Where to shop in Joshua Tree: 27 shops worth the drive - Los Angeles Times
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A Joshua Tree with a price tag on it
(Micah Fluellen / Los Angeles Times; Getty Images)

27 of the coolest shops to bookmark for your next Joshua Tree trip

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The austere beauty of Joshua Tree National Park may draw crowds to the high desert, but the retail shops along Twentynine Palms Highway (California 62) are where visitors spend their non-hiking, non-rock-climbing time, much to the joy and consternation of residents who live here year-round.

Prompted by an influx of city dwellers who escaped to the desert during the COVID-19 pandemic, the strip has experienced an influx of new retail establishments over the last few years — everything from hip bodegas to high-end fashion brands.

“Like many locals, I am glad to be able to make a living from our shop in the desert,” said artist Janelle Pietrzak, who sells her All Roads textiles and home goods at the new 10,000-square-foot Mojave Flea Trading Post. “However, I am distraught to see many friends getting kicked out of their rental homes because their landlords have decided to sell. Locals cannot find places to rent because landlords would rather Airbnb their properties out.”

Joshua Tree has gone upscale, but don’t worry — it’s still funky.

More and more people are arriving in the towns along Highway 62 near Joshua Tree National Park. In their eagerness to feel those desert vibes, they’ve set off a full-blown boom.

March 10, 2022

Despite the fact that much has changed — sustainable fashion brand Industry of All Nations recently opened in Joshua Tree and small-batch bakeries like Luna Sourdough, Campbell Hill Bakery and Wild Bread are thriving alongside cool bodegas Wine & Rock Shop, Joshua Tree Bottle Shop and Desierto Alto — longtime favorites with a “Joshua Tree vibe” remain.

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You can still shop for vintage clothing at the End in Yucca Valley and score some cool pottery and cheeky T-shirts at the Station in Joshua Tree, a gift shop cleverly housed in a former 1949 Richfield Oil gas station. Artist Shari Elf continues to sell inexpensive screen-printed artworks and T-shirts with funny captions like “What Would Cher Do?” at Art Queen, just a few dusty steps from her World Famous Crochet Museum, a delightful lime-green camera-shaped trailer jam-packed with crocheted critters.

Can stylish leather goods by La Cienega shop RTH coexist alongside the recycled items at the outdoor Sky Village Swap Meet held every weekend in a former drive-in theater? That’s the beauty of the Mojave Desert.

Here is a shopping roundup from a recent day trip from L.A. As with our lists of Los Angeles gift shops, plant stores and thrift stores, this is not meant to be a definitive list but a way to spotlight small businesses.

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Acme Lifestyle
(Lisa Boone / Los Angeles Times)

Acme 5 Lifestyle

Yucca Valley Home store
This sprawling Santa Monica store has everything you need to create a bohemian getaway at home: Moroccan rugs, rattan pendants, small batch indigo dyed textiles, Turkish pillows, ceramics and Mexican blankets. And like many stores in the high desert, they offer a selection of crystals, rocks and sage bundles. Outdoor furnishings and pots are sold in back next to a tranquil Buddha garden.
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World Famous Crochet Museum
(Myung J. Chun/Los Angeles Times)

Art Queen

Joshua Tree Gift Store
Artist Shari Elf sells $3 and $10 screen printed artworks and T-shirts with funny captions like “What Would Cher Do?” and “Make Orwell Fiction Again” at Art Queen, just a few dusty steps from her World Famous Crochet Museum, a striking lime green camera-shaped trailer jam-packed with crocheted critters.
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Beauty Bubble Salon and Museum
(Lisa Boone / Los Angeles Times)

The Beauty Bubble Salon and Museum

Joshua Tree Thrift store
Jeff Hafler’s salon and museum of hair and beauty features “probably the world’s largest collection of of hair dryers,” which goes back to 1908. It also includes a store where you can shop for vintage items, rocks and crystals.
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A man lifts a muffin from a selection of pastries
(Myung J. Chun/Los Angeles Times)

Campbell Hill Bakery

Twentynine Palms Twentynine Palms Bakery
Travis and Nancy Poston’s bakery opens at 6 a.m. and often sells out before closing time at 4 p.m. Expect pastries, hot and cold sandwiches and bread. Many tourists stop for sandwiches here before hitting the park.
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Joshua Tree National Park Store
(Lisa Boone / Los Angeles Times)

Coyote Corner

Joshua Tree Gift Store
The Joshua Tree National Park gift shop offers everything you need for a weekend getaway including camping necessities, maps, retro games for kids (spud guns and Magic Rocks), snacks and cheeky bumper stickers like “I Brake for Interesting Cloud Formations.”
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Clothing, jewelry on display in Desert Omen
Desert Omen in Yucca Valley.
(Lisa Boone/Los Angeles Times )

Desert Omen

Yucca Valley Clothing Store
Evelyn Hanna’s desert lifestyle shop offers Bohemian-style jewelry and women’s apparel, perfume and colorful kilims.
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Woman peruses wine, foods in bodega
(Molly Bella Moore )

Desierto Alto

Yucca Valley Bodega
Many tourists from L.A. know to preorder wine, tequila, Luna and Wild Bread, specialty coffee and other fancy food from this hip bodega to pick up on the way to their weekend destination.
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The End Boutique
(Lisa Boone / Los Angeles Times)

The End Boutique

Yucca Valley Thrift store
Costume designer Kime Buzzelli’s vintage boutique is easy to spot as the exterior is covered with colorful hand-painted murals by Buzzelli and Los Angeles artist Elena Stonaker (it also serves as a popular backdrop for Instagram portraits). Inside, Buzzelli offers colorful vintage dresses, jewelry, cowboy hats, apothecary items and a great selection of humorous cards.
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Vintage clothing hanging in thrift store
(Lisa Boone/Los Angeles Times)

Funky Desert Vintage

Yucca Valley Thrift store
Evelyn Hanna’s curated vintage clothing store, which also features fair trade and handmade clothes, shares a wall with her lifestyle boutique Desert Omen.
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Bottles of herbal tinctures and aromatherapy
(Lisa Boone/Los Angeles Times )

Grateful Desert Apothecary

Joshua Tree Gift Store
This worker-run neighborhood apothecary offers herb tinctures by owner Jenny Qaqundah, a licensed RN who has studied therapeutic herbalism, an aroma bar with more than 100 essential oils and other natural products.
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Plates, dishes at Habitat 29 home store
(Habitat 29 )

Habitat

Twentynine Palms Home store
Blanca Bribiesca ‘s home store features new and locally made items, furnishings, pillows and candles.
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Ceramic sculptures and artworks on shelves
(Aaron Smith )

HeyThere Projects

Joshua Tree Art Gallery
Beginning April 1, Aaron Smith and Mark Todd are expanding HeyThere Projects to incorporate some of what is now the Mincing Mockingbird gift shop along with their own art works. They envision the new store as akin to a museum store.
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Hats and gifts on display
(@RoamingTravelers)

Hi-Desert Daydream

Twentynine Palms Gift Store
Designed as a co-op style collective, the focus is on local makers who sell everything from candles to clothing, olive oil to artworks. Once a month, the owners organize aSidewalk Stroll with other vendors between Desert Queen and Yucca avenues along Hwy California 62 in downtown Twentynine Palms.
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Hoof and the Horn
(Lisa Boone / Los Angeles Times)

Hoof and the Horn

Yucca Valley Clothing Store
Inspired by Joshua Tree, this retail space offers new and vintage clothing for men and women, Joshua Tree Tt-shirts, stickers and prints, bandanas and scarves, western wear and hats.
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Industry of All Nations Undyed Shop
(Lisa Boone / Los Angeles Times)

Industry of all Nations Undyed shop

Clothing Store
Juan Diego and Fernando Gerscovich’s sustainable fashion brand, which has showrooms in Venice, San Francisco and New York, offers unisex super-soft undyed alpaca wool beanies and cardigans and cotton T-shirts in a minimal showroom furnished with teak lounge chairs.
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Joshua Tree Blanket Company
(Lisa Boone / Los Angeles Times)

Joshua Tree Blanket Co.

Joshua Tree Clothing Store
In addition to offering Mexican handmade blankets and ponchos that will keep you warm on those cold desert nights, this boutique offers leather goods and vintage cowboy boots. Don’t miss the discount bins out front, where scarves and flannel shirts were on sale recently.
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The Joshua Tree Farmers Market
(Lisa Boone/Los Angeles Times )

Joshua Tree Farmers Market

Joshua Tree Farmers Market
Held every Saturday from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m., the certified farmer’s market in downtown Joshua Tree offers goods by local makers in addition to produce, coffee and seafood.
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Joshua Tree Rock Shop
(Lisa Boone / Los Angeles Times)

Joshua Tree Rock Shop

Joshua Tree Gift Store
Jampacked with rocks, crystals and minerals, this shop also offers handmade jewelry, books on tarot and crystals for beginners, crystal singing bowls and Himalayan salt lamps.
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Mojave Flea Market
(Lisa Boone / Los Angeles Times)

Mojave Flea Trading Post

Yucca Valley Home store
Shop for clothing, accessories and home goods made by designers from the Yucca Valley (All Roads Studio, Bob Dornberger), Joshua Tree (Totally Blown), Palm Springs (Thick as Thieves), Los Angeles (RTH) and Northern California (Tumbleweed Tienda, Umber & Ochre) in this this 10,000-square-foot marketplace.
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Moon Wind Trading Co
(Lisa Boone / Los Angeles Times)

Moon Wind Trading Co

Yucca Valley Gift Store
Located off the main highway, Mieka May and Prescott McCarthy’s desert lifestyle boutique in Flamingo Heights is heavy on sustainable goods including vintage and new apparel, jewelry, home accessories and apothecary items.
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Ricochet Vintage Wears
(Lisa Boone / Los Angeles Times)

Ricochet Vintage Wears

Joshua Tree Thrift store
The longtime vintage store sells clothing, vintage cowboy boots and western wear, jewelry, CDs, and assorted home decor items.
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Sky Village Swap Meet

Yucca Valley Flea Market
The outdoor swap meet is held every weekend in a former drive-in theater and features dozens of vendors selling interesting items and quirky treasures.
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The Station
(Lisa Boone / Los Angeles Times)

The Station

Joshua Tree Gift Store
Shop for gifts in a 1946 1949 Richfield Oil garage restored by ownersGlen Steigelman and Steve Halterman, including blankets and ponchos, Joshua Tree Tt-shirts, pottery by local artists and some vintage.
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A vintage trailer with a shop sign in front
(Hannia Sobrevilla)

Teocali

Yucca Valley Home store
Hannia Sobrevilla, who was born and raised in Mexico, sells handmade goods from Central and Southern Mexico in an Airstream in the parking lot of La Copine. Open Thursdays through Sundays, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.
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Retail options along Highway 62 in Twentynine Palms.
(Myung J. Chun/Los Angeles Times)

White Label Vinyl

Thrift store
The record store specializes in both new and used records as well as vintage denim and western wear, clothes, books, art and posters.
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Wine & Rock Shop
(Lisa Boone / Los Angeles Times)

Wine & Rock Shop

Yucca Valley Bodega
Where else can you shop for petrified wood and organic wine? The sister store to Monica Navarro’sWine + Eggs andDreams Los Angeles in Atwater Village. Shop for natural wines, beer, coffee, olive oil, cards, and gifts and, of course, desert rocks, geodes and crystals. You’ll find the nondescript building by the tall plastic alien out front.
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Ceramic mugs and vases displayed on shelves
(Elizabeth Eisenstein)

ZZIEE Ceramics

Yucca Valley Home store
Yucca Valley potter and ceramic artist Elizabeth Eisenstein sells her hand-thrown and -built mugs, bowls, vases, and planters in a showroom adjacent to her studio, where she offersprivate and group classes.
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