Things To Do
The Living Desert Zoo and Gardens
True to its name, this zoo looks just like a living slice of the Sonoran Desert. Located a couple of miles outside of Palm Springs, the largely outdoor locale is broadly split into North American and African environments. Explore the grounds to find an assortment of wild cats and hoofed mammals, as well as giraffe feedings ($7).
Palm Springs Art Museum
This mid-size museum houses a collection of contemporary paintings, sculptures, and art glass from the likes of Henry Moore, Robert Motherwell, and Helen Frankenthaler as well as West Coast artists like Sam Francis, Mark di Suvero and Edward Ruscha. Exhibitions often focus on the cultures and themes of the desert: Modernism, Native Americans, and the American West. The museum also operates a satellite location in Palm Desert (free) as well as an architecture and design center in downtown Palm Springs ($5)
Palm Springs Air Museum
This air museum showcases primarily World War II as well as Korea- and Vietnam-era combat aircraft. You’ll find more than 40 flyable and static planes across three warehouses, from the B-17 flying fortress to the F-4 fighter jet, as well as a couple of aircraft on the tarmac, like the C-47 and PBY Catalina Flying Boat. The museum also offers a limited number of high-priced flights aboard the C-47 Skytrain and P-51 Mustang.
Palm Springs Aerial Tramway
Trek a couple of minutes onto Tramway Road as you roll into Palm Springs and you’ll come across this classic canyon-hugging gondola ride. Board a rotating car inside an angular 1963 station and after 10 minutes and a double-digit temperature drop, you’ll find yourself facing the entirety of the Coachella Valley below. Linger with a stop at the mountaintop restaurant, café, or lounge, or hike deeper into the San Jacinto Mountains.
Palm Springs Visitor Center
Even if you don’t need any information from the official Palm Springs welcome center, this distinctive spot is worth a stop to admire its architecture. The Space Age structure opened in 1965 as a gas station. When Albert Frey and Robson Chambers’s retro design was slated for the wrecking ball in the ’90s, it was saved and turned into a visitors center.
Tahquitz Canyon
Flowing water? In the middle of the desert? Indeed, this two-mile loop leads to a 50-foot waterfall tucked into Tahquitz Canyon. The falls are located within the Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians reservation, so you’ll need to pay a $12.50 admission fee. On the plus side, the fee keeps the trail impeccably maintained, unlike many of L.A.’s graffiti-filled waterfalls. Ranger-led hikes are also available.
Joshua Tree National Park
Craggy peaks, climbable boulders and those beloved yuccas are barely an hour car ride away. Joshua Tree National Park is a popular destination for overnight campers, but you can explore plenty in a single afternoon, too, from an easygoing hike around Hidden Valley to vistas from 5,000 feet up at Keys View. If you’re coming from Palm Springs, you’ll want to enter from the northwest entrance in Joshua Tree; if you’re staying farther east into the Coachella Valley, you can use the south entrance but it’ll put you—for better or worse—in a more desolate area that’s farther from the park’s main attractions.