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Palm
Springs is a resort city in the Santa Rosa Mountains, just south of Interstate
10 at the foot of 10,000-foot Mt. San Jacinto on the westernmost edge of the
Sonoran Desert. The city is named for the palm trees that line its streets and
for its natural hot springs. These features along with a warm climate,
fashionable hotels and private homes, golf courses, parks, and swimming pools,
make Palm Springs a major, upscale tourist attraction.
The entire
Coachella Valley sits atop a large underground lake. Palm Springs is one of nine
adjacent communities in the Valley, each offering a similar, yet unique,
vacation experience. Most visitors stay in country-club-type resorts that have
transformed the desert into a semitropical oasis. Recreational opportunities
include golf courses and tennis courts, as well as lavish spas and horseback
riding.
Art
galleries, antique stores, and many specialty shops line Palm
Canyon Drive. There is an abundant supply of gourmet restaurants. Many that are
less imposing offer Chinese, Japanese, Mexican, Italian, and other cuisine.
Among the
most popular attractions are the Aerial Tramway, Oasis Water Resort, Moorten
Botanical Gardens, and the spectacular Indian canyons. The Palm Springs Desert
Museum presents desert dioramas and collections of art and Native American
artifacts.
The Living
Desert Museum is an outdoor facility that has a large variety of plants and
animals native to the Palm Springs area as well as more exotic species. The Palm
Springs Aerial Museum, located at the regional airport, houses fully restored
World War II-vintage aircraft.
The
southwestern-style Mercado Plaza in downtown Palm Springs features upscale
galleries, boutiques and restaurants. Nightlife in the city includes fine dining
and an assortment of bars and nightclubs, as well as gambling at nearby Native
American-owned casinos.
Day trips
from Palm Springs offer exciting possibilities. Close to Palm Springs is the
community of Desert Hot Springs, famous for its hot-springs resorts: some the
private domain of Hollywood celebrities; others open to all.
Highway I-10 leads to the Palm
Springs Aerial Tramway which climbs 2.5 miles up the San
Jacinto Mountain Range, over Chino Canyon, providing breathtaking views from
circular cars. Once at the top, enjoy a mule ride, a hike through the wilderness
or a meal in the restaurant that overlooks the desert.
The scenic
Palms to Pines Highway 74 south from Palm Desert leads to a pine-scented
setting near Idyllwild, a popular mountain vacation area with a relaxed
lifestyle. At the southeastern edge of the Coachella Valley are the communities
of Indio, Coachella and Thermal, where the date palm gardens, tours, and
samplings are the main attractions.
While in
the Palm Springs area, consider a side trip to eastern California's Joshua Tree
National Park where the Sonoran and Mojave deserts meet. In the higher, Mojave
portion of the park, a forest of Joshua Trees and a number of unique granite
rock formations called Inselbergs can be seen. In the lower, Colorado portion,
the Pinto Basin exhibits the beautiful native plants of this hotter Sonoran
Desert. This is an area gaining international recognition for its winter-season
rock climbing. Hiking and mountain biking are other recreational possibilities,
along with back road jeep trips.
The Nature
Conservancy's Coachella Valley Preserve in Thousand Palms includes 13,000 acres
of palm oases and high desert bisected by California's San Andreas Fault. Cecil
B. DeMille filmed The King of Kings there, in and around the Thousand
Palms Oasis. Area hiking is permitted, and visitors can also experience a
covered wagon tour.
Despite the
presence of celebrities in Palm Springs and the wealth that is in evidence, the
area can also be affordable as a family destination. Many reasonably priced
accommodations can be found year-round, and those willing to visit in the summer
months can find unexpected bargains. Palm Springs is a vacation destination of
rare beauty and tranquility in any season of the year.
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