Points of Interest

There are many beautiful places to visit in and around Twentynine Palms.  A few prominent cultural amenities and significant local sites are listed below, with links to their websites.  Also visit our RECREATION page for more recreational/cultural sites and activities.

29 Palms Art Gallery

Joshua Tree National Park

Oasis of Mara & Joshua Tree National Park Headquarters

Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center

"Oasis of Murals" in 29 Palms

Old Schoolhouse Museum

Smith's Ranch Drive-in Movie Theatre

29 Palms Art Gallery

The 29 Palms Art Gallery is hosted by the 29 Palms Artists' Guild, founded in 1951 and officially incorporated as an all volunteer, non-profit organization to "create a spirit of cooperation and fellowship between the artist and the public."  Visit our community art gallery and gift shop, which is housed in a historic 1937 adobe building located at 74055 Cottonwood Drive, off National Park Drive in Twentynine Palms. Open 12-3 p.m. Wednesday through Sundays (summer hours 1-4 Fri.-Sat.-Sun.). 760-367-7819.

Visit the 29 Palms Art Gallery website >>

Joshua Tree National Park

Joshua Tree National Park has its Headquarters and Oasis Visitor Center located in Twentynine Palms. The park's scenic 800,000 acres are situated between I-10 and Hwy. 62 and contain a rich cultural history, surreal geologic features, monolithic rock formations, ancient Joshua trees, spring wildflowers and abundant desert flora and fauna. World-class rock climbing, hiking, camping, historical mine sites, and Keys Ranch tours are just a few of the highlights the park offers. The park's Oasis Visitor Center is located at 74485 National Park Drive at Utah Trail in Twentynine Palms. 760-367-5525.

Visit the National Park Service Joshua Tree website

Map of Joshua Tree National Park

Oasis of Mara & Joshua Tree National Park Headquarters

In deserts around the world, the presence of water, that rarest of desert commodities, allows life to flourish and provides an oasis for natural and human activity. The historic Oasis of Mara in Twentynine Palms is a cornerstone of the Joshua Tree National Park story and has been a source of life-giving water for thousands of years. Before the community of Twentynine Palms existed, a landmark line of Washingtonia filifera palm trees stood on the horizon near the oasis and signaled water and shade for Serrano, Chemehuevi, and Cahuilla Indians, gold prospectors of the late 1800s, and the first desert travellers and homesteaders of the early 1900s. Today, a series of palm trees mark the line of original springs that once stretched from today's JTNP Oasis Visitor Center along National Park Drive to the historic 29 Palms Inn, the site of the last remaining pond of water.

Learn more about the Oasis of Mara at the Joshua Tree National Park website

Also visit the Joshua Tree National Park Association

Marine Corps Ground Air Combat Center

Since the 1950s, the Marine base has grown from a few buildings, a glider runway, and about 120 Marines to the 932-square-mile military training complex you see today, with more than 19,000 Marines, sailors, family members, and civilian workers. It is currently the largest and fastest-growing Marine Corps training base in the world, now officially designated as the Marine Air Ground Task Force Training Command, Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center, Twentynine Palms.

Visit the Marine Corps Ground Air Combat Center website

Oasis of Murals in Twentynine Palms

Visit our outdoor art gallery! The Oasis of Murals is probably the best thing to happen to this desert community in many a decade. Kick-starting the "renaissance" of our small city in 1994, the Mural Project, sponsored by Action Council for 29 Palms, Inc., spawned more than just beautiful, historical artworks painted on the commercial buildings downtown--it also encouraged a new art scene, visitor-friendly businesses, and created a rebirth of community spirit. Pick up a murals map at our Chamber of Commerce Visitors Center and enjoy a tour of our murals.

Visit the Oasis of Murals website 

Old Schoolhouse Museum

The Old Schoolhouse Museum has displays, artifacts, and special collections representing the different historical eras of the Twentynine Palms area, including Native Americans, gold miners, cattlemen, and homesteaders. Headquartered in the oldest public building in the Morongo Basin, the Twentynine Palms Historical Society acquired the city's original 1927 one-room schoolhouse and moved it in 1992 two miles from its original location to the society's 4-acre site on National Park Drive in the shadow of the community's historic Oasis of Mara. Open 1-4 p.m. Wednesdays through Sundays (summer hours 1-4 Sat.-Sun.). 760-367-2366.

Visit the Historical Society website

Smith's Ranch Drive-In Movie Theatre

Bill Smith, who arrived in 1923 in his Model-T Ford, developed the haven known as Smith's Ranch. Bill and his brother, Harry, drilled a well and provided water to early homesteaders, and Bill's shower, swimming pool, and shade trees were a welcome place to cool off on hot summer days. Bill married Thelma Mead in 1930, and the ambitious pioneer couple built an ice house, a dairy, an ice cream parlor, an outdoor theater, a recreational hall, and a trailer park on their property. They had six children and were acclaimed as the first homesteaders to have children born in Twentynine Palms.

The Smith's Ranch Drive-In opened in 1954. This drive-in is still open and has a capacity for 330 cars. Call for movie times at 760-367-7713.