What to do in 29 Palms

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welcome to twenty nine palms california

This post is in partnership with Visit 29 Palms! All thoughts, writing, and photos are completely owned by me.

If you’re looking for what to do in 29 Palms in 2025 you’ve made it to the right page. Whether you are visiting Joshua Tree National Park, stationed in 29 Palms, or just driving through on your visit to California, this guide will help you find the best places to shop in 29 Palms, the best restaurants in 29 Palms, and the best places to stay in 29 Palms! Here you’ll find unique art, first nations artifacts, incredible desert landscapes, and absolutely delicious food!

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Guide to visiting Twenty Nine Palms

How to Get to 29 Palms

Did you know that Palm Springs has an airport that is growing exponentially? This is a fantastic way to zip down to explore 29 Palms and Joshua Tree National Park for the weekend! Thirteen airlines serve Palm Springs International Airport with nonstop flights to more than 30 airports, and offer one-stop travel possibilities to over 500 cities worldwide.

29 Palms is only 1 hour from the Palm Springs Airport, 3 hours from LAX and only 3 hours from the San Diego Airport.

A second option is the Ontario Airport! This airport is only 2 hours from Twenty Nine Palms and has seen exponential growth over the last few years. It is serviced by Southwest, Delta, and Alaska, United, Hawaiian, and even American Airlines!

Spend the weekend soaking in the natural beauty of 29 palms and the surrounding area

 

The Best Places to Stay in 29 Palms

Enjoying the pool at the historic 29 palms inn

Find the area’s best and biggest collection of lodging in 29 Palms, offering something for every traveler type and every budget. Ranging from national brand hotels to historic inns and motels, the area’s largest RV resort, and a vibrant collection of short-term vacation rentals, you’ll find it all in 29 Palms!

The best part of the accommodations in 29 Palms is their proximity to Joshua Tree National Park. The Northern Entrance to the park is located in 29 Palms and often has little to no traffic in or out. We almost exclusively use this entrance when we visit because it is the closest entrance to the Cholla Cactus Garden and Skull Rock!

Other hotel Options to stay in 29 Palms - move the map around to see options to fit any family budget:

the oasis at 29 palms inn offers so much for families or solo travelers alike

 

The Best Places to Eat in Twenty Nine Palms

Twenty nine palms inn has a fantastic farm to table approach on their menu. their food was excellent!

29 Palms is a blossoming desert town that offers everything from farm-to-table to classic American, to Thai, Mediterranean, and Caribbean, and, of course, Mexican food! The wide variety of restaurants in Twentynine Palms offer something for everyone!

After eating around Twenty Nine palms for a few days, these are the best restaurants in Twenty Nine Palms!

For fresh baked pastries, bread, fresh deli sandwiches, and homemade soups check out Campbell Hill Bakery. I stopped in an had one of their delicious croissants and the kids each had one of their flat bread pizzas!

If you’re looking for a quirky place to meet with friends, maybe play a little trivia, and get some craft beer and absolutely delicious eats — check out the Veteran owned GRND SQRL. We stopped in on their trivia night and dove into bruschetta, in house pickles (SO GOOD), and their amazing Bavarian pretzel! Don’t forget to grab a beer flight to try our their selection of craft beer!

For some down home BBQ, I highly suggest making plans to dine at The Rib Co. This place is lip smacking good and I highly recommend trying the baby back ribs, BBQ chicken, mashed potatoes, and baked beans!

Finally, I can’t mention eating in Twenty Nine Palms without mentioning the fantastic farm to table 29 Palms Inn Restaurant. We had a fantastic sit down dinner here. We started with ginger beer and their fried ravioli before we moved on to their absolutely delicious flat iron steak. This is a porcini crusted 7 oz. steak with grilled onions and a balsamic reduction that is served with mashed potatoes and seasonal vegetables from their very own garden! While your here, take a walk through their Faultline Farm to see where they harvest their veggies from!

For a more expansive list of the restaurants and eateries in Twenty Nine Palms, check out Visit 29 Palms!

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Cambpell hill bakery is excellent!! I highly recommend stocking up on all your bakery needs here!

The Best Places to Shop in Twenty Nine Palms

I normally don’t mention shopping in my blogs BUT you can not miss the shops of 29 Palms. Why? They are a perfect blend of art, fashion, and unique home décor you absolutely will not find anywhere else. Twenty Nine Palms is a haven for artists, so many of the shops offer one of kind decorations, handmade gifts, and a desert fashion selection that will leave you wishing you’d got it in every color because you won’t find it anywhere else!

Some shops we loved exploring and brought home our own souvenirs, home décor, and a few new clothes from are HABITAT (bonus: it’s veteran owned!), Donahlue Clothing Co (also veteran owned), and Hi-Desert Daydream. I absolutely loved chatting with the local employees to learn more about the shops and to see the quirky, but gorgeous array of unique desert themed items.

Window shopping is one of the best free things to do in twenty nine palms!

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The stylish shops of downtown 29 Palms

shopping in 29 Palms

The shops are quirky and instagramable!

What to do in Twenty Nine Palms

Let’s get into the meat of the best things to do in 29 Palms! If you’re here, it’s likely to explore some of California’s most beautiful desert landscapes, to experience the unique art, or you've moved here with the military! So let’s get into what to do in Twenty Nine Palms that will meet your wanderlust!

joshua tree national park

Joshua Tree National Park is one of our all time favorite national parks

Joshua Tree National Park: This majestic combination of high desert and low desert was established as a National Monument by President Roosevelt in 1936 and then became a National Park in 1994. . Joshua Tree National Park is visited by approximately 3 million people annually and is about is 800,000 acres. It is the 15th largest National Park of the 62 in the United States. I have a full guide to Joshua Tree National Park HERE and you can find more videos and images of our time in the park on my Instagram Highlight HERE. Also, don’t miss a visit to the new Cultural Center located in 29 Palms where you can learn more about the indigenous history of the park, the land’s original ranchers, and get updated park information.

I may be bias, but I think Joshua Tree is one of the BEST things to do with kids in 29 palms!

The north entrance to joshua tree national park is located in twenty nine palms and is the closest entrance to the cholla cacuts garden, rock arch, and skull rock!

Mojave National Preserve: Located less than 90-minutes from Twenty Nine Palms, the Mojave National Preserve is home to diverse ecological habitats and has been explored and lived on for over 10,000 years. In the Mojave, you’ll experience incredible desert landscapes like the Kelso Dunes. This remote preserve encourages a sense of discovery and a connection to wild places.

Kelso dunes are the perfect place to experience a high desert sunrise

When we visited, we spent the morning hiking over the Kelso Dunes as the sun rose. The Kelso dunes are some of the largest dunes in the United States; rising more than 600 feet tall. Look for the Kelso Dunes trailhead where there is ample parking and a restroom. Something unique about the City of 29 Palms is that it is an official gateway community to Mojave Trails National Monument through a unique partnership with the Bureau of Land Management!

Smith’s Ranch Drive-In Movies: If you’re looking for something fun to do in twenty nine palms, make sure you visit Smith’s Drive-In! They’ve taken the nostalgia of the drive in and slightly modernized it for comfort and convenience. They have a great snack bar with delicious hot dogs, freshly popped popcorn, a variety of candy, refreshing snow-cones, and so much more!

Box Office Opens: 6:30 PM
Movie Starts: 7:00 PM

Amboy Crater: This unique crater is located about 1-hour from Twenty Nine Palms. Amboy Crater is formed of ash and cinders from a volcanic eruption. It sits on one of the youngest volcanic fields in the United States. The actual crater is 250 feet high and 1,500 feet in diameter. There is a great parking area with a view point, picnic tables, and restrooms if you don’t want to hike out to it.

Amboy Crater is an example of a very symmetrical volcanic cinder cone and you can climb inside!

However, if you’re an adventurer, you can take take the 1.5-mile trail out to the crater and actually climb inside! The trail is 3-miles round trip and I highly recommend you take ample water as there is no shade on this hike! An added bonus to visiting Amboy Crater is that it is located directly off the historic Route 66! This means you can make a pit stop at Roy’s; a famous roadside motel and café! Fun Fact: Amboy Crater is part of the newly established Mojave Trails National Monument!


Oasis of Murals: All around Twenty Nine Palms you’ll find crazy hand painted murals. This project was started in 1994 and has grown to a collection of 26 large murals all over town! Take a drive and see how many you can find!

Take an Art Class: While we were in Twenty Nine Palms, the kids took a 2-hour art class at the 29 Palms Creative Center. It was such a good experience. No matter if you’re a budding artist or an experienced one, all are welcome here. The 29 Palms Creative Center & Gallery offers a wide variety of art classes and activities for children, adults and you can even book art parties. The gallery is open to the public and is an excellent place to shop for a gift or keepsake of any size.

Find a Park or Playground: Twenty nine Palms is home to several parks and playgrounds. Knott's Sky Park and Luckie Park are two large play parks in Twenty Nine Palms where kids get to be kids. If you’re looking to beat the heat, then head over to Luckie Park Pool which opens for the season around May.

29 Palms inn also has an incredible pool

You never know whay you’re going to see along the old route 66

 
 

Twenty Nine Palms is a fantastic place to bring the kids, getaway on a couples adventure, or connect with yourself on an unforgettable solo adventure. The dramatic desert sunrises will draw you in, but it’s the culture, diverse landscapes, and unique art all around that will keep you coming back. From massive sand dunes to mountain vistas, to locally grown produce, you will come back from your trip to Twenty Nine Palms feeling refreshed and reconnected.

So, what will you explore first on your visit to 29 Palms?

art in 29 palms

unique art all around 29 palms — peep the mural in the background!

 
 

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