My wife and I will be in Palm Springs next week and will have some free time to blow off some steam (kids will be home with Grandma). I’ve perused a few travel sites but come up pretty dry on ideas for amusement. I know about the rotating tram and am considering it, although I’m not crazy about being in an enclosed car hundreds of feet up suspended by a cable. I’d like to check out the surrounding area - any ghost towns or off-the-wall stuff like that? I don’t want to go to LA, having lived there for five ghastly years already. But I am willing to drive up to a couple of hours.
The rotating tram is the gondola that goes up to Mt. San Jacinto? I definitely recommend doing that. Walking around up there is much more fun than Palm Springs (to me anyway). There might even still be snow! In Palm Springs you have the options of golfing, hanging out by a pool, going to spa, and sweating. Actually, sweating is part of all those options.
I was there for a conference a few years ago, and my wife went along. We went to Joshua Tree instead of the Conference Social event (a casino) and were glad we did.
Not far from town there is a canyon you have to pay to hike, with a teeny waterfall at the end. We did that and rather enjoyed it.
My wife found some good bargains at some thrift stores in town - really good stuff, very cheap.
Keep in mind that temperatures may already be getting up in the 90s by the time you visit, so plan accordingly. There is a waterpark in town, though it is quite small. They have a small air museum next to the airport with some nice WWII fighters and bombers. You can hike around in the Indian Canyons, which are nice, but a bit pricey (I think they charge $8 per person to get on - which is rip off in my opinion). With the snow melt right now, you do get some nice waterfalls. One of my favorite hikes in the area is Painted Canyon in Indio. It’s a bit hard to find, but a very nice hike through slot canyons and up ladders where old waterfalls used to be. If you head up the 74 about 30 minutes or so, you’ll come to the quaint town of Idyllwyld, which also has some great hiking and at a bit more altitude where it isn’t as hot as the desert floor. One other good time killer is the swap meet at the College of the Desert on Monterey in Palm Desert. It’s a lot more upscale than a typical swap meet and often has some really interesting artists.
In town, you’re pretty much stuck with golf, hanging out at the pool, and Indian casinos. There is a nice zoo, the Living Desert, in Palm Desert which is right next door to Palm Springs.
If you like shopping, there’s an outlet mall in Cabazon (home of the giant dinosaur statues featured in Pee-Wee’s Big Adventure)
I second the recommendations to ride the Aerial tramway (bring a jacket, it’s considerably colder up top than in the desert below) and Joshua Tree.
If you want off-the-wall, you can go east to the Salton Sea area. Just be aware that sometimes it can be kind of stinky. For really weird, there’s Salvation Mountain, which is the biggest and trippiest piece of folk art I’ve ever seen. The mud volcanos, while not as impressive as the ones in Yellowstone, are also very cool.
The Palm Springs art museum is pretty good. When we were last there, they had a very nice art glass exhibition. If you are interested, you might be able to call ahead and get a tour of the local wind farm.
If you want to check out the dinosaurs at Cabazon, The Wheel Inn is a great greasy-spoon spot for breakfast. If you’re not in the mood for biscuits and gravy, you might try a Date Shake at Hadleys Fruit Orchard.
Ms Hook and myself went to Palm Springs about 2 years ago and enjoyed ourselves.
Do the tram. There’s some good hiking on the top. It can be cool though so take a jacket.
We went up some canyon the local indians own and walked around in their palm trees and up some creek. This was more enjoyable to me than most of Palm Springs.
Joshua Tree is well worth the trip. Leave yourself enough time to do some hiking. It too can be a gob cooler than PS.
We drove down to the Salton Sea. Worth the drive just to get a look at that end of the valley. There’s a bunch of date palm groves down there that you might want to check out.
Of all things we enjoyed a bus tour of the celeberty homes the most. It was hokey as hell, but still fun. Of course we are in our 60s. You might not find looking at the Rat Pack’s get-away houses to be as enjoyable.
There are quite a few art galleries in town if that is your thing.
There is a high end outlet mall on the 10 in Cabazon as has been mentioned.
There are some very good restaurants in PS and Palm Desert. If you are so inclined there is a Tommy Bahama restaurant above the TB store in Palm Desert. We went there one night and ordered appetizers and dessert. Didn’t need no stinking main course. We all shared. Great meal.
Don’t miss out on the Aerial Tramway. It’s an awesome, wonderful experience. When you get to the top the views are wonderful and you can have a lot of fun up there, walking, trekking, going on rides, enjoying a good meal. When I went, some American tourists voiced some of their safety concerns (because admittedly the tramway doesn’t LOOK very safe). When they were told that it was designed and built by a Swiss company, they visibly relaxed and enjoyed the ride!
Joshua Tree… been there, done that, and again absoutely unmissable. You HAVE to stay at the 29 Palms Inn. It’s world famous for its location, right on the rim of the National Park itself, and the very best way to see the desert. It’s run by good people, not that expensive, you will enjoy the hot tubs (which you book, so you can enjoy them in privacy), and it’s so easy to enjoy being there.
The dinosaurs at Cabazon… another great recommendation. a great site to take some amazing photographs!
Here are the dinosaurs. I never noticed the creationist vibe that they describe, though…
It sounds funny, but the Jeep tours that go out to the San Andreas fault are really very cool. The fault is a physical thing in this part of the desert- you can step right into it! :eek: There are cool things to see, and it’s a fun waste of 2 hours.
Hyperelastic, if you want real ghost towns, visit some of the cities along the shore of the Salton Sea! Mortmar, or Desert Beach, perhaps. Spooky! (The smell ain’t so hot either, when the tilapia are dying off!)
A drive up to Idylwild can be nice, too. Lots of beautiful trails head out into the wilderness from there.
I agree, Indian Canyon is lovely to visit, and hike into.
Manuel’s restaurant, in Sky Valley, makes the best Chile Rellenos I’ve ever found. The restaurant doesn’t look like much, but I stop there whenever I’m in the Valley.
We stayed in the hotel across the street, and went there a few times. Not bad, if a little pricey, but so is everything else there. We saw Hitchhikers Guide in the movie theater down the street.
You might also drive around the rich part of town, with the streets that are named after celebrities. Not exciting, but after a week you might be getting desperate.