Where is the best and closest area to explore nature and hiking from my vacation home?

Desert hot springs, palm springs, Joshua tree and surrounding desert cities offer many dozens of way to reconnect with nature. From Palm Springs tram, where you can ascend 8,000 in the world’s largest rotating tramcars. It is forty degrees colder at the top and a completely different world (more like the Smokey Mountains) than Palm Springs below. Explore and hike through thousands of wilderness trails in Joshua Tree National Park one of the largest national parks in Southern California. Check out the living desert in palm desert. Check out Breathtaking botanical gardens. Stroll, hike, dine and shop amid 1200 acres of scenic trails and exhibits.