Top Things to do in California Desert
Top Hotels in California Desert
- 1. Hyatt Regency Indian Wells Resort & Spa
- 2. Best Western Plus Las Brisas Hotel
- 3. Renaissance Palm Springs Hotel
- 4. Hyatt Regency Indian Wells Resort & Spa
- 5. Margaritaville Resort Palm Springs
- 6. Best Western Plus Frontier Motel
- 7. Palm Springs Rendezvous
- 8. Caliente Tropics Resort
- 9. JW Marriott Desert Springs Resort & Spa
- 10. La Quinta Resort & Club, Curio Collection by Hilton
Things to do in California Desert, California Desert: The Best History Museums
Discover the best top things to do in California Desert, United States including Historical Society Museum, Museum of Ancient Wonders, Cabot's Pueblo Museum, Palm Springs Air Museum, Maturango Museum, Agua Caliente Cultural Museum, Coachella Valley History Museum, The Museum of History in Granite, Mojave River Valley Museum, Shoshone Museum.
Restaurants in California Desert
1. Historical Society Museum
Overall Ratings
5.0 based on 6 reviews
2. Museum of Ancient Wonders
Overall Ratings
5.0 based on 15 reviews
From treasures of the pharaoh to the mystical ritual of African masks to Mesozoic dinosaur skeletons, the Museum of Ancient Wonders awes visitors. More than 200 reproduction artifacts and laboratory fossil casts gathered from 30 museums worldwide.
Reviewed By JustKeepItMoving - Los Angeles, United States
A small but ambitious museum filled with impressive recreations of historical artifacts, each with a detailed description. Most items currently on display are Egyptian, with some African and dinosaur items also included in their own sections. Because they are modern recreations, almost nothing is behind glass. This allows a visitor to closely inspect the works (no touching though, of course). The owners are very friendly and knowledgeable. They explained that they have many more items in storage and hope to expand. I’m happy to contribute to help them meet their goals. I felt it was clear they had a passion for the museum and the work they put into it. The museum is not very large in its current location, and one can get through the whole thing in an hour or two. Still, I think it’s worth the price of admission for anyone with an interest in history, especially Egyptian history.
3. Cabot's Pueblo Museum
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 361 reviews
The structure is hand-made, created from reclaimed and found objects. The Pueblo is four-stories, 5,000 square feet and includes 35 rooms, 150 windows and 65 doors. Visitors will notice many unique features: including windows and doors collected and reassembled from abandoned homesteads, old telephone poles, buck board wagon parts and many other materials used creatively.On the guided tour, visitors journey through the life of Cabot Yerxa and his family including artifacts collected from their adventures dating back over 100 years. Hear his story from the Dakota Territory to Mexico, Cuba, Alaska, France, throughout California and the Southwest, including the founding of Desert Hot Springs, California.
Reviewed By lindal369
If you find yourself in the Desert Hot Springs area this gem is a must-see. Wonderful pueblo, great history of the area, entertaining guides (definitely take the guided tour). We thoroughly enjoyed our visit!
4. Palm Springs Air Museum
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 2,004 reviews
Rated by CNN as one of the top 14 Air Museums in the World. This facility Gives visitors an up-close look at the legendary fighters and bombers of WWII, Korea, and Vietnam.
Reviewed By geoffreyh551 - Phoenix, United States
Everywhere we went in Palm Springs people told us to go here. You need to go here as soon as it opens ( open 7 days a week 10 Am until 5 PM). The Air Museum is very well set up . Airplanes are located in two hangars to the left as you enter and two hangars to the right. There are 9 people fully employed and 400 volunteers ( docents). All of the docents are veterans and have extensive information that they are ready to personally share with you. Plenty of on site parking. Admission is either $18 or $16 Senior/Military persons. You need to plan on spending many hours going from hangar to hanger-exhibitions of World War 2 and Vietnam. Many hands on exhibits that detail what specifics of the war was happening. Docents all over the area to assist and explain details as to what you are looking at. Don't forget to save time to go upstairs to the very extensive library. We looked up in the large collection of Life Magazines specific issues in our life time that were of interest to us. There is also a docent who will personally assist you on a Flight Simulator ' actually help you simulate a flight. Last visit an actual plane B-17 before you exit ( donation $5.00), but you can board it and walk through the entire plane. Highly recommend We spent 3 hours there .
5. Maturango Museum
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 124 reviews
Reviewed By stevebP290MF
Great exhibits on the desert flora and fauna along with next door China Lake Naval Air Weapons Station. There is a nice gift shop, admission fees are reasonable and a friendly, helpful staff. Not a huge museum, but well organized and very informative.
6. Agua Caliente Cultural Museum
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 72 reviews
This museum traces the history of the Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians.
7. Coachella Valley History Museum
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 53 reviews
Temporarily Closed The museum campus contains the Smiley-Tyler House, a 1926 adobe home which houses the main exhibits; the historic 1909 Indio Schoolhouse; and the Date Museum. Also, the spacious grounds hold a variety of gardens, including a Memorial Date Garden, a Japanese Garden, the Jardin Del Desierto, and the oldest Cork Oak tree in the Coachella Valley. Other highlights include our Submarine house, a Blacksmith shop, various farming equipment, and the Museum's archives.Visit us to learn about the history of the Coachella Valley from the story of early Native American communities to the present. The Coachella Valley History Museum is open the beginning of October to the end of May from 10am to 4pm on Thursday, Friday, Saturday and 1pm to 4 on Sunday.
Reviewed By Marty911 - Palm Desert, United States
Our Spanish club went to the museum and had a guided tour. We learned a lot of local area history and saw many artifacts. The guide was very helpful and knowledgeable. The date museum was also very interesting. This is certainly worth the visit.
8. The Museum of History in Granite
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 84 reviews
French Ambassador Jeam-Marie Daillet recently proposed this Museum as a World Heritage Site "..thus taking its rightful place next to the Statue of Liberty among the 962 sites in 157 countries considered as having universal value."
Reviewed By maxnicetrip - Los Angeles, United States
If you are in the area this is a must go to. I would say minimum 1.5 hours up to 3 to get the full experience. The entry fee is $5 and additional $3 if you want to enter the pyramid with center of the world and get a certificate. After you enter you will watch a short video. If you paid for the pyramid they will guide you through that. Afterwards you can leisurely go through and read the granite tablets. Make sure to give the liberty bell a ring. Opposite the pyramid, on the hill, you will see a church. You can go up there and take some nice pictures. Lastly, you can go through the maze on the side. There is a large gift shop with reasonable prices, a side area to eat or sit and they do have bathroom facilities.
9. Mojave River Valley Museum
10. Shoshone Museum
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 72 reviews
Reviewed By ToxicTabasco - Las Vegas, United States
You'll find the small town of Shoshone on CA 127. And like the town, the museum is small. But, packed with a lot of interesting artifacts of the gold rush era. Another attraction near by is Dublin Gultch. The museum is very educational, and has a huge display of a prehistoric creature as well as some history of the people who made Shoshone their home for thousands of years. It's worth the stop along the CA 127.
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