Spread across a vast expanse of North America, the seemingly endless sheets of desert sand dominate the miscellaneous topographies of the USA. Have you ever dreamed of visiting any desert land? Let me tell you that Palm Springs is one of the most famous desert cities. It is a comparatively small town known for its relaxed vibes, scenic drives, and strong history and culture, and it has completely redefined tourism in many ways. I suggest you explore this lovely place if you are looking for a unique experience in the coming holidays.
Palm Spring Offers You Some Interesting Locations
The geographic location of this desert floor is a strong card the place has to play. Located approximately an hour’s drive from downtown LA, the place receives many visitors, especially the elite Hollywood community. In fact, Hollywood stars popularised the city when they flocked here to relax, unwind, and escape public scrutiny.
But they never got enough of Palm Springs, and as a result, this resort town is a site for lavish hotels and suites and some out-of-the-world, mid-century modern estates. Palm Springs is located in the Sonoran Desert, Southern California. Situated on the Western edge of Coachella Valley, it is in the Colorado Desert region. You can check the map below to track its exact location
Greater Palm Springs is a cluster of 9 charismatic cities, like Palm Springs, Desert Hot Springs, Cathedral City, famous for its art exhibitions, and the very popular Fountain of Life. Then there is Rancho Mirage, Palm Desert, Indian Wells, La Quinta, Indio, and Coachella.
I’ll Tell You Different Spots to Enjoy in Palm Springs
Being a historic city, it is the center point of arts and culture in the entire Coachella Valley and, at the same time, stained with Hollywood extravaganza, which can be seen in its mid-century modern architecture. So, let’s find out what’s there for you!
1. Palm Springs Aerial Tramway
Address: 1 Tramway Rd, Palm Springs, CA 92262, United States
Palm Springs is a collective landscape of desert floors, mountain peaks lining its circumference, and lush canyons, which become a site of attraction and admiration. It also boasts of the World’s largest rotating tramcars, better known as Palm Springs Aerial Tramway.
The Palm Springs Aerial Tramway takes you up 5,873 feet in cars that rotate completely 360 degrees. So you are met with a vision for a lifetime with the mountain ranges splitting the horizon, separating the clear blue skies from the stark desert terrain. Ah! It’s quite thrilling. Isn’t it? Ascending through the Chino Canyon in a 2.5-mile-long route, you are taken to the relatively cooler mountain station. You get to witness the amazing mountain wildflowers in your 10-minute journey.
However, I would say that Palms Springs Aerial Tramway is not about stunning scenery or enjoying the cool mountain air; it’s about exploring the San Jacinto mountain top. Once you land on the mountain summit, you will be taken to Mount San Jacinto State Park. Don’t worry if you are not good at packing lunch. The cafes and bars with surplus options have been taken care of to meet all of your needs.
Now, I’ll suggest you start your expedition on the hiking trails that cover more than 50 miles of the mountaintop. I’m telling you this because i believe exploring the wilderness high in the mountain peak can be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. So, keep moving further on the trails to keep discovering something new and worth the effort. You can stop for a while when you see the Round Valley Meadow signboard. An open wilderness area is also a wetland habitat, probably the last thing you would be expecting to find in a desert. You also get to see the Wellman’s divide if you continue walking on the trails.
The trails are wide and safe enough for your family, especially kids. Be sure to follow the rules and regulations of the wilderness, and you can have quality time undisturbed with some wonderful memories to cherish for a lifetime.
2. The Living Desert Zoo and Gardens
I beleive walking on foot and immersing yourself in what a natural habitat of wildlife looks like is an amazing experience. So, I never miss a chance get closer to the wildlife wherever I travel. In the Living Desert Zoo and Gardens, the animals roam around freely, like in their very own homes. And there are a plethora of desert species to witness here. You can forget you are in the USA because you will meet natives of the African and American deserts.
So, prepare yourself to see the majestic Mountain Lions, the sleek and dangerous leopards, the cute zebras, warthogs, bighorn sheep, see how exactly a coyote looks like, or feed the giraffes. The list can only continue because it’s a collection of more than 450 animals in their natural setting. Botanical gardens showcase desert plants and bring about an image of the diverse ecology from Baja California’s Viscaino desert and the Madagascar deserts.
3. Tahquitz and Indian Canyons
While planning an itinerary to Palm Springs, California, you’d better pack some extra khaki shorts. Palm Springs is a desert oasis home to lush canyons and diverse ecosystems. Whether you wander through the Palm Canyon, set your eyes on the Murray Canyon, or go further beyond the Andreas Canyon, you will be left mesmerized and in awe.
With their voluptuous skirts lined along the streams, the incredible and exotic desert flora, and wandering through the beaten path. The Fan Palm Trees see some endangered wildlife like Peninsular Big Horn Sheep, mule deer, and other animals all in their original habitats. That’s not all. If you think your day ends here, you better hang in there.
Awaiting you at the Tahquitz Canyon, located at the San Jacinto Mountains, is a beautiful waterfall enveloped by the surrounding hiking trails,. You can play and splash around and treat your tired feet with some cool mountain water. It is a place of cultural importance with its history of the Cahuilla Indians, who inhabited the place for some 5000 years.
4. Coachella Valley Preserve
The Coachella Valley Preserve is a wide desert land covering 17,000 acres, 10 miles east of Palm Springs. One of the desert land’s peculiarities, you can see here, is the Coachella Valley- Fringe-toed lizard, which does not have any natives other than this place.
However, the preserve is not recommended for its apparent mundane topography. It is the home of many oases. The most famous is the Thousand Palm Oasis. Water that seeps out of the Andreas fault due to the underground pressure is the oasis’s source. Other oases include Willis, Hidden Horseshoe, and the Indian Palms. The preserve is very popular for its hiking facilities like the Mccallum, Hidden Palms, Moon Country, Pushawalla Palms, and Willis Palm trails.
5. Joshua Tree National Park
Our planet Earth has some magnificent pieces of art. Just like the two seas meet or fail to meet and run parallel with a striking contrast in their natures. We have two desserts here, and their intersection point is the Joshua Tree National Park in southern California.
It is a beauty to the eyes and an endpoint of our intellect. So, you must explore it at least once.
- The Colorado desert, which makes up the eastern part of the national park, is a sterile desert area settled below 3000 feet. Enduring journeys comprise creosote bushes littered all over the region and occasional ocotillo and cholla cactus emerging from the coarse sandy ground.
- The Mojave desert, which enjoys a higher elevation, brims with desert vegetation and the most peculiar giant yucca trees called Joshua trees. The giant rock formations and the cactus gardens have made the park’s name travel far and wide.
While spring can be an awesome time to visit the place when the desert flora is all set to showcase its beauty, early morning hikes or mountain bikes are most recommended.
6. Palm Springs Air Museum
Address: Parking, lot 745 N Gene Autry Trail, Palm Springs, CA 92262, United States.
Palm Springs, California, is indisputably a historical town with great cultural significance. The indigenous Cahuilla people have left their mark. You will discover some more history of great reverence at the Palm Springs Air Museum.
You can come here for an easy day out and get to witness the amazing aircraft from WWII and the Korean and Vietnam wars. Out of the 46 Vintage Warbirds, some are still in flying condition. You can have the privilege of sitting in a B-17 bomber and filling your Instagram stories with pictures of your take-off. The museum has some amazing informative artifacts, artwork, and a WWII Educational Resource Library.
The volunteers and docents, veterans of their times, treat you so warmly, and you can see fascination gleaming in their eyes as they explain the details of every aircraft. Its location is perfect at the Palm Springs International Airport, so while listening to a story of WWII aircraft, you can simultaneously witness an airplane taking off in the background.
7. Palm Springs Art Museum
Address: 101 N Museum Dr, Palm Springs, CA 92262, United States
Located in downtown Palm Springs, the Palm Springs Art Museum is the heart and soul of this resort town. For many reasons, visiting Palm Springs and witnessing this art capital of the entire Coachella Valley is mandatory. Whether you are an art lover or not, one thing I can bet that you can’t take your eyes off from the amazing collection here.
Here, you can find all art forms, from contemporary to fine arts, native to classic Western. You can find American mid-twentieth-century architecture, American photography, glass studio arts, and some amazing outdoor sculptures. The Annenberg Theater, a 440-seat assembly room, is a prime feature of this Art Museum, where many plays, musical programs, concerts, and other performances are held quite frequently.
8. Golf Courses
It is a crucial segment of the tourism sector and a well-invested one, too. It is doing amazingly well at attracting visitors. With perfect weather suitable for outdoor activities and more than 100 golf courses, Palm Springs, CA, serves the complete hygge visitors seek.
With lush green golf fields laid across the towering mountains and some amazing field designs by renowned architects like Arnold Palmer, Pete Dye, Jack Nicklaus, and Greg Norman, golfing is among the favorite activities of Palm Springs visitors.
9. Palm Springs Windmill Tours
Driving through a maze of life-sized turbines in the middle of nowhere in a desert can be an experience of its own. And I suggest you to have it. The guides provide you with a fun, educational, self-driving tour about the role of wind turbines in reversing the catastrophic cycle of energy consumption led by humans.
The tour starts with a huge area stacked with non-operating wind turbines, a collection of some failed and some successful ones. Then, you enter a large field of rotating turbines in one of the windiest landscapes of Southern California.
10. Moorten Botanical Garden
Address: 1701 S Palm Canyon Dr, Palm Springs, CA 92264, United States
Moorten Botanical Garden is no less than a trouvaille, a wayfarer could find amid a desert. It is a vision started by Patricia and Chester Moorten, which has flourished and is open for visitors at the southern end of Palm Canyon Drive. A vast collection of desert flora with natives belonging to Arizona, Baja California, Sonoran Desert, Mojave Desert, South Africa, South America, and Texas are found in this family-owned garden.
You will see a collection of nearly 3,000 species of desert cacti. Whether it’s the dainty cacti spotted along the trails or the Giant Golden Barrel cacti, you will surely visit something you must have never witnessed before. The wide variety of cacti, succulents, and bromeliads is going to bring you to your wit’s end. The entire garden is well paved and well laid out, and the hummingbirds are like a cherry on a cake that does not fail to enchant you.
Spring should be an ideal time for visiting this botanical garden when the desert flora is in full bloom, showcasing its vibrant colors.
11. Elvis Honeymoon Hideaway
The infamous, gorgeous, and historical Elvis Honeymoon Hideaway attracts many visitors yearly. The beginning of this exciting story takes you to Palm Springs socialites Robert and Helen Alexander, who owned the estate, which was then known as Las Palmas Estate. However, the story takes a twist when, in 1967, Elvis and Priscilla Presley took this house on lease, and this was their honeymoon house.
The estate is known far and wide after the Presleys’ name. They have left a mark here with the numerous Elvis memorabilia, thoroughly enjoyed and cherished by Elvis’ fans. Today, the Alexander estate is called ‘House of Tomorrow,’ featuring many TV channels for its exemplary mid-century modern design. Interestingly, all the rooms in this two-story estate are circular.
12. Date Farms
It shouldn’t surprise that Palm Springs is a primary harvester of juicy desert fruits filled with nutrients to the brim in the USA. It produces more than 90% of dates in the entire USA. And what would it be like to visit these date farms personally, enjoying the many varieties they are sold in and the famous date shake, a trademark of Shields Date Garden?
The Shields Dates Garden is located in Indo, a 30-minute drive from downtown Palm Springs. Come here to buy dates, and in return, you’ll get a guided tour of the date groves and watch a kitschy movie about date farming.
There are many other things to do in Palm Springs; you can only take so much from this treasure chest and always come back to claim what was left before. The endless trails and the Palm Canyon Drive, brimming with colors of life, are an ideal choice for bike lovers. Whether walking hand in hand along Palm Canyon Drive, visiting the Palm Springs Historical Society or taking a hot air balloon ride—the place is perfect for a romantic getaway.
Last Updated on by Pragya Chakrapani
