Palm Springs is two hours east of Los Angeles in the middle of a desert, and for about forty years it was where Hollywood went to disappear for the weekend.
Then it got old and unfashionable, and then in the 2000s everyone rediscovered the architecture and it got extremely fashionable again.
What’s left is a small desert city of 45,000 people with better mid-century buildings than anywhere on earth, mountains going up 3,000 metres behind it, and about 350 days of sun. Here’s what to do.
1. Look at the Houses
This is genuinely the main event and it’s free.
Palm Springs has the densest concentration of mid-century modern architecture anywhere: flat roofs, butterfly rooflines, breeze blocks, floor-to-ceiling glass, all built between about 1945 and 1970 by architects like Neutra, Lautner, Frey and Wexler.
Drive or cycle the Vista Las Palmas and Twin Palms neighbourhoods and just look. Frank Sinatra’s Twin Palms house is here, and Elvis’s honeymoon hideaway.
Modernism Week in February is the big event, with house tours you can only get inside on. There’s a smaller version in October.
2. Take the Tramway Up the Mountain
The Palm Springs Aerial Tramway climbs from the desert floor at 800 feet to 8,516 feet in about ten minutes, in a cable car that rotates as it goes.
At the top you’re in alpine forest. In winter there’s snow. The temperature drops around 20 degrees Celsius from bottom to top, which in August is the single best value in California.
There are 50 miles of hiking trails up there, and a restaurant, and views across the entire Coachella Valley.
Bring a jacket. People arrive in shorts and flip flops and immediately regret it.
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3. Do Nothing by a Pool
I know this sounds like a non-activity. It is the correct Palm Springs activity.
The entire town is built around pools and shade and drinks, and the hotels here take it seriously in a way that feels like a design exercise. Many run day passes if you’re not staying.
The Ace, the Parker, the Saguaro. Each has a different flavour and each is a legitimate afternoon.
The sun here is fierce and dry. Between 11 and 4 in summer, being indoors or in water isn’t laziness, it’s sense.
4. Walk the Indian Canyons
On Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians land just south of town, and the best hiking within fifteen minutes of the centre.
Palm Canyon has the largest natural California fan palm oasis in the world, a green strip of palms and a stream running through a bare rocky canyon. It’s genuinely surreal.
Andreas Canyon is shorter and easier, about a mile loop. Tahquitz Canyon has a 60 foot waterfall at the end of a two mile round trip.
Small entry fee, and it goes to the tribe. Closed in the hottest part of summer on some days.
5. Day Trip to Joshua Tree
An hour north east and one of the strangest landscapes in America. Joshua trees, which are not trees but a kind of yucca, scattered across a plain of piled granite boulders.
Hidden Valley is a one mile loop through a rock enclosure. Keys View at sunset looks across the San Andreas Fault to the Salton Sea. Cholla Cactus Garden glows at golden hour.
The night skies are among the darkest in southern California and the stargazing is exceptional.
Go early or late. Midday in summer here is genuinely dangerous heat with no shade.
6. The Windmills
Coming in from LA you pass through the San Gorgonio Pass and thousands of wind turbines standing across the desert.
It sounds like an odd recommendation. It’s a strangely beautiful thing to drive through, and there are tours that take you right up to the base of one.
The pass funnels wind between two mountain ranges, which is also why Palm Springs is so much windier than you’d expect for a desert.
7. Eat and Drink Downtown
Palm Canyon Drive is the main strip. It’s touristy and it’s also where everything is.
VillageFest on Thursday evenings closes the street for a market with food stalls, art and music. It’s been running since 1991 and it’s the best night to be in town.
Date shakes are the local speciality, from the date palms grown in the valley. It sounds odd and it’s excellent.
Palm Springs has been a gay resort town since the 1960s and the scene downtown is a big part of the city’s character.
8. Salvation Mountain and the Salton Sea
An hour south east and this is the strange one.
Salvation Mountain is a hillside covered in half a million gallons of paint by one man over thirty years, covered in religious messages and flowers. It’s genuinely moving in person.
Nearby, the Salton Sea is an accidental lake created by a canal breach in 1905, once a resort, now a shrinking salt lake with abandoned towns around it. Bombay Beach is a semi-ghost town that’s become an art project.
It’s bleak and fascinating and completely unlike the rest of the trip :/
When to Go
November through April. That’s the season, and prices reflect it, particularly January to March.
Summer regularly passes 43 degrees Celsius. Hotels drop their rates by more than half, and if you’re happy to be in a pool from 10am to 6pm it’s genuinely good value.
Avoid the two Coachella weekends in April and the Stagecoach weekend after unless you’re going, because every room in the valley is taken and priced accordingly.
Common Questions
How many days do you need in Palm Springs? Three is right. Two for the town and pools, one for Joshua Tree.
Do I need a car? Yes. Downtown is walkable but the canyons, Joshua Tree and the architecture neighbourhoods all need one.
Is Palm Springs expensive? In winter, yes, comparable to coastal California. In summer it’s one of the best value destinations in the state.
Is it worth visiting in summer? If you plan around the heat and want a cheap pool holiday, genuinely yes. For hiking or sightseeing, no.
Can I do Joshua Tree as a day trip? Easily. It’s about an hour to the west entrance and half a day covers the highlights.
