Palm Desert is not just for the rich and famous. Here's where to visit
Approaching the Palm Springs area on Interstate 10 from Los Angeles, you can’t miss the sprawling San Gorgonio Pass Wind-farm, with 4,000 huge wind turbines harnessing 650 Megawatts, enough to power 200,000 California homes. The local power company offers the most interesting presentation and tour of a section of the windfarm, for those who want to be up close and personal with these several hundred-feet-tall giant windmills.
You’re quickly reminded that the Palm Springs area was the winter haven for the rich and famous, as we toured through the area on streets named after entertainers such as Dinah Shore, Frank Sinatra and Bob Hope and former presidents such as Gerald Ford and more.
We made for our condominium in Palm Desert, two towns to the east, where we had traded an unused timeshare week during the pandemic for a week in the desert. We soon doubled back to the old downtown of Palm Springs, stretching along Palm Canyon and Indian Canyon drives, offering a wealth of visitor attractions.
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These attractions range from a huge statue of Marilyn Monroe, several thousand stars in their Walk of Fame, the nearby Palm Springs Art Museum and upscale shops, galleries and restaurants galore. The Palm Springs Village Festival is staged every Thursday evening when part of Palm Drive is closed so vendors can sell handmade artworks, photography, candles and food.
The old town offers a wealth of open-air restaurants and bars that serve up delicious meals and happy hour specials (generally from 3- 6 p.m.). On another evening, we found a delightful play, Nunsensations, playing at the local civic playhouse, the Palm Canyon Theatre, making for a stylish evening.
The nearby Movie Colony neighborhood features homes of old stars like Frank Sinatra, Cary Grant, Gloria Swanson, and Jack Benny. Elvis Presley fans can track down the nearby Elvis Honeymoon Hideaway, also known as the the House of Tomorrow and take a selfie in front of this noteworthy “1960s modern” home where Elvis and Priscilla hung out in their honeymoon year of 1967.
Our Palm Desert condo was part of the rambling, lovely Marriott Shadow Ridge Resort, one of scores of similar resorts in the valley. Naturally, golfing and relaxing around the many pools are prime drivers of tourism in this desert oasis. Fortunately, plenty of hiking and biking trails lead to early day exercise options for those like us not into golf. Palm Desert also has a very upscale downtown area of 10 or so blocks, lined with shops, restaurants, galleries and spas.
Not to be missed is the Palm Springs Aerial Tramway, which climbs Mount San Jacinto west of downtown. The huge aerial tram whisks up to 80 passengers 2.5 miles in 10 minutes, rising from 2,600 feet to 8,600 feet. The tram’s floor revolves 360 degrees two times on the 10 minute tram ride, offering jaw-dropping views of the mountains left and right and places where it’s a 500 foot drop from the tram to the mountain side.
The speedy tram moves through five mountain zones, from the arid Sonoran Desert in zone one, to zone five, the Arctic/Alpine Zone above 7,500 feet, as one reaches the Mountain Station. Spreading out from the huge upper terminus is Mount San Jacinto State Park and Wilderness Area, complete with scores of miles of trails coursing through Big Cone Pine, Jeffrey Pine and White Fir forests. With an adventure center and ranger station, hikers have wonderful access to the mountain wilderness.
Be forewarned, temperatures typically drop about 25 degrees from the base terminal to the top mountain station, and two days after our adventure, it rained at lower levels and snowed above 6,000 feet. I have taken hundreds of tram and chairlift rides in my 50-year skiing life, but this tramway ride ranks right near the top (the fact the mountain station has two restaurants, two theaters and a full bar, in addition to incredible views, added to our experience).
Early one morning, we headed south to the Agua Caliente Canyon Indian Reservation and after paying a modest admission charge, made our way to the Palm Canyon Trading Post and the start of an almost two-mile hike up Palm Canyon. This cleft in the parched Sonoran Desert is studded with hundreds of California Fan Palms, the only native palm to the state, hugging the banks of a small stream that still courses with water, nourishing the palms. Surprisingly, along the trail, many places well above the creek bed were oozing with water, further irrigating these stately, hearty trees rising 80 to 90 feet above us. The trail network continues above Palm Canyon, taking one to Native American hidden petroglyphs.
Local guides also suggested visits to Tahquitz Canyon or Coachella Valley Preserve, offering cultural and geologic history and featuring species such as the fringe toed lizard and numerous bird species who make the desert home. Had we more time, we would have also visited the Palm Springs Air Museum, on the edge of the airport.
Spectacular desert destinations are just 45-75 miles away, including Joshua Tree National Park (40 miles), the Salton Sea (44 miles) and Anza Borrego State Park (75 miles). I’ll bring you more detail on our visits to these iconic places next week.
For more information: Palm Desert, discoverpalmdesert.com; Palm Springs, visitpalmsprings.com; Visit California, visitcalifornia.com.
Contact Tim Viall at tviall@msn.com. Enjoy your travels in California.