2 Best Bars in Joshua Tree National Park, California

Halfway between Joshua Tree and Twentynine Palms sits a gleaming white Spanish bungalow so striking and solitary and surrounded by sand that you're bound to do a double-take. But it's no mirage. In fact, it's an adorable, chill oasis where you can quench two types of thirst: the morning or afternoon-pick-me-up need for coffee (and pastries) and the anytime (post-work, post-hike, celebration) alcoholic fix. There's a great patio, where patrons sometimes do yoga but usually just sip selections from the Mexican-leaning cocktail menu of margaritas, Mezcal negronis, micheladas, Bloody Marias.

A couple of transplants took what was at one time a gun shop and another time a beauty parlor—set in a run-down, retro strip mall—and created a small bar with a big personality that welcomes tourists but focuses on winning the hearts and minds (and hard-earned dollars) of locals. From the grandma-core art—one wall is devoted entirely to cat paintings and photos, another to black-velvet works—elevated bar food (loaded yuca fries, chilaquiles tacos), and numerous activities and theme nights (photo booth, pool table, karaoke, movies, prime-rib Thursdays), what's not to love?