Some of My Favorite Things to Do and Recommended Places to Go in Palm Springs, California

There’s certainly no shortage of things to do in Palm Springs. I’m going to list some of my favorite things my daughter and I did while we were there, along with some of the things that came recommended by the visitor center, since I realize not everyone may be interested in the same things as I am, plus I always like to give people options.

I’m a huge fan of botanical gardens so of course one of the first things I looked up when I was planning my trip was to see if there was a botanical garden here. Indeed there is, the Moorten Botanical Gardens, which even includes a cactarium. What exactly is a cactarium, you may ask? Well, apparently it’s a word coined by the Moortens, and basically is a collection of cacti and rare plants “seen nowhere else.”

The botanical garden is on the small side, so depending on your interest in plants, you could spend anywhere from 20 minutes here to an hour, roughly. For only $5 admission, however, it’s worth every penny if you enjoy plants. I found the plants to be well-marked and the winding paths relaxing. The gardens are open every day except Wednesdays from 10 am-4 pm. http://www.moortenbotanicalgarden.com

There are several options when it comes to museums, with the Palm Springs Art Museum offering more contemporary art exhibits, and free admission on Thursdays from 5-8 pm (normally tickets are $16 for adults). Associated with the art museum are the Architecture and Design Center, Frey House II and Aluminaire House, for those interested in architecture as a form of art. Admission to the Aluminaire House is included with art museum admission but Frey House II and Architecture and Design Center tours are extra. You can find more information on all of these museums here: https://www.psmuseum.org.

I enjoyed the Agua Caliente Cultural Museum, which is a Smithsonian-affiliated museum that does a good job presenting information on the Cahulla Indians. Tickets are a reasonable $10, with many discounts available. https://www.accmuseum.org There is also the Palm Springs Air Museum, close to the airport, which I didn’t visit, since the $23 admission seemed a bit steep to me. If you’re a big airplane fan, this might be worth it to you, however. https://palmspringsairmuseum.org

Outside the Agua Caliente Cultural Center- it was relaxing with the water including a waterfall, not shown here

If you enjoy golfing, there are at least six golf courses in Palm Springs. For horseback riding, there’s Smoke Tree Stables, that offers guided horseback rides through the canyons. For pricing and availability, go here: https://www.smoketreestables.com. If you enjoy gambling, there’s the Agua Caliente Casino Palm Springs. For a private guided tour of celebrity homes in the area, you can book through here: https://www.palmspringscelebritytours.com and here: https://thebestofthebesttours.com/Rich-and-Famous-Tour/

The downtown area has many shops and restaurants, many of which would be considered touristy (and most of which are expensive imo), though it’s still worth checking out. It seemed like the drag shows with bottomless drinks and some other restaurants offering brunch were popular spots, particularly PS Drag Brunch, Pinocchio in the Desert, and Oscar’s Downtown Palm Springs. Some of my favorite restaurants in Palms Springs (not necessarily downtown) include Bread and Flours Bakery, Rick’s Restaurant and Bakery, Sherman’s Deli and Bakery (are you sensing a trend here?), Thai Smile, Nature’s Health Food and Cafe, and Rooster and the Pig (Vietnamese restaurant).

Similar to Hollywood, Palm Springs has their own walk of fame for celebrities that spent time in the city (with big gold stars and their names on the sidewalks). There are also giant statues of Marilyn Monroe and Sonny Bono. One of my favorite activities was the Palm Springs VillageFest, offered on Thursday evenings, and it includes food trucks, art displays, and other items for sale similar to a farmer’s market but with more variety. I combined this with a visit to the art museum, and it made for a nice evening in downtown.

One of my absolute favorite things to do, whether I’m traveling or at home is to go hiking, and Palm Springs has so many places to hike, it’s incredible. I’m not sure exactly how many trail heads there are in Palm Springs, but suffice to say, there are many to choose from. Some of the more popular trails include Tahquitz Canyon, North Lykken and South Lykken trails, Museum Trail, Araby Trail, just to name a few. In nearby Thousand Palms is Coachella Valley Preserve/Thousand Palms Oasis Preserve. You can also take the Palm Springs Aerial Tramway and hike the many trails at the top of the mountain (there is a fee for the tram). Finally, you can drive about an hour to Joshua Tree National Park and hike there. My post on that is here: Joshua Tree National Park.

I think that hits most of the more popular things to do in Palm Springs. If you can’t tell, I absolutely loved this part of California. The city itself is compact and easy to get around and I loved the multitude of trails. I found the people to be friendly and I never felt unsafe, whether I was running by myself, walking with my daughter at night, hiking on the trails, or anything else I did. My other post can be found here Palm Springs, California-First Impressions

Have you been to Palm Springs or do you want to go there? If you’ve been, what were some of your favorite things to do?

Happy travels!

Donna