Palm Springs Aerial Tramway. The world's largest rotating tram car climbs 2.5 miles from the desert floor up to the cool pine forests of Mt. San Jacinto State Park, delivering 360-degree views and a 40-degree temperature drop in under 10 minutes. At the summit, more than 50 miles of hiking trails fan out through wilderness that feels worlds away…
Indian Canyons — Agua Caliente Nature Preserve. Three dramatic palm-studded canyons — Palm, Andreas, and Murray — cut through the ancestral homeland of the Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians, offering more than 60 miles of trails through towering native fan palms, ancient rock art, and desert streams. Admission supports the tribe that has stewarded this…
Palm Springs Art Museum. Founded in 1938, this 150,000-square-foot institution houses more than 24,000 works spanning modern and contemporary California art, Native American baskets and pottery, Mesoamerican sculpture, and fine-art photography — with pieces by Chagall, Picasso, Warhol, Ansel Adams, and Alexander Calder. The building itself,…
Mid-Century Modern Architecture & Modernism Week. Palm Springs holds one of the world's largest concentrations of preserved mid-century modern architecture, shaped by masters including Albert Frey, Richard Neutra, William Cody, and Donald Wexler. Modernism Week — held each February and again in October — brings more than 450 events: home tours, lectures, evening…
Agua Caliente Cultural Museum & Cultural Plaza. Opened in 2023 as the second-largest tribal cultural plaza in the United States, this 48,000-square-foot museum uses immersive video, 8,000-year-old artifacts, and interactive exhibits to tell the living story of the Cahuilla people. The adjacent Seché Spa draws on a 12,000-year-old hot mineral spring aquifer beneath…
Joshua Tree National Park. About 45 minutes from downtown Palm Springs, two desert ecosystems — the Mojave and the Colorado — collide across 800,000 acres of surreal boulder piles, cartoon-silhouette Joshua trees, and among the darkest night skies in Southern California. Designated an International Dark Sky Park, it rewards day hikers, rock…
Palm Springs Air Museum. Ranked by CNN as one of the world's top air museums, this collection of more than 75 flyable WWII, Korean War, and Vietnam-era aircraft sits inside climate-controlled hangars with no ropes or barriers — visitors walk right up to a B-17 Flying Fortress, P-51 Mustang, and C-47 Skytrain. Flight-experience rides in…
VillageFest — Thursday Night Street Fair. Every Thursday evening since 1991, three blocks of Palm Canyon Drive close to traffic and transform into a free open-air market with 200-plus vendors selling handmade crafts, local art, gourmet food, and live entertainment. Started when Sonny Bono was mayor, it remains the city's most beloved weekly tradition and a…