Best Day Trips from Los Angeles: Santa Barbara, Palm Springs & More

Los Angeles sits at the centre of one of the world's most diverse geographical regions — within a 2-hour drive lie Pacific coastline, high desert, mountain ski resorts, wine country, and Joshua Tree's alien landscape. Santa Barbara, 90 minutes north on the 101 freeway, is the most elegant day trip: a Spanish Colonial Revival city of white stucco and red tile, with a State Street wine trail and Stearns Wharf jutting into a bay flanked by the Santa Ynez Mountains. Palm Springs (2 hours east) transforms desert midcentury architecture, spa culture, and gay nightlife into an improbably perfect weekend capsule; the Palm Springs Aerial Tramway ascends 8,500 feet in 10 minutes. Joshua Tree National Park (2.5 hours) is otherworldly — the Dr Seuss landscape of twisted trees and massive boulders demands a sunrise visit. Malibu's 27 miles of Pacific Coast Highway, with its celebrity compounds and perfect surf breaks, is the classic coastal escape requiring no more than an hour's drive.