This outdoor James Turrell work is one of the art installations worth a day trip from Los Angeles. For inhabitants of the SGV, it's only a short drive down the highway, but for anybody farther west, it's essentially a day trip. This Skyspace work invites you to sit down on a bench and look at the sky via a sharply-cut square in a canopy, yet it isn't as engulfing as Turrell's vibrant Ganzfeld series.

To witness the frame pulse through a lighted program with brief chimes of light on the hour in between, arrive approximately 25 minutes before dusk and 100 minutes before sunrise. The Skyspace canopies are lighted in the intervals between the sunset and dawn programs. A quick (3 minute) light chime is heard every hour on the hour.

For the Los Angeles region, precise dawn and sunset hours are available. It alternates between being a lucid lavender and a menacing black tablet. The daylight sky is mirrored by a small pool in the middle of the sky opening, while the night sky is echoed in darkness by the pool. The internationally renowned light artist Turrell has constructed multiple Skyspaces, but only this one is open to the general public in Southern California.

Location: 600 N College Ave, Claremont.

Time: Open Sat–Mon during the school year, daily during the summer.

Entrance fee: Free

Elmer’s Bottle Tree Ranch is also one of the art installations worth a day trip from Los Angeles. On June 22, 2019, Elmer Long quietly passed away in the company of friends and family. He built a fantastic location that attracted visitors from all around the world and became a wonder. After his untimely demise, his family will make every effort to protect and maintain his legacy.

He will always be remembered for the love that his incredible works engendered among family, friends, and complete strangers. The ranch represents one man's love of making and giving something special, which inspired the love of discovering, capturing, and sharing these things for others to enjoy.

A actual forest of bottle trees, or giant metal pipes with bottles strung from them, may be seen at Elmer's Bottle Tree Ranch, which is situated along Route 66 in the middle of the California desert. There was so much going on, but locations like this need that you spend some time simply wandering in order to fully appreciate them.

Location: 24266 National Trails Hwy, Oro Grande

Entrance fee: Free

Elf began gathering crocheted artifacts in the early 1990s, long before she made the decision to buy the wayside cottage where her collection is now housed. She just happened to see it on the stand and bought it, not really knowing what she was going to do with it. Later, she moved it to its present location in Joshua Tree and painted it lime-green.

She carried her collection of crocheted objects out of storage and set them up on the new inside shelves she had constructed. Almost every imaginable sort of thing is represented in crochet form among the varied array. Poodles, bears, and unicorns are a few examples of animals.

Additionally, there are less recognizable shapes like cheerful faces and lumpy small things that are more abstract in nature. The cheerful assortment honors both the craft of crocheting and the owner's varied interests. With few rivals for the title, this small roadside oddity could perhaps be as well-known as its sign suggests.

Location: 61855 CA-62, Joshua Tree, CA 92252, US

Entrance fee: Free

African-American artist Noah Purifoy used found objects to make sculptures that were influenced by the culture and environment of Southern California throughout his life. He worked relentlessly to introduce art programs into the neighborhood community and jail system, and some of his most well-known works were fashioned from burned-out wreckage from the 1965 Watts unrest.

Then, in the late 1980s, Purifoy relocated to the desert, where he spent the last 15 years of his life building his unique and iconic magnum opus: a collection of massive sculptures across 10 acres of sand-red Mojave soil. With a contemplative and Mad Max-inspired ambiance, the facility redefines what a museum is all about. The impact of the works themselves—with names like "The White House," "Band Wagon," and "Ode to Frank Gehry"—is profoundly poignant, even if the found objects are obvious upon careful scrutiny.

The art installation is available all day and is free (though donations are appreciated), but you may also arrange a private tour with a docent or a one-hour group tour. Pro tip: To escape the oppressive heat and see the location at its most attractive, go as early in the day as you can or around sunset. Please keep in mind to bring water and to be cautious of snakes.

Location: 63030 Blair Ln, Joshua Tree

Entrance fee: Free

This is one of numerous works of art that were first displayed during Coachella festivals and have now found permanent residences throughout Greater Palm Springs. Etherea, a spectral wire-mesh sculpture by Italian artist Edoardo Tresoldi, is located at Sixth and Cesar Chavez Streets in Coachella and contrasts Baroque-style buildings with the city's arid surroundings.

The first of three works built during the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival in 2018 was the 54-foot-tall tower. Goldenvoice, the event's organizer, eventually donated it to Coachella, the city, which turned a vacant site into a public park to display the artwork and make it available to visitors.

The optical impression of Etherea changes with the light, weather conditions, and the viewpoints of spectators as they travel around and inside the building. It appears to breathe with the wind and clouds. In the end, it's a place for basic activities like gazing at the sky, taking in the clouds, and thinking about life.

Location: Cesar Chavez St and 6th St, Coachella

Entrance fee: Free

In the California Desert region of Imperial County, near the squatter/art commune of Slab City, many miles from the Salton Sea, and north of Calipatria, to the northeast of Niland, lies Salvation Mountain, a hillside visionary habitat built by a local citizen named Leonard Knight (1931-2014). Thousands of gallons of paint, old tires, windows, and adobe bricks were used to create the artwork.

Despite the fact that its ideology was based on the Sinner's Prayer, there are many murals and places throughout it that are decorated with Christian quotes and Bible texts. It is based on the hot air balloon that Knight attempted to build before Salvation Mountain, which is currently on display at the American Visionary Art Museum.

A mountainside semi-dome serves as the museum, which is filled with various trinkets that people have given him throughout the years. Each item has a special meaning, and most commonly, guests come to Salvation Mountain to pray and leave something behind as a symbol of their self-giving to God. Adobe and straw are used to support the artwork, along with automobile pieces and a tangle of trees that wind through the top of the dome and twist inside it.

Location: Beal Rd, near Niland.

Time: Open daily sunrise to sunset.

East Jesus is an experimental, environmentally friendly, and instructive art project located in Imperial County, California. Here, artists from diverse backgrounds have expanded upon Charlie Russell's initial idea, who transformed a trash-strewn area of desert into a venue for modern art. It is one of the art installations worth a day trip from Los Angeles.

In 2007, Charlie Russell left his position in technology and moved to the Sonoran Desert's Slab City, an off-grid retirement community. His first objective was to work on Leonard Knight's Salvation Mountain, a well-known painted hill next to Slab City's entrance. The sculpture garden, a work of art that has been created throughout the years by hundreds of artists, is what attracts curious people the most.

All of the sculptures were created using waste materials, including some that were recovered from Burning Man. A mammoth constructed of flat tires, a mutant albino whale made of 4,000 plastic bags, a mansion that appears to be sinking into the sand, and a wall of sarcastic TVs are just a few examples of the sculptures you may view at East Jesus.

Location: 23 Sidewinder Rd, Niland

Website: http://eastjesus.org/

Entrance fee: Free

You're invited to view Paso Robles through a vibrant new hue at Light at Sensorio. A fantastic entertainment destination created at this intersection of art, technology, and nature may be found in the middle of wine country. Internationally renowned British artist Bruce Munro was the inspiration for Sensorio. He wanted to provide guests a sensory experience that went beyond visual art to include funny, melodic, and kinetic entertainment.

He envisioned a piece of art that would honor the geography of the terrain by using just lights and the ground, and soon Sensorio came to be. Since it was first put in place, Sensorio has grown to be one of Paso's most well-liked destinations for recreation, discovery, meditation, and adventure. Whether you want to have a thrilling evening with the family, go on an adventure with friends, or spend a romantic evening with someone special, Sensorio in Paso is an incredible experience for everyone who visits.

Enjoy a night of light with food, drink, and beer from nearby establishments. Visitors may complete their experience with acoustic live music performed on the main lawn before or after visiting the exhibit. Relax, sit back, and let Sensorio illuminate your surroundings.

Location: 4380 Hwy 46 E, Paso Robles

Time: Thu–Sun evenings

Fee: $40