From Los Angeles to Indio: The Ultimate Coachella Road Trip

Here's everywhere you should stop between Los Angeles and Indio on your way to Coachella.

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Complex Original

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We’ve been told time and again that travel is about the journey, not the destination. This is true even when the journey is incredibly short. If you are planning to land at LAX and make your way into the desert for Coachella, you could get there in two hours (well, four hours with traffic). If you have some extra time on your hands, you could actually make the two-hour trek into a week-long road trip through impressive dynamic terrain while hitting some of America’s great tourist attractions. From the mountains to the desert, from the sea to shining In-N-Out Burger you can hit it all on your way to America’s greatest festival. Here is From Los Angeles to Indio: The Ultimate Coachella Road Trip.

Day 1: Los Angeles

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You might be itching to get out of the big city and into the desert, but there’s nothing wrong with getting one last taste of urban life before you head off on a week of tent-based living. Most of you have probably visited L.A. before, but allow me to humor those who haven’t. Los Angeles is not your normal metropolis. You can spend your time seeing the sites … for a bout an hour, and then you are out of popular centralized locations to take pictures of. Make that an hour and a half if you fit in a studio tour. Los Angeles is best sampled piece by piece, neighborhood by neighborhood. Your hip ex-girlfriend got a recurring part on Two Broke Girls? Then spend some time in Los Feliz or Silverlake, the Brooklyn of the West. Your college roommate is trying to step behind the camera? Hang with him in the classy yet bro-friendly downtown Culver City. If you can’t stay long enough to check out every neighborhood you want to, you can always come back. Though visiting L.A. is different for everyone, there are two things you will do: You will have brunch and you will hike Runyon Canyon, so be prepared.

Must Stop At: The Getty Museum
Address: 1200 Getty Center Dr., Los Angeles

L.A. gets a bad rap for lacking culture. Though there are fewer museums than you see in New York, what Los Angeles lacks in quantity is made up for in quality. LACMA and The Getty are two of Los Angeles’s great underappreciated treasures. At the Getty, you’ve got your Van Goghs and you’ve got your Monets, but you also have the building itself. You can compare The Getty to The Met all day long; but when it comes to best view, the Getty wins by a landslide.

Day 2: The State Parks of Malibu

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Only a half-hour outside of L.A. (in the opposite direction of your final destination), there are a few parks that are often left out of the conversation with Sequoia, Joshua Tree, Big Bear, and Yosemite so close. But, the state parks in the Malibu area: Point Mugu, Malibu Creek, Lee Carillo, and Topanga, are gorgeous. Before you take on the desert, there is nothing wrong with enjoying rolling green hills and pristine beachfront. All four parks offer their fair share of natural beauty, so do a little research and choose the park that seems right for you. Regardless of your choice, you won’t be disappointed.

Must Stop At: In-N-Out Burger
Address: All over the West Coast

Those of you travelling from the East Coast or the Midwest must be sick of hearing about In-N-Out. You’ve got Shake Shack, Five Guys, and the rest of your go-to burger spots. But, there’s a reason for the cult of In-N-Out; once you have In-N-Out, you won’t want to go back. In-N-Out’s menu is sparse, but every item is top-notch. The day some people consider themselves a true West Coaster is when they can drive by an In-N-Out without stopping. Their secret menu is no longer (and maybe never has been) much of a secret, but it is good to brush up on your options before you go so that you don’t hold up the always busy line. You’ll likely eat at In-N-Out numerous times on your journey. If you want to make each trip unique, study up with this breakdown of the In-N-Out “Secret Menu” courtesy of Serious Eats. Many have tried to outline the entirety of In-N-Out’s special menu. This may be the only document that actually comes close.

Day 3: Beach Day

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There are so many beaches to choose from in Southern California: Manhattan Beach, Laguna Beach, Hermosa Beach, Huntington Beach, and Newport Beach all have their partisans. Venice Beach is cool too, just not after dark. Whether you want to complement your swimming with the outdoor beauty, quaint cafes, or potential celebrity sightings, there is a perfect beach for you in Southern California.

Must Stop At: Mendocino Farms
Address: Seven locations in and around L.A.

After In-N-Out, Mendocino Farms might be the Los Angeles Metropolitan Area’s most beloved chain. Think of Mendocino Farms as the Chipotle of sandwiches. Though you’ll pay up to id="mce_marker"2 for your ‘wich, you’ll be glad you didn’t skimp and hit Subway instead. Whether you’re getting down on a Kurobuta Pork Belly Banh Mi or the “Not So Fried” Chicken, you won’t regret stopping in at one of their seven locations.

Day 4: Disneyland

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If you missed out on Disneyland and Disneyworld as a child, now is your chance. As someone who first experienced Disney Parks as an adult, I must admit, it is an experience worth having. Sure, the beers and the souvenirs are overpriced, but the ambience is unique to the Disney brand. If you do end up earning your mouse ears, hang out until nightfall. The fireworks and the World of Color are worth the wait. If you’re having doubts, remember you’ll have plenty of time at Coachella to do very adult things. You might as well set aside a day for your inner child.

Must Stop At: Flight Deck Combat Center
Address: 1650 S. Sinclair St.,
 Anaheim

If you’ve always wanted to fly a military jet, but it’s too late for you to begin Top Gun training, you might want to swing by the Flight Deck Combat Center on your away out of Anaheim. You can pick from seven different jets for your simulation; or if you’re super lame, you can choose to try out a Boeing 747 instead. As with most awesome things, the Flight Deck Combat Center recommends that you make reservations ahead of time.

Day 5: Big Bear Lake

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Yes, skiing ends in March, but Big Bear actually has a lot to offer besides powder. Of course, you can hike, fish, camp, and cycle, but Big Bear also offers less intense activities like theatre, a farmer’s market, and spas. For the action sports lovers among you, zip-lining, parasailing, and the Alpine Slide are in play. If you decide to stay the night, you can roll out the tent or rent a cabin. One nice thing about the offseason is there is a good chance that there will be some cabins available for last-minute campers.

Must Stop At: Wolf Mountain Sanctuary
Address: Lucerne Valley

Wolf Mountain Sanctuary is exactly what you hope it is. At this spot a little north of Big Bear, you can make like a Stark and hang out with wolves. WMS is a place where you can get up close and personal with rescued wolves. Tonya, the owner of WMS, puts far more time into caring for wolves than updating her website, but Yelp! assures us that the WMS is alive, well, and amazing.

Day 6: Palm Springs

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One of the most surprising discoveries upon moving to L.A. is that Palm Springs isn’t just for old people. Palm Springs is focused on getting that younger demographic to spend their child-free cash. This year they went as far as to plan “Mini-Coachella Events” in an attempt to lure in those going to and fro. Palm Springs can be your chill oasis between living on the road and at campsites. If golf, casinos, relaxation, and night life are more appealing to you than the great outdoors, Palm Springs will be a great spot. From the botanical gardens to the Tramway, Palm Springs is doing everything it can to get you to swing off the highway for some R&R.

Must Stop At: Desert Hot Springs

If your hometown had one spa, you were a lucky child. Desert Hot Springs boasts over a dozen hot spring destinations. You can have an all-natural (okay, mostly) spa experience by taking a dip in the mineral springs which are heated by geothermal forces thousands of feet beneath the Earth’s surface. Like any great spa experience, the Desert Hot Springs enhances Mother Nature a bit. You can add salt scrubs, spice massages, aromatherapy and more to your spa game as you wish. All you have to do is tell them how you want to relax.

Day 7: Joshua Tree National Park

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There is enough going on in Joshua Tree to take up a few days of your time if you’re the outdoorsy type, but the well-designed park is also great for a quick nature drive-by. You’re lucky that you’re hitting Joshua Tree in April. Any later and the hot (but tolerable) temperatures in the low 80s give way to blistering 100-plus degree heat. If you’re looking to do some overnight backpacking, there’s the California Trail (35 mi.) and Boy Scout Trail (16 mi. round-trip). If you’re looing for a lighter day trip, there are a number of shorter trails to choose from. A few of my favorites are Ryan Mountain (3 mi.), Barker Dam (1.3 mi.) and Hidden Valley (1 mi.). It’s worth it to walk a few different trails, as the Joshua Tree’s ecosystem is incredibly varied thanks to the two different types of desert that intersect in the park. One thing you likely won’t find in the park is an open camp site. This is Joshua Tree’s busy season and even first-come, first-serve sites fill up quick. Nearby sites that cater to overflow campers like Joshua Tree Lake RV & Campground are probably a better bet.

Must Stop At: Noah Purifoy’s Outdoor Desert Museum
Address: Blair Lane, Joshua Tree

Follow a dirt road just outside of Joshua Tree National Park marked only by a hand painted sign that reads “Blair Lane” and you’ll find the late Noah Purifoy’s sculpture museum. Spread out over ten acres in the middle of the desert, there is a collection of environmental sculptures that Purifoy created between 1989 and 2004. Of course, the novelty of towering works wrought from discarded metal, wood, bicycles, and televisions is a strange sight to behold in the Mojave, but Purifoy’s work is far more resonant than a mere tourist trap. As a committed social activist and founder of the Watts Towers Arts Center, Purifoy was interested in what found art could say about humanity and decay. For the last fifteen years of his life, Purifoy lived near Joshua Tree creating his sculptures; the Noah Purifoy Foundation is dedicated to maintaining his work for future generations to enjoy.

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