Palm Springs
 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.
Excellent shopping facilities are one of the Palm Springs’ greatest
assets. Shops in the Desert Fashion Plaza equal those of Rodeo Drive in
Beverly Hills. The Courtyard's many boutiques also provide a
high-fashion image. In addition, 21 excellent art galleries, 12 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.
Palm Springs lives up to its reputation as a European style resort in an
American setting. There are no billboards or “strip malls.” All of the
cities in the valley have instituted master plans designed to control
growth and to protect the environment. Densities have been cut back;
buildings are limited to six stories with proper set backs; hillside
projects are limited and open space ordinances have been put into
effect. These measures assure that the continuing growth of the valley
will not diminish its gentility, refinement, and natural attributes.
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.
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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