most include outdoor stargazing decks and fenced spa areas. Stays of 3+ nights are standard; the dark-sky weeks around new moon book months ahead.