Review: Joshua Trees Acres (airstreams)
Its hard to know where to start. Joshua Tree is a special and magical part of the world. There is something about the iconic native trees that make you feel as though you are on another planet. It has the dusty feel of the moon and the alien-like quality of Mars. You gradually start seeing the famous Joshua trees when you get off the freeway and these trees make the desert landscape even more beautiful and intriguing. There are many places to stay around the area from flats to bungalows to a few hotels but trust me, you want to be staying in an airstream. This heightens the whole experience adding a glamorous camping element to the format and I found these stunning 60s and 70s caravans on Instagram called @joshuatreeacres.
@JoshuaTreeAcres are about 25 minutes drive from the freeway and are located about 20 minutes drive from Joshua Tree National Park. You have to drive down a sandy road and then you hit a plot of land with 3 large airstreams, outdoor showers, main house with communal dinning space and bbq. You feel as though you have just hit a movie set as everything is retro and the airstreams are beautifully positioned with terraces outside and hammocks swinging from the trees.
Inside the owners have kept the van’s original features and have only made small changes such as installed larger beds, added in heating and electric showers. You have your own fridge and cooker so that you can bring some snacks and drinks and then you can store extra cold items in the communal area. There is a nice big table for pre-dinner drinks and a large kitchen area that is used for events.
Communal area
Communal dinning table
We arrived at around midday from Palm Springs and straight away went to hit the park trails. You want to hike in the daytime and then be back in time to watch the sunset from your hammock with a cold Corona and fresh lime. Make sure you download this amazing app called All Trails and we did the Maze trail in the National Park. Download it all before you hit the park as the reception isn’t great and also take $20 for the entry fee. The Maze trail took about 3 hours and we brought some packed lunch and lots of water. The hike was incredible with amazing rocky scenes everywhere with the occasional desert rabbit jumping across your path. I was there in January so it was pretty quiet and we were the only people on our trail but I’ve heard that it can be quite busy later on in the season so if possible try and go mid-week.
Do check when the sun sets as it’ll take about 20 minutes to get back home and then sit back and watch the sunset of your life. I find that the photos speak for themselves and as you can see it really is a unique experience. For dinner we headed into Pioneertown which is pretty much the only place to go nearby that has the most popular restaurant called Pappy and Harriet’s. This is a fun, all-American bar with live music and watch out because they are known to have some world renown djs play on occasion. The food is pretty simple with burgers and fries but you are really going for the rock’n’roll atmosphere.
When we got back to out 1967 airstream we made sure that we set our alarms for sunrise as this is another spectacular display that is worth seeing. The landscape colours turn from cool white purple with flecks of orange coming from the sun and then there are rose tones that emerge and everything is completely silent. I must have taken a hundred photos and videos in 20 minutes while the colours were changing. It really is quite a sight! Sadly we had to leave early to get back to LA but I can imagine that some scrambled eggs on toast would have been heavenly to eat on that gorgeous wooden table with a coffee. I can’t recommend @joshuatreeacres highly enough and the owners are lovely and very helpful if you need anything. I have left their details below and please check out their instagram to see some more photos.
Andrew, Joseph and Justine
murphyragus@gmail.com
