Things to do in Palm Springs
And where to stay, the best time to visit, what a day costs, and the traps to skip.
Best time to visit Palm Springs
• a note or something on ✦ an occasion worth the trip
High season begins, 65 to 75F days, cold nights and snow visible on San Jacinto while you swim.
Peak season and the best weather, 80 to 95F, wildflowers after wet winters and waterfalls at their best.
Extreme heat at 105 to 115F with deep discounts, curtailed hours and monsoon flash flood risk in washes in August and September.
Shoulder sweet spot, warm pools, lower crowds and prices, with the best value in late October to early November.
What's on
- Palm Springs International Film Festival early Jan
Major film festival at the start of high season.
- The American Express PGA golf Jan
PGA golf event in La Quinta in January.
- Modernism Week mid-Feb, 11 days
The city defining design event, with house tours that sell out months ahead.
- BNP Paribas Open early Mar
Tennis tournament in Indian Wells, called the fifth Slam.
- Coachella two April weekends
Festival in Indio that makes the whole valley surge in price and demand.
- Stagecoach late Apr
Country festival in Indio with the same valley wide surge as Coachella.
- Modernism Week Fall Preview Oct
Fall edition of the design festival in the shoulder season.
- Palm Springs Pride early Nov
Among the last Pride celebrations of the US year.
Best things to do in Palm Springs
Palm Springs Aerial Tramway
Rotating tram climbs to a cool pine summit with trails and overlooks, the signature half day above the desert floor.
Palm Springs Art Museum
Big downtown museum of modern art and Native American work, free on Thursday evenings before VillageFest.
VillageFest
Free Thursday night street fair on Palm Canyon with handmade crafts, food stalls and live music.
Mid-Century Modern Architecture Tour
Guided tours explain the Alexander and Frey houses in Old Las Palmas, Twin Palms and Movie Colony.
The Living Desert Zoo and Gardens
Desert zoo and gardens with African and Australian habitats and giraffe feeding, best at opening.
Palm Springs Air Museum
Huge collection of flyable warbirds in airport hangars, with docents who flew or worked on the aircraft.
Moorten Botanical Garden
Small family run cactus garden and Cactarium, an eccentric cheap stop paired with the free downtown loop.
Agua Caliente Cultural Plaza
Tribal museum tells the Cahuilla history and desert water story, with the Spa at Sec-he as a luxury add on.
Where to stay in Palm Springs
Downtown / Palm Canyon Drive
first trip, all-round base
Walk to dinner, VillageFest, the Art Museum, casinos and nightlife, with many hotels including bikes.
Historic Tennis Club
boutique base, still walkable
Quiet streets west and south of downtown under the mountain, five to ten minutes on foot to Palm Canyon.
Uptown Design District
design and food focused stays
North Palm Canyon galleries, vintage shops and destination restaurants, a short bike ride to the core.
Warm Sands
quiet and LGBTQ+ boutique stays
Residential pocket south of downtown with famous small resorts, calm and pool centred, still bikeable downtown.
South Palm Springs / Twin Palms / Indian Canyons
houses, golf and quiet luxury
Larger resorts and vacation rentals near Indian Canyons trails and golf, but you will drive to dinner.
Greater valley: Palm Desert / Rancho Mirage / Indian Wells
mega-resorts, tennis and golf trips
El Paseo, the Tennis Garden and huge resorts, but 25 to 40 minutes from Palm Canyon Drive.
Think twice about
- I-10 / North Palm Springs motel strip
Isolated highway motels on Indian Canyon Drive north of downtown with wind, freeway noise, nothing walkable and car break in risk.
- Desert Hot Springs as a base
Great mineral water and cheaper rooms in a rougher edged separate town with few good restaurants and a freeway drive for everything.
- Smoke Tree Village / far South Palm Canyon fringe
Sustained loitering and disturbance complaints around the shopping centre in 2025 reporting, not a strolling base at night.
- Downtown edges
Police patrols followed vandalism and break ins downtown, with open drug use raised by businesses. Use hotel parking and keep valuables out of cars.
Best restaurants in Palm Springs
Bar Cecil
French American bistro named for Cecil Beaton, joyful and art filled, with the hardest reservation in town.
Workshop Kitchen + Bar
Serious seasonal California cooking in a dramatic concrete room in Uptown, with strong cocktails.
Le Vallauris
French fine dining since 1974 in a 1927 villa garden patio, the classic anniversary room.
Mr. Lyons
1945 steakhouse with Rat Pack bones, green banquettes, tableside classics and the hidden Paul Bar.
Birba
Wood fired pizza and handmade pasta under string lights, the patio dinner locals recommend to friends.
Tac/Quila
Upscale Jalisco style Mexican cooking with a big patio and a strong agave list downtown.
Sandfish Sushi
Creative sushi and cocktails with a late happy hour on Friday and Saturday, a local insider dinner.
Rooster and the Pig
Vietnamese small plates in a plain strip mall room, the dinner locals most often tip to visitors.
Outdoor things to do in Palm Springs
Indian Canyons
Palm, Andreas and Murray canyons hold huge fan palm oases, streams and trails just south of downtown.
Tahquitz Canyon
Two mile loop past rock art and Cahuilla sites to a 60 foot seasonal waterfall, fullest in late winter.
Coachella Valley Preserve
Quiet palm oasis on the San Andreas Fault system with boardwalks and sandy washes, far less crowded.
Indian Canyons Golf Resort
In town championship golf under San Jacinto, 36 holes weaving through palms past Sinatra era homes.
Desert Willow Golf Resort
Firecliff is a long, heavily bunkered challenger course that locals recommend to visiting golfers.
Escena Golf Club
Nicklaus Design course in town with mountain views and a good clubhouse, accessible for a public round.
Tahquitz Creek Golf Resort
Two courses at municipal style prices at the foot of the mountains, the budget round in the valley.
Desert Adventures Red Jeep Tours
Open air Jeep tour through a private fault zone with slot canyons, geology and desert wildlife.
Best hotels in Palm Springs
Parker Palm Springs
Thirteen acres of Jonathan Adler gardens, two pools and a spa at the celebrity classic resort, hidden behind hedges.
L'Horizon Resort and Spa
Adults only luxury in 1952 William Cody bungalows with 25 rooms, an infinity pool and a quiet setting.
Korakia Pensione
Moroccan Mediterranean villas with saltwater pools, courtyard breakfast and nightly films, walkable to downtown.
Kimpton Rowan Palm Springs Hotel
Downtown high rise with the city only rooftop pool bar, a restaurant and a walk everywhere base.
Casa Cody
Oldest hotel in Palm Springs, 1920s adobe with two pools, gardens and breakfast included, downtown on foot.
ARRIVE Palm Springs
Adults only design hotel around a big central pool and bar, social without pool party chaos.
7 Springs Inn and Suites
Simple, well kept motel hotel with a pool north of the core, the honest budget pick in town.
Motel 6 Palm Springs North
Cheapest floor price option by the freeway in summer and shoulder season, included with the basing warning.
Is Palm Springs expensive? What a day costs
| Budget | $175 a person |
|---|---|
| Classic | $310 a person |
| Splurge | $620 a person |
A day of food, drink, sights and getting around, before the room
What to book ahead
- Palm Springs Aerial Tramway: a few days ahead
- Mid-Century Modern Architecture Tour: a few days ahead
- Agua Caliente Cultural Plaza: a few days ahead
- The Purple Room Supper Club: a few days ahead
- Indian Canyons Golf Resort: weeks ahead
- Desert Willow Golf Resort: weeks ahead
- Escena Golf Club: weeks ahead
- Desert Adventures Red Jeep Tours: a few days ahead
- Book hotels first, then Bar Cecil at its 14 day drop, then Workshop and Tac/Quila.
- Book Tram tickets for weekends, plus Joshua Tree and fault tours, Surf Club surf slots and the Spa at Sec-he.
- Cheeky's, Tyler's and Gabino's do not take normal bookings, so plan waits and go early or on weekdays.
- Golf at Indian Canyons and Desert Willow in February to April needs the full advance window.
Is Palm Springs safe?
- The desert is the main risk: sunrise starts, over a litre of water per hike, a hat, and no canyon hikes above 100F.
- Property crime is the visitor pattern, with trailhead and garage car break ins. Use the hotel safe and lock cars with nothing visible.
- Nightlife on Arenas Road and downtown is busy and lit in season. Use rideshare rather than walking dark residential streets late.
- Check your government's current travel advice before you go.
Palm Springs travel tips: tourist traps to skip
- Peak resort prices for a Saguaro or Ace pool party you did not want if sleep matters.
- Big loud tourist patios on Palm Canyon near the Marilyn statue that live on location.
- Midday celebrity homes bus tours, since the houses sit behind hedges and a guided architecture tour teaches more.
- Joshua Tree as a casual afternoon add on, since it is a full day with no services.
- Unlicensed vacation rentals, which can be shut down mid trip. Ask for the city permit number before paying.
Getting around Palm Springs: public transport and more
- Palm Springs airport is 10 minutes from downtown. Los Angeles is about 2 hours east on I-10.
- Based downtown, Tennis Club or Uptown you can walk, use hotel bikes, rideshare and the free BUZZ trolley.
- You need a car or tours for Indian Canyons, Joshua Tree, Palm Desert and golf.
Who Palm Springs suits
| Solo travellers | Good |
|---|---|
| Groups of friends | Great |
| Couples | Great |
| Bachelor parties | Good |
| Families | Good |
| Bachelorette parties | Great |
Make Palm Springs your trip
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