As someone who has spent a lot of time in the high desert towns of Joshua Tree and Yucca Valley, I’ve long been skeptical of anyone who predicted that Twentynine Palms was about to become the new desert hot spot.
In theory, it makes sense. Located just 20 minutes from downtown Joshua Tree, the town of 29,000 boasts its own, less crowded entrance to the national park and a brand new visitor’s center that opened in 2023. It also has the luxuriously rustic Twentynine Palms Inn, which opened in 1928, and a few culinary gems like Rib Co. for barbecue and the Jelly Donut for pho.
But Twentynine Palms is both a few degrees warmer than Joshua Tree and a longer drive from L.A. It also lies outside the natural range of the spiky Joshua trees that lend its better-known neighbors so much of their otherworldly ambiance (not to mention their Instagram appeal). And then there’s Twentynine Palms’ noticeably high concentration of barbershops, fast food restaurants and tattoo parlors, which makes sense for the 20,000 active-duty Marines and sailors and their families stationed at the local Marine Corps base, but may be less enticing for weekend tourists.
“We used to call it Twentynine pizza parlors,” one longtime Yucca Valley resident told me.
And yet, after spending several days in Twentynine Palms this winter, I have become a believer. There’s a new energy in town and a bunch of folks who have put their life savings into starting creative small businesses that appeal to both tourists and the local community. Many of these new business owners, like Sara Lyons of the craft beverage store Scorpion Lollipop and Francoise Lazard of the fashionable Desert General, are longtime desert lovers who moved to Twentynine Palms permanently during the upheaval of the pandemic.
Their timing may have been fortuitous. In the past year, with the help of the newly created Public Arts Advisory Committee, local businesses have hosted a comedy festival, a book festival, a classic car show and a holiday market. At the same time, restaurants like the gastropub Grnd Sqrl, the newly opened 29 Beer Co. brewery, the casual Outpost 29 and the atmospheric Kitchen in the Desert are offering tourists and locals more culinary opportunities than pizza. And after the L.A. fires, there may be an even greater influx of visitors to the desert as some relocate and others seek cleaner air.
“Twentynine has always had an artsy community, and it’s always been a tourist town, but it can be isolating out here,” said Jessica Sable, an artist who grew up in Twentynine Palms and now works at the art and design store Very Very. “The owners of these new businesses all live in town, and that’s what we want.”
Talk to any of the new shop owners, and they’ll tell you that running a business in Twentynine Palms is no fairy tale. Several promising businesses have shuttered over the past few years, including the beloved Out There Bar, a local watering hole in an old A&W Root Beer stand. But those who continue to hang on remain hopeful. There are a couple new hotels in the works, an escape room is coming soon and an art-themed mini-golf course called Mojaveland is hoping to break ground in 2025.
“We’re not Joshua Tree, so we really have to create something for everyone,” said Steve Przybylowski, president of the newly established business owners association Rediscover 29 and owner of the record shop White Label Vinyl. “It’s really hard out here, but what I love about it is the community.”
Will Twentynine Palms be the next teeming desert oasis? Check out these nine businesses on your next visit and decide for yourself.
