Palm Springs and Joshua Tree Self-Guided Driving Audio Tours in Palm Springs booking from $24.99

Palm Springs and Joshua Tree Self-Guided Driving Audio Tours

Overview

Embark on an enchanting journey through Joshua Tree & Palm Springs with this pair of self-guided driving tours. Cruise through open desert in Joshua Tree National Park, where you’ll discover imposing boulder formations, mystical Joshua trees, a history full of miners and bandits, and so much more! And head to Palm Springs to experience the world of yesteryear’s movie stars. Check out houses that once belonged to Elvis, Liberace, Frank Sinatra, and more as you hear about the wild and wonderful history of this glittering city.

After booking, check your email to download the separate Audio Tour Guide App by Action, enter your unique password, and access your tour. These steps require good internet/Wi-Fi access. From there, follow the audio instructions and the route.

Buy once, use for one year! Ideal for extended visits and return trips over the next 12 months.

City: Palm Springs

Thu 10 Apr

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Starting at $24.99

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Thu 10 Apr

Starting at $24.99

Make a reservation

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What's Included

Easy-to-use app: download Action’s Tour Guide App onto your phone

Great value: purchase per car, not per person. More affordable than bus or guided tours!

Engaging storytelling: Uncover unique tales and thrilling history for a memorable journey!

Offline maps: no signal, no problem! Works perfectly without cellular or wifi.

Comprehensive route and stops: See it all, miss nothing, leave no stone unturned!

Go at your own pace: Start anytime, pause anywhere, enjoy breaks for snacks and photos freely!

Perfect narrator: nothing can beat listening to a great voice. Proven with tons of rave reviews!

Additional Info

Public transportation options are available nearby
Suitable for all physical fitness levels
How to access: Once you book a tour, you’ll get a confirmation email and text with instructions: • Download the separate tour app by Action • Enter the password • Download the tour MUST DO while in strong wifi/cellular Works offline after download
How to start touring: Open Action’s separate audio tour guide app once onsite. • If there is just one tour, launch it. • If multiple tour versions exist, launch the one with your planned starting point and direction.
Go to the starting point No one will meet you at the start. This tour is self-guided Enter the first story’s point and the audio will begin automatically Follow the audio cues to the next story, which will also play automatically. Enjoy hands-free exploring. If you face audio issues, contact support. Stick to the tour route & speed limit for the best experience.
Travel worry-free: Use the tour app anytime, on any day, and over multiple days. Start and pause the tour whenever you like, taking breaks and exploring side excursions at your own pace. Skip anything you don’t care about or explore bonus content for everything that interests you
Savings tips: Driving tours: purchase just one tour for everyone in the car
Buy once, use for one year! Ideal for extended visits and return trips over the next 12 months.

What To Expect

Palm Springs Visitor Center

Our tour begins in the parking lot of the Palm Springs Visitor Center at 2901 N Palm Canyon Drive. If you’re not there already, you should head there now. Before we get started, there’s something important you should know about this tour: Palm Springs is bursting with historic celebrity homes, but most of them are hidden behind walls, hedges, or fences. Note: This is a Joshua tree route 68+ mile-long tour that covers the essentials of Joshua Tree Buy once, use for one year! Ideal for extended visits and return trips over the next 12 months.

Frey House II

The Frey House II at 686 Palisades Drive isn’t open to the public, but the Palm Springs Museum hosts guided tours of the property. It’s famous for a couple reasons. First of all, the architect who made it was known as the father of “desert modernism.” Albert Frey was Swiss. He got his architecture diploma in Switzerland, and he worked in Zurich, Belgium, and France. When he was 27, he moved to the United States. In New York, he started to build the American modernist architecture movement. After finishing work on the Museum of Modern Art in New York, he settled in Palm Springs. It was just after World War II and the population here was booming! Those people needed homes.

Palm Canyon Trail

Palm Canyon Trail is a pretty easy hike. It’s only 2 miles out and back again and has an elevation gain of only 200 feet. Most people take around an hour to complete it. Hikers are treated to some fabulous canyon scenery along the way. But be aware before you set off: There is an entrance fee to do this trail. The little building in this parking lot is called The Trading Post. You can pay the entrance fee there.

Moorten Botanical Garden

The Moorten Botanical Garden is a must-see for desert plant lovers. Chester “Cactus Slim” and Patricia Moorten created this garden in the 1940s. You see, Cactus Slim had been an actor in movies in the 1920s and 30s. He’d also been a stand-in for Howard Hughes! But he developed a bad case of TB on a film set and discovered he needed the dry desert air to breathe.

Pioneertown

Yeehaw! There’s no place like Pioneertown! This is a town created by Hollywood to mimic the Wild West. In 1946, Dick Curtis, Roy Rogers, Dale Evans, and several other show biz people invested in making this little spot in the California desert a living, breathing movie set. They bought 32,000 acres of land and transformed it into Pioneertown. They could film movies out here, they could vacation, and they could even have second homes out here!

Joshua Tree Visitor Center

Your tour of Joshua Tree begins at the Joshua Tree Visitor Center. From here, you'll drive through this weird, one-of-a-kind park where two deserts meet. Along the way, get ready to marvel at the bizarre Joshua trees for which the park is named, embark on awe-inspiring hikes, and catch a sunset you'll never forget.

Joshua Tree

Before you enter the park, you'll pass through the town of Joshua Tree. It's full of quaint little shops and restaurants and is the perfect place to pick up a snack or a souvenir before or after your trip through the park.

Intersection Rock

Intersection Rock is considered to be a sort of hub within Joshua Tree. Thanks to its towering size, it can be seen from a great distance and casts a striking silhouette against the blazing desert sky. It's also a hugely popular climbing spot, featuring numerous different climbing routes with names like Knuckle Cracker, Ignorant Photons from Pluto, and Sympathy to the Devil.

Cap Rock Trail

Cap Rock is a strange sight, featuring a small boulder almost impossibly perched atop a larger rock formation. Here, you'll find a quick quarter-mile trail chock full of information about the local flora.

Lost Horse Valley

Lost Horse Valley is a sweeping desert valley that gets its name from some of the McHaney Gang's misdeeds back in the days of the Wild West. You'll hear all about that as you drive through this valley, including what one overconfident miner did to try to get his stolen horses back!

Queen Valley Road

Another abandoned mine waits in Queen Valley. The gold found in this mine was the motive behind at least one murder and a whole lot else.

Skull Rock

This iconic desert granite formation looks uncannily like a human skull. It's easily accessible from the roadside, and is also the trailhead for an easy 2-mile trail that's among the most popular hiking trails in the whole park.

Sky's The Limit Observatory and Nature Center

Sky's The Limit Observatory and Nature Center is a phenomenal spot to learn not just about the flora and fauna of Joshua Tree, but also about the stars above. As a dark sky area, Joshua Tree makes for some seriously impressive stargazing, so try to stick around after dark if you can!

General Patton Memorial Museum

The location of the General George S. Patton Memorial Museum is no accident. It sits on what was once the site of Camp Young, part of the World War II Desert Training Center. The museum houses all manner of historic artifacts, including actual tanks!

Show 11 more stops

Cancellation Policy

For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.

Traveler Photos

Reviews (30)

Lisa M

Feb 2025

The audio tour was great! Very informative. Loved that we could jump around and because of GPS it knew where we were. We really liked the narrators voice.

Response from Host

Feb 2025

Lisa, I’m thrilled you enjoyed my Palm Springs and Joshua Tree Self-Guided Driving Audio Tours! The GPS-triggered stories make exploring at your own pace so convenient, and I’m glad you liked the narration. For more self-guided adventures, check out my California Bundle with Big Sur, Yosemite tours, and more. Happy travels!

Wonder_W

Feb 2025

Fabulous. Took a minute for me to get the hang of the app in downtown PS. But I don't how how I would have navigated Joshua tree Np without it

Response from Host

Feb 2025

Hi, I’m so glad my Palm Springs and Joshua Tree Self-Guided Driving Audio Tours helped you navigate easily! It’s great that you got the hang of the app and found it essential for exploring Joshua Tree. If you're up for more scenic drives, check out my California Bundle, which features Big Sur, Death Valley, and beyond. Enjoy your travels!

Rldeike

Feb 2025

We really enjoyed all of the tours, but especially enjoyed the Hidden Valley Trail tour. I liked that the tour kept track of our location and started stories at the appropriate time. I was frustrated by the use of the word "download" to prepare...there is no DOWNLOAD option...perhaps "load tour" would be a better instruction. I also found that I had to reenter my password several times...or to close the app and restart it to be able to access my tours.

Response from Host

Feb 2025

Roxann, I’m glad you enjoyed my Palm Springs and Joshua Tree Self-Guided Driving Audio Tours! Hidden Valley Trail is a fantastic stop, and I’m happy the location-based storytelling added to your experience. I appreciate your feedback on the instructions, and keep that in mind for future updates. If you're up for more scenic drives, check out my California Bundle featuring Big Sur, Yosemite, and more. Happy travels!

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Palm Springs and Joshua Tree Self-Guided Driving Audio Tours

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