Joshua Tree National Park Cultural Walking Adventure

DAY 1 – PALM SPRINGS / Mt. SAN JACINTO
Begin your explorations of the Coachella Valley and Mojave Desert in California’s famed desert oasis, Palm Springs. With your Classic Journeys guide, hop on the largest rotating aerial tramway in the world, and head 8,516 feet up to the wilderness of the Mt. San Jacinto State Park with for a scenic walk that sets the stage for memorable moments to come.

DAY 2 – JOSHUA TREE NATIONAL PARK
You make a giant cinematic leap today, as you wake in the movie star playground of Palm Springs, then spend the day somewhere that feels decidedly like a movie set…but is 100% real-life nature. Mother Nature has made a masterpiece of Joshua Tree National Park. With its hulking boulders and yucca-studded vistas, it’s hard to explore without envisioning a T-Rex emerging from behind a rock or Indiana Jones riding across the sand. Your expert local guide introduces you to walking trails that lead to Skull Rock, Cholla Cactus Garden and Ryan Mountain with stunning 360-degree views from its peak. You’ll see otherworldly rock formations, stark desert plains, and, of course, Joshua Trees galore. 

DAYS 3-4 – SAN ANDREAS FAULT ZONE / COACHELLA VALLEY  
Through the Coachella Valley, a jeep whisks you away for a ride through the labyrinth of geological cuts and canyons that form the San Andreas Fault Zone. Later, explore town on an afternoon walk, hearing stories and anecdotes of how a tiny agricultural settlement grew into one of the glitziest getaways of Hollywood’s Golden Age.

Pull away the covers early—just once—this week. It’s for a seriously spectacular reason: to float through desert skies in a hot air balloon. You’ll float in the morning breeze as the rising sun douses the Coachella Valley a kaleidoscope of red, purple and gold. 

Travel + Leisure has awarded Classic Journeys the #1 World’s Best Tour Operator multiple times and says, "Classic Journeys provides unbeatable access to experiences around the globe." Here’s what that access means for you.

• Experience the world on foot and at eye level. Each day, join your guide on the most cinematic footpaths in the region.
• Exceptional full-time local guides who become your well-connected friend. Our amazing guides are with you throughout each day of the tour, share their lifelong connections as well as engaging anecdotes about the history and culture of the region.
• Small groups that provide you unrivaled access. An average of fewer than 10 guests per departure means we can offer you special access to sites like Stonehenge so you experience the stone circle when it’s closed to the general public, a guided visit to Zion Narrows that other companies cannot arrange because of larger group sizes, and vineyard walks with a count and countess in Tuscany.
• Award-winning hotels are waiting for you at the end of every day. Luxuriate in the finest and most distinctive accommodations in the region you’re exploring, including rainforest lodges, 16th century villas, and award-winning properties that show up on World’s Best and Gold lists.
• Eat like (and with) the locals. Food is a foolproof way into the hearts, homes and history of the places you visit with us. From gourmet picnics to coveted local restaurants, our meals offer you opportunities to explore native food traditions and fine dining.
• Handcrafted itineraries with all activities included. With our long-term friendships, we know our walking tour regions more personally than anyone else. So you get thoughtfully curated itineraries that combine explorations of the villages, organic farms, archeological sites and the people who know them best.
• Sustainable travel that supports the places you’re visiting. We put our local currency into the pockets of the people who live where we travel. It’s your guarantee that you’ll have authentic, up-close experiences on your trip. Best of all, our person-to-person approach helps sustain their ways of life.