A first-time guide to Palm Springs

Palm Springs is hot. It’s having its moment in the sun. It’s basking in its own glow. And that’s not even mentioning this desert city’s endless sunshine. 

As the anchor of the Coachella Valley, about a two-hour drive east of Los Angeles, Palm Springs has been both a hideaway and a playground for generations of Southern Californians, from hikers to Hollywood types. But in recent years, it’s taken on an international reputation of being cool for everybody, thanks to its defining mid-century modern architecture and design, thoroughly 21^st century hotels and restaurants, an active arts community and a second-to-none LGBTQIA+ scene. And as more and more visitors come to frolic, the restaurant quality has risen to the occasion (oh, and there’s that little music festival called Coachella, down valley in the city of Indio). 

Through it all, nature always brings its best, making Palm Springs a mecca for outdoor activities from hiking to tennis, pickleball to golf - and, yes, lounging by the pool. And those springs that lent the city its name? They still bubble, creating oases above ground and spas to soothe body and soul – plus inspiring frothy cocktails to keep the energy going well into the night. 

All of which is by way of saying that for a city of its size, about 45,000 people, it’s pretty hard to beat. 

When should I go to Palm Springs?

During high season (approximately October to April), temperatures are about perfect. Crystal-clear, cool mornings transition into warm, sunny afternoons and stunning sunsets. The occasional winter rains help turn the hillsides a lush green and allow wildflowers to burst with color. Although Palm Springs has recently become ever more of a year-round destination, you can expect serious heat by May, and between June and September high temperatures top 100℉ (38℃) pretty much daily. In July and August, highs reach 108℉ (42℃), with occasional spikes higher. “Yeah, but it’s a dry heat,” they say. We say that when it’s that hot, you’ll want to spend the daylight hours indoors – or in the pool slathered with waterproof sunscreen.

How much time should I spend in Palm Springs?

Some destinations may be “seen it, go home” for you, but for Palm Springs allow an extra day or two just to relax into the slower pace. After a couple days, you may begin to recognize folks – the guy in the line for your morning coffee, the couple from the hiking trail, the folks next to you at the bar – and, presto, you have a community. Some visitors stay for days, others for a month – or the entire tourist season. 

Is it easy to get to and around Palm Springs?

Palm Springs is mad for mid-century modern architecture, and its airport (PSP), by noted local architect Donald Wexler, makes for a grand entrance. Until fairly recently, it was served by mostly short-hop flights from LA, San Francisco, Phoenix and Denver, but nowadays, you’ll find nonstops from airline hubs all across the U.S. and Canada. 

Alternatively, traffic jams permitting, Palm Springs is a two-hour drive from LA or San Diego, making it an easy stopover on a California road trip. 

Once you’ve arrived, most people get around by car, whether their own, a rental (most agencies have a presence at the airport), or taxi or ride-share. There are buses, but the “last-mile” problem is real here. However, rental bicycles and e-bikes are widely available and make sense in this mostly flat (though somewhat spread out) city. 

Top things to do in Palm Springs

Architecture and design

Palm Springs is one of the world’s top destinations for architecture buffs, thanks to mid-century modernism, which pretty much defines the city’s look: clean, minimalist lines, cantilevered, v-shaped roofs, clerestory windows, sliding glass doors and breeze blocks were all designed to blur indoors and out in the desert climate. From the 1950s through the 1970s, architects including Albert Frey, A. Quincy Jones, William Krisel, John Lautner, Richard Neutra and Donald Wexler were household names here, the way sports stars might be elsewhere.

Nature…

Many visitors are happy to just relax by the pool with a book, a cocktail, a friend, or all three, but if you’re up for a more active vacay, Palm Springs has you covered. Flanking the city’s west side and cradling its south side, the San Jacinto Mountains provide seemingly endless choices for hiking. The gorgeously rugged Indian Canyons and Tahquitz Canyon, the ancestral home of the local Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians, are worth the price of admission; the trails are dotted with streams and honest-to-goodness oases. There are also numerous municipal trails, accessible for free. Amid flora of cacti, mesquite, creosote and wildflowers, you may come face to face with bighorn sheep – they’ll be mellow around you if you are around them. 

On the outskirts of town, the 2.5-mile (4km) Palm Springs Aerial Tramway whisks you from the desert floor to 8,516 ft (2,596m) in elevation in 10 minutes – the temperature drops around 40℉ (20℃), so bring warm clothing in winter, or find relief from scorching heat in summer. 

For more traditional sports, there are dozens of opportunities for golf, tennis and pickleball all over town. 

…and nurture

If you prefer your nature of the more pampering kind, spend a day at the Spa at Séc-he. The natural hot spring that gives the city its name has for millennia soothed the Agua Caliente, whom own the spa. It was named one of the nation’s top spas following a recent renovation. After “taking the waters” in a private, bubbling mineral bath, choose from an extensive menu of other therapies for mind, body and soul: salt cave, floatation tank, zero-gravity chair, cryotherapy, or treatments from facials to hot-stone massage. And of course, there’s a swimming pool.  

Or culture

The Palm Springs Art Museum bills itself as the Coachella Valley’s largest cultural institution; its collection includes works by the likes of Alexander Calder, Louise Bourgeois and Mark Bradford, plus extensive collections of photography, sculpture, and West Coast, contemporary Native American and queer artists. Elsewhere in town, the museum maintains meticulously preserved mid-century modern homes and the Architecture and Design Center. 

The newly renovated Agua Caliente Cultural Museum, next to the spa, presents a comprehensive yet accessible overview of the Native American peoples of the Coachella Valley. Desert X, the biennial exhibition of provocative installation art across the Valley, is set to return from March 8 to May 11, 2025. Or if aircraft are your idea of “high” culture, get up close and personal with puddle jumpers to fighter jets at the Palm Springs Air Museum.  

And all that style

Inspired to acquire that Palm Springs look? Head for the Uptown Design District. Interior specialists like Modern Way and Bon Vivant supply designers and ordinary folk alike. The Shag Store is the gallery of the city’s unofficial artist of record, Shag (a.k.a. Josh Agle), whose angular lines and saturated colors define local style. For fierce, groovylicious wearable art, Trina Turk and her adjacent men’s shop, Mr. Turk, set the standard. 

Further down Palm Canyon Drive, amid the international chain and souvenir shops of the town center, Destination PSP stands out for its custom-designed clothing, housewares and gift items oozing local style. Every Thursday evening, this section of Palm Canyon turns into Villagefest, a lively street market served by a bevy of local vendors and organizations. 

And if outlet shopping is more your speed, there’s a pair of outlet malls in Cabazon, about 10 miles out of town, with about 200 choices from home goods to fashion and athletic wear. 

My favorite thing to do in Palm Springs

First, coffee. Either at home or at Koffi near me. Then, I’ll grab a friend to hit a hiking trail before the daytime heat kicks. If it’s not a working holiday, Farm and Escena Grill are two of my favorites for lunch with friends, maybe following up with a stroll down Palm Canyon Drive to window shop for cool designs. 

By late afternoon, the moment the sun slips behind the mountain, my neighbors all come out to hang out by the pool (there may be a cocktail or two involved), followed by dinner at Mr. Lyons or El Marisol and, if I’m feeling it, a nightcap at one of the clubs on Arenas Rd. 

How much money do I need for Palm Springs?

Palm Springs has something to suit practically every pocketbook. Budget travelers will find a range of motels and vacation rentals to choose from, and Palm Springs has its share of chain and casual restaurants to keep costs low. If money is no object, you’ll be spoiled for choice. 

• Room for two in mid-century modern hotel: from $229

• Iced latte at Koffi: $5.95

• Cocktail: $15

• Main dish at casual Mexican restaurant: $22

• Dinner and a drink for two at an upscale restaurant: $120

What to pack for a trip to Palm Springs

Sunscreen, a hat and a refillable water bottle! Even when it’s not especially hot, the sun is strong, and you won’t want to be without them. Other than that, the desert wardrobe is what you make it. Palm Springs is that fairytale place where you can get away with colors that might raise an eyebrow back home: yellows, oranges, turquoises and sages are drawn from the landscape. Shorts and neat sandals are fine most of the year, although you should include a couple “dress to impress” outfits for a fancy night out – and a jacket or wrap since winter temperatures can drop significantly. And if you’re planning to get out into that landscape, pack hiking shoes – you don’t want to scuff your tennies or twist an ankle. 

The best day trip from Palm Springs

About an hour’s drive east of Palm Springs, Joshua Tree National Park is actually two deserts in one place. Where the Mojave and Colorado deserts meet, each brings its own unique flowers, cacti and animals. The namesake Joshua Tree is actually in the yucca family, its outstretched limbs said to represent the prophet Joshua pointing the way through the desert. Here, it indicates countless routes for daytime hikers and climbers (such as the Joshua tree forest of Black Rock Canyon, the oasis of Cottonwood Springs, or the panoramas of Keys View) or camp overnight and contemplate the infinite over some of California’s greatest stargazing.