Long weekend in Palm Springs area.

WashingtonTaco

Adventurist
We will be in Palm Springs the weekend of September 11th. We have a LR 4 rental and would like to ride some easier trails with in a hour or so. We wont have any recovery gear short of maybe picking up a cheap shovel, factory axle jack and some floor mats. We expect some of the more touristy sites to be closed or extremely limited. A decent trail with a good view to watch the sun set would be great!
 
Anza Borrego or Joshua Tree are close and well charted. If you want some trees too, Big Bear is also a great option.
 
Damn dude, too bad I’m so far away. There is so much to see in that area.

Anza Borrego. The dragon and other metal sculptures there by Borrego Springs. Sheep’s Canyon. Joshua Tree! Palms to Pines highway up the 74 is super scenic. Patton Museum off the 10 at Chiriaco Summit is excellent. Bradshaw Trail is a nice loop. Salton Sea (hold your nose!).

You could spend weeks there ;)
 
It is going to be hot, but there is a ton to see in Anza Borrego like Dave mentioned, there are also the Mud Pots, and the Pumpkin patch. Neither is somewhere you will spend a lot of time, but the drive to them is great and they are unique places worth seeing. If you want to escape the heat you could also check out Pioneer Town outside of Palm Springs then take Burns Canyon / 2n02 from there up through the Joshua tree forest and into the pines of Big Bear where there are a ton of scenic trails and the lake.
 
Ocatillo Wells SVRA - south on 86 from Palm Springs area to S22 - cool 4WD man-made obstacle course right next to S22 there to run that rental LR4 through ;)
 
I'll throw in another vote for Joshua Tree! I enjoyed Geology Tour Road and exited the park using Berdoo Canyon Road.

Big Bear and Lake Arrowhead have plenty of areas to explore. Staying on the pavement the March Airfield Museum is about an hour from Palm Springs if you're over that direction.

https://www.marchfield.org/
 
It would be a long day but you could do a loop, highway up to Big Bear via interstate 10 to Highway 38, breakfast at Grizzley Manor Cafe, then run dirt through Big Bear, then down the mountain, lunch at Pappy and Harriets in Pioneer Town, small bit of pavement to the entrance of Joshua Tree, and out through Berdoo Canyon (dirt) back to Palm Springs
 
It would be a long day but you could do a loop, highway up to Big Bear via interstate 10 to Highway 38, breakfast at Grizzley Manor Cafe, then run dirt through Big Bear, then down the mountain, lunch at Pappy and Harriets in Pioneer Town, small bit of pavement to the entrance of Joshua Tree, and out through Berdoo Canyon (dirt) back to Palm Springs

That’s a great loop. Lots of varied terrain and vegetation.
 
Since I only have one full day to actually drive I’ve narrowed it down to Joshua Tree.

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