Palm Springs & Joshua Tree

California's desert resort oasis, with midcentury modern architecture and a tramway up the mountain, near the boulders and starry skies of Joshua Tree National Park.

Palm Springs lies on the western edge of Southern California's Coachella Valley, backed by the 3,300 m (10,800 ft) San Jacinto Mountains, about 175 km (110 mi) from Los Angeles. Since the 1930s it has been a desert getaway for Hollywood stars, and it's known for midcentury modern architecture, pool hotels and golf courses. In town, the action centers on Palm Canyon Drive, the art museum and the Aerial Tramway; south of town, Indian Canyons and Tahquitz Canyon are palm oases of the Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians. To the east are the valley towns of Rancho Mirage, Palm Desert and Indio, with Sunnylands, The Living Desert Zoo and date farms; the Coachella festival is held in Indio every April. About an hour's drive north is Joshua Tree National Park, with its Joshua tree forests, Skull Rock, Keys View and the Cholla Cactus Garden, while towns on its north side offer quirky sights like Pioneertown and the Integratron. Further afield are the Salton Sea and Salvation Mountain. The best season is October–April, with desert wildflowers peaking in March; from June to September daytime temperatures often top 40°C (104°F), so outdoor activities are best in the early morning. Getting there: Palm Springs International Airport has many domestic routes, and you'll need a car to get around. Allow 3–4 days.

Top sights

• Palm Springs Aerial Tramway – The world's largest rotating aerial tramway: in about 10 minutes it climbs roughly 1,800 metres from the desert to the pine forests of Moun…
• Joshua Tree National Park – A national park where the Mojave and Colorado deserts meet, famous for its Joshua tree forests and granite boulder piles.
• Skull Rock – Joshua Tree's most photogenic boulder: two weathered hollows look like the eye sockets of a skull, right beside Park Boulevard.
• Cholla Cactus Garden – Clusters of teddy-bear cholla cacti glow gold in the desert, with a loop of about 400 metres of wooden boardwalk.
• Mount San Jacinto State Park – Alpine wilderness beyond the tramway's mountain station, with pine-forest and meadow trails leading toward San Jacinto Peak at 3,302 m.
• Keys View – A viewpoint at about 1,580 m overlooking the Coachella Valley, the Salton Sea, and the San Andreas Fault.
• Hidden Valley – A valley surrounded by boulders, said to have been a hideout for cattle rustlers. A 1.6 km loop trail passes Joshua trees and climbers.
• Barker Dam – A small dam built by an early rancher. After rain it forms a pond in the desert, and rock art lies along the trail.
• Arch Rock – A natural stone arch about 9 m wide beside White Tank Campground, a classic foreground for photographing the Milky Way and star trails.
• Ryan Mountain – The park's most popular summit trail, about 4.8 km round trip, with 360-degree views of boulders and Joshua tree forest from the top.
• Indian Canyons – Canyons within the Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians reservation, home to the largest California fan palm oasis in North America.
• Tahquitz Canyon – A tribal canyon on the edge of town, with an approximately 3 km loop trail leading to a seasonal 18 m waterfall.
• Palm Springs Art Museum – A downtown art and architecture museum with collections of modern and contemporary art and glass art, plus archives of Mid-Century Modern a…
• Palm Canyon Drive (Downtown Palm Springs) – Palm Springs' main street, lined with boutiques, vintage furniture shops, restaurants, and bars. A village market is held on Thursday eveni…
• Moorten Botanical Garden – A family-run desert botanical garden founded in 1938, housing about 3,000 cacti and succulents and claiming to be the world's first 'cactar…
• The Living Desert Zoo and Gardens – A desert-themed zoo in Palm Desert with animals from North American and African deserts, including giraffe feeding and a rhino conservation…
• Sunnylands – The Mid-Century Modern estate of the Annenberg family, which has hosted several US presidents and foreign leaders. It features free desert…
• Agua Caliente Cultural Plaza & Museum – A new cultural complex in downtown run by the Cahuilla Agua Caliente people, made up of a museum, a hot spring spa, and oasis trails.
• Palm Springs Air Museum – An aviation museum beside the airport with dozens of flyable WWII and Cold War aircraft. Visitors can board planes or book an experience fl…
• Palm Springs Visitor Center (Tramway Gas Station) – A visitor center converted from a Mid-Century Modern gas station. Its tilted, winged roof marks the starting point of Palm Springs' archite…
• Kaufmann Desert House – A desert modernist house designed by Richard Neutra in 1946, regarded as a masterpiece of California Mid-Century Modern architecture.
• Cabazon Dinosaurs – Giant dinosaur sculptures beside Interstate 10. The roadside attraction became famous after appearing in the film Pee-wee's Big Adventure.
• Pioneertown – A town built in 1946 as a living set for Western films, with its wooden-storefront streets still preserved. Pappy & Harriet's bar hosts liv…
• Integratron – A white wooden domed building in the desert known for its sound bath experience, where the perfect acoustics let crystal singing bowl tones…
• Noah Purifoy Outdoor Desert Art Museum – A large installation art park in the desert, created by an artist from discarded materials. It covers about 4 hectares and is free to enter.
• Salvation Mountain – A colorful “Salvation Mountain” rising from the desert on the east shore of the Salton Sea, built by one old man from adobe clay and tens o…
• Salton Sea & Bombay Beach – The desolate shoreline of California’s largest lake, where the half-abandoned town of Bombay Beach is filled with art installations and an…
• Shields Date Garden – A date garden open since 1924, famous for its date shakes, with a date palm grove walk and a sculpture garden of religious scenes.
• San Gorgonio Pass Wind Farm – The windswept pass you must cross to enter Palm Springs, where thousands of wind turbines dot the valley, a landscape often used as a symbo…
• Desert Hills Premium Outlets – A large open-air outlet mall beside Interstate 10 with about 180 brands, a classic shopping stop between Los Angeles and Palm Springs.

Where to eat

• Cheeky's – A highly popular, Michelin-selected brunch spot with a weekly rotating menu, most famous for its bacon flight.
• Pappy & Harriet's Pioneertown Palace – A legendary country saloon in Pioneertown, combining smoked BBQ with live music, making it an iconic high desert destin…
• Workshop Kitchen + Bar – A Michelin-selected seasonal Californian restaurant, famous for its wood-fired cooking and craft cocktails, perfect for…
• Tyler's Burgers – A small, long-standing burger joint in La Plaza, serving freshly ground beef on daily delivered buns, with frequent lun…
• Sherman's Deli & Bakery – A Palm Springs landmark founded in 1953, serving New York-style deli sandwiches and freshly baked cakes.
• La Copine – One of the most acclaimed eateries in the high desert, blending French and Californian flavors with a seasonally rotati…

Itineraries

• Southern California Coast & Desert Loop – From Los Angeles to San Diego, then to Palm Springs and Joshua Tree, split evenly between beaches and deserts