Known for its hot springs, upscale hotels, golf courses and spas, the California desert city of Palm Springs is flush with wonderful things to see and do.
The stark desert landscape of Joshua Tree National Park (Photo: Richard Ricciardi via Flickr / CC BY 2.0 DEED)
Eye-catching mid-century modern architecture, a vibrant arts and cultural scene, and a host of recreational activities on the city’s doorstep add to Palm Springs’ widespread appeal. Indeed, the southern California city draws large numbers of visitors throughout the year, many of whom use Palm Springs as a base for exploring the surrounding natural landscapes and its promise of hiking, biking and horseback riding trails. Here are 12 of the most unique ways to spend your time in the city.
Explore a captivating National Park
Similarly arid they may be, but the cactus-dotted Mojave and Colorado deserts are in fact home to very different ecosystems. Straddling them both, the picture-postcard Joshua Tree National Park is a vast tract of land covering the region where these two deserts meet and blend into one another. The result is a striking and unique landscape abundant with wildlife, including Californian mountain lions, coyotes and a remarkable 16 species of bat. A classic time to visit the park is at sunset, when the rugged mountains and distinctive flora are silhouetted against a fiery sky.
You can book a guided tour of Joshua Tree National Park at GetYourGuide
Ride an aerial tramway
There can be no more unique way to experience the dramatic natural scenery of Palm Springs and its surroundings than from the sky. The Palm Springs Aerial Tramway transports visitors up the Chino Canyon, a 5.5-mile-long desert canyon, in the world’s largest rotating tram car, from which you can take in the spectacular views from the vantage point of your cabin. There are also ‘ride and dine’ packages allowing you to enjoy a delicious meal at the canyon’s summit. If you were contemplating popping the question to that special someone during your stay in Palm Springs, then this would certainly be a memorable way to do it.
1 Tram Way / Mon-Thurs 10am-8pm Fri-Sun 8am-8pm
You can book tickets for the Palm Springs Aerial Tramway at GetYourGuide
The Palm Springs Aerial tramway set against a scenic backdrop (Photo: Palm Springs Aerial Tramway )
Head to a magical nature reserve
The ancestral home of the Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians, the Indian Canyons nature reserve is one of the Palm Spring region’s most historically important natural attractions. It is also a scenic wonder, with crystal-clear streams and cascading waterfalls nestled amid shady palm oases and granite rock walls. Comprising three individual canyons – Andreas Canyon, Murray Canyon and Palm Canyon – the reserve draws huge numbers of visitors who come to explore its network of trails that meander beneath whispering palms, soaking up the rugged mountainside views and learning about the native flora and fauna as they go. For an extra sense of adventure, the canyons can even be traversed by guided horseback.
38520 South Palm Canyon Drive / Mon-Sun 8am-5pm
Visit a top-class museum
Few visitors to Palm Springs have a sense of the rich history of the area’s indigenous people – and in 2023, a major attempt to rectify this was made with the opening of the Agua Caliente Cultural Museum. While most museums focus on telling stories of the past, this one brings alive thousands of years of Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians heritage by connecting its long-standing traditions to the tribe’s vibrant, modern existence in the Coachella Valley. Highlights include the chance to experience tribal creation and migration stories during a 360-degree digital animation projected onto the wraparound walls of a state-of-the-art theatre.
140 North Indian Canyon Drive / Tues-Sun 10am-5pm Closed Mon
Widely considered one of the finest aviation museums anywhere in the world, Palm Springs Air Museum is a mecca for anyone with an interest in the history of flight. Spread across some 86,000 square feet of indoor hangar space, the museum has more than 50 vintage and notable aircraft on display, with visitors invited to get up close to the planes, and even climb inside some of their cockpits. Among the aircraft on show are historic planes that once flew during World War II and the Vietnam and Korean wars. There’s also a computer flight simulator that provides a real sense of what it’s like to fly in a fighter jet.
Parking, lot 745 North Gene Autry Trail / Mon-Sun 10am-5pm
Aircraft on display at the Palm Springs Air Museum (Photo: Robert Rouse via Flickr / CC BY 2.0 DEED)
Join a guided neighbourhood tour
No visit to Palm Springs is complete without a look around some of the city’s residential neighbourhoods. Packed with distinctive architecture and home to a number of major celebrities down the years including Nat King Cole, Marilyn Monroe, Liz Taylor, Frank Sinatra, Leonardo DiCaprio and Elvis Presley, these historically important districts offer a rich insight into the city’s past and present. The main areas to explore are Deepwell Estates, Twin Palms, and Indian Canyons, all of which can be navigated independently, or for a more in-depth experience as part of a guided tour.
You can book a guided bike tour of Palm Springs at Viator
Marvel at an array of wildlife
If you don’t have time to visit the expansive desert surrounding Palm Springs, then a trip to the remarkable Living Desert Zoo & Gardens is arguably the next best thing. Situated around 14 miles southeast of the city, the venue represents the deserts of North America and Africa and is home to over 1,200 protected acres, along with an impressive 450 wild animals. Visitors can also enjoy live animal shows, a kids’ play park, tranquil gardens, a model train exhibit, hiking trails, tram rides and plenty more.
47900 Portola Avenue, Palm Desert / Mon-Sun 8am-5pm
Immerse yourself in art
Palm Springs has a vibrant arts scene and at its heart is the Palm Springs Art Museum – one of the region’s most prestigious cultural institutions. Nestled in Downtown Palm Springs, the museum houses a remarkable collection of modern and contemporary art, as well as glass, photography, architecture and design artefacts. Among the notable artists represented are such legendary names as Pablo Picasso, Andy Warhol, Roy Lichtenstein, Henry Moore, Robert Rauschenberg and Antony Gormley. The museum also features a theatre, two outdoor sculpture gardens, a bistro and a gift shop.
101 North Museum Drive / Fri-Mon 10am-5pm Thurs 12pm-8pm Closed Tues-Weds
An eye-catching exhibit at the Palm Springs Art Museum (Photo: Thad Zajdowicz via Flickr / CC0 1.0 DEED)
Shop for curios at an antiques gallery
Tucked away in an inconspicuous back street in Palm Springs’ bustling arts district, Antique Galleries of Palm Springs is a treasure trove of curios and oddities. Housed in a two-storey warehouse, the galleries are divided into several distinct spaces, each curated by artists and antiques experts from Palm Springs and beyond. Vintage appliances, film projectors, retro furnishings, pinball machines, poker machines, rocking horses, fine china, vintage clothing and plenty more are all for sale at one the city’s most unique retail venues.
505 Industrial Place / Mon-Sun 10am-5pm
Let your hair down at a world-renowned festival
For over two decades, thousands of music lovers have flocked to Greater Palm Springs for the Coachella Valley Music & Arts Festival. One of the most acclaimed music festivals anywhere in the world, the event takes place over two consecutive weekends at the Empire Polo Club in the city of Indio, about a 25-minute drive out of downtown Palm Springs. The festival routinely draws a stellar line-up of musical names spanning a diverse mix of genres, with notable figures to perform in recent years including Ariana Grande, Lady Gaga, and Beyoncé.
Empire Polo Club, Indio, Coachella Valley, Greater Palm Springs / April each year
Crowds pictured on a field at the Coachella Valley Music & Arts Festival (Photo: Coachella Valley Music & Arts Festival)
Take a stroll around a scenic botanical garden
A collection of more than 3,000 varieties of desert plants from around the world await visitors at the Moorten Botanical Garden, a private one-acre arboretum situated about 1.5 miles from downtown Palm Springs. This tranquil haven offers an escape from the general hustle and bustle of the city while showcasing thousands of specimens sourced from all over the world, all laid out along a pristinely maintained nature trail. Most in abundance are cacti, but the garden also displays agave, bombax, and South African aloe plants, as well as an assortment of rocks, crystals, fossils and gold-mining relics. Guided tours of the gardens are available and plants are available for purchase from the on-site nursery.
1701 South Palm Canyon Drive / Thurs-Tues 10am-4pm Closed Weds
Pay your respects at a cemetery for the stars
Located in Cathedral City, seven miles southeast of Palm Springs, is one of the region’s more macabre places of interest – but interesting it certainly is. Desert Memorial Park is the final resting place for several deceased celebrities and public figures, most notable among them being the iconic Hollywood actor and singer Frank Sinatra. Inevitably, the cemetery attracts regular visitors who come to see the often rather uplifting tombstones of the great and the good who reside here.
31705 Da Vall Drive, Cathedral City
The gravestone of iconic crooner Frank Sinatra at Desert Memorial Park (Photo: Bruce Detorres via Flickr / PDM 1.0 DEED)
Take a celebrity tour of Hollywood’s playground
For many decades, Palm Springs has been known as one of California’s most exclusive destinations. Some of American culture’s brightest stars live or have lived in the area, including Nat King Cole, Marilyn Monroe, Liz Taylor, Frank Sinatra, Leonardo DiCaprio and Elvis Presley. By far the best way to take all of this illustrious history in is on a grand tour of Palm Springs, which includes passing by the neighbourhoods and estates of those greats and many more, as well as getting a great overview of Palm Springs and the surrounding valley. Click here to book a place on this tour with Viator.
Marilyn Monroe’s statue (Photo: Fred Miller via Flickr / CC BY-SA 2.0)
Step back in time at Ruddy’s General Store Museum
General stores are a blessing for people who reside in sparsely populated areas with limited amenities, and the desert region surrounding Palm Springs and the Coachella Valley certainly comes into that category. Ruddy’s General Store Museum is a nostalgic celebration of this staple of American life, a small but perfectly formed recreation of a 1930s general store complete with authentic fixtures, signs and products, all housed within a single room. Among the 6,000-plus items to be found here include groceries, tobacco, hardware, clothing, medicines, biscuits, beauty aids and soaps.
221 S Palm Canyon Drive
Thur-Sun 10am-4pm
Products on the shelves at Ruddy’s General Store Museum (Photo: Thom Karmik via Flickr)
Join the Rich and Famous at Monkey Tree Hotel
This private 16-room boutique hotel in North Palm Springs was designed by Desert Modernist, Albert Frey in 1960. It has a history of attracting an illustrious clientele from the world of Hollywood entertainment and music including Lucille Ball, Desi Arnaz, Katherine Hepburn, Gene Wilder and Eric Clapton, not to mention members of the Beatles. But undoubtedly the standout figures to have graced the private desert oasis with their presence were President John F Kennedy and actress Marilyn Monroe, with the pair rumoured to have stayed here in 1962. The Secret Service Lincoln Continentals were spotted in the parking lot guarding the private entrance while the two “met”. Nowadays the Monkey Tree remains one of the city’s finest boutique hotels.
2388 E Racquet Club Road
The pool area at the historic Monkey Tree Hotel (Photo: The Monkey Tree Hotel)
Drive through San Gorgonio Wind Farm Park
Nestled in Coachella Valley, one of the nation’s deepest mountain passes, on the edge of Palm Springs, this is one of the nation’s largest wind farms, containing more than 4,000 separate windmills in a 70-square-mile area. Together they produce enough energy to power almost the whole of Palm Springs and the surrounding region. The turbines themselves create a dramatic visual spectacle, each turning to their own tune in almost theatrical fashion. A number of local companies offer tours to the park, giving visitors the chance to get up close to the giant structures, including several restored exhibits of historical windmills, as well as learning about the history of the renewable energy industry.
San Gorgonio Pass, Riverside County
Explore unusual creativity at Robolights
This intriguing outdoor sculpture park in Palm Spring’s Movie Colony East neighbourhood is without question one of the city’s most unique attractions. Featuring towering robots and millions of lights, all constructed from discarded electronics, the park was originally intended as a winter-only event, but can now be visited all year round. Many of the installations have a Christmas theme – albeit with a sinister twist – including a post-apocalyptic scene with “nuclear elves” and a Santa’s sleigh pulled by a team of 12 robotic reindeer.
1077 E Granvia Valmonte
Daily 4-9.30pm (times may vary depending on the month)
Post-apocalyptic robots at the Robolights sculpture park (Photo: audra via Flickr)
Cross the Lee R. Baxandall Bridge
Those of a prudish disposition may wish to avoid this 140-foot overpass in the centre of Palm Springs, just in case they see more than they bargained for. Stretching across North Indian Canyon Drive, the structure has been wittily dubbed the “Bridge of Thighs” owing to its primary function of enabling naturists to cross the street while maintaining their modesty, which is achieved thanks to canvas panels that ensure only the heads of those crossing can be seen from road level. In case you’re wondering, the reason for its location is that on either side of the bridge is a clothing-optional holiday resort.
N Indian Canyon Drive & E Vista Chino
Discover the unexpected at Shields Date Garden
Don’t be fooled by the name; this popular venue has nothing to do with dating. In fact, it is dedicated to the humble date, a sweet fruit that is grown in sunny, arid climes around the world. As well as a wide variety of dates being grown on site, including types grown nowhere else in the world, Shields Date Garden is a veritable goldmine of information about dates. Visitors can enjoy lectures and slideshow presentations, as well as a curiously named 15-minute film called ‘Romance and Sex Life of the Date’. And if that doesn’t pique your interest, nothing will.
80225 CA-111, Indio
Daily 8am-4pm
Promoting one of Shields Date Garden’s more quirky exhibits (Photo: debaird via Flickr)
Tackle dirt roads on an ATV from Off Road Rentals
If it’s action that you’re looking for during your stay in Palm Springs, Off Road Rentals is the place to get your adrenaline fix. Along a remote stretch of Highway 111, owner Steven Harris maintains the ultimate grown-up’s playground in the form of a desert all-terrain vehicle (ATV) park. Harris opened the park in 1984 with just four ATVs, though the fleet has grown to 50 vehicles today. Following a safety and handling briefing, guests are invited to take the wheel for an all-action adventure. Located on site is also a fascinating graveyard of eclectic and recycled art along with a collection of discarded road signs. There are vehicles suited to those aged six years and up.
59511 CA-111
Daily 10am until sunset