Things To Do
Palm Springs Arial 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 Canyon Drive
You can barely walk a block along Palm Canyon Drive without stumbling upon an eye-catching gallery, antique or furniture showroom. Palm Springs and mid-century modernism go hand in hand, and you’ll find plenty of galleries (notably a showroom from retro-inspired artist SHAG) and furniture stores dedicated to the jet-setting aesthetic.
Joshua Tree
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.
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 the 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. Ranger-led hikes are also available.