i think your best bets for scenery, exercise & heat-beating lie about an hour's drive from the coachella valley.


most scenic joshua tree np route would be one starting outside the west entrance approx 5 miles south of the town of joshua tree/hwy 62.
west entrance up to hidden valley then onwards to jumbo rocks campground. back the way you came, making a left on the road to keys view.
keys view back to the main road and a left to head back through hidden valley and exit the park. roughly 30-38 miles depending on where
exactly you park outside the np west entrance. i personally find the rest of the park kinda boring and feel hidden valley is the most scenic.
indian cove off hwy 62 is nice too but a dead-end and doesn't enter the main park. the climb from the 29 palms entrance is boring.
the south entrance climb from the 10 fwy is nice but once done with that, it's 40+ miles to jumbo rocks area and that is one long thankless
slog. since the park elevation is mostly 4,000 foot +, it will be a little cooler but not much so an early start is key.


another good choice is driving up hwy 74 to near the hwy 74/371 junction and parking there. about a 35 minute drive from palm desert.
i'd park at the pacific crest trailhead dirt lot on the north side of hwy 74 about 1.5 miles before the junction w/hwy 371. the ride from there
up to mountain center then down to the edge of hemet on hwy 74 (sweet pavement/sweet descent) is scenic and a blast. return the same way
as the ascent is challenging but fun and with some decent sightlines for cars coming up behind you. once you get back to mountain home
center, make a left on hwy 243 and do the 5 mile climb to idyllwild (town center). come back down and make a left on hwy 74 and head
back to the start. approx 45 miles and in the pines much of the way.


if you don't wanna leave the valley, the tram road is a must do climbfest to break the monotony of the flats. i would also incorporate 1000
palms road north of the 10 fwy via washington (from ramon rd, it's ugly) or dillon rd for the scenery. the south end of frank sinatra rd
is a good punchy climb. the la quinta cove area is pretty and a relatively easy climb as well. riding from palm desert to the la quinta cove area
and back via hwy 111 would be approx 25 miles and fairly scenic. palm desert to palm springs and back via hwy 111 would be about 40 miles
and decent scenery as well.


as for the hwy 74 ascent from palm desert...i'd hit the first few miles south of hwy 111, but once the road starts snaking up the mountain,
it gets dicey. people ride it uphill but there are many sharp corners with little visibility for motorists and nearly zero shoulder for cyclists until
you are past vista point about 5 miles up from the base of the climb (just past the bighorn housing development). same with the 243 ascent
from banning up to idyllwild. sharp corners and not great visibility for motorists happening upon ascending cyclists. downhill on both segments
are a blast tho but wouldn't ride either up or down unless you are (nearly) crazy comfy with fast cars suddenly happening upon you. riding with
tail lights helps but is no guarantee of safe passage. the previously mentioned hwy 62 to from joshua tree isn't too bad except for the 4 mile stretch
(or so) from the 10 fwy to the base of the climb from desert hot springs up into moreno valley or vice versa. it's super windy/gusty so you could literally
get blown off the road on the ascent or literally blown into traffic on the descent. beware.

i usually try to drive unfamiliar (major) roads before i ride them to anticipate trouble spots/safety/rideability. perhaps you can incorporate one of the roads in question
into your drive to the desert to rule it in or out.