learn about:
our top 10 things to do
1. Visit the Indian Canyons
The Indian Canyons are each worth the effort and the secret is they really aren't a huge effort all.
Plus you can drive onto the Agua Caliente Indian Reservation in just five minutes from the TPAH (for the Indian Canyons, made up of Andreas, Murray and Palm Canyons) or park next to Tahquitz Canyon in about the same time.
The tribe have published Preserving the Past to explain more about their efforts to conserve both the canyon's natural and cultural importance.
For more on the Agua Caliente tribe you can also read their twice yearly tribal magazine Me-Yah-Whae (which is "greeting" in Cahuilla).
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2. Go crazy over mid-mod
Palm Springs is a mecca for mid-century modern everything. We're talking architecture, fashion, design, art, illustration, brickwork, the list goes on. it is literally everywhere you look and it's so ubiquitous it often just seep into the background but when you refocus you can understand how beautiful a contribution the mid-century modern movement made to our culture. A great overview of it's evolution in the desert can be read here.
One of the best ways to take it in is via a self guided tour. The walking tour put together by Visit Palm Springs is top notch. For more self-guided tours and just a whole bunch of information you can count on you can also check out the Palms Springs Historical Society generally and of course their walking tours as well.
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One other option here is to download the PS Modern app. It has over 80 guided tours, videos inside key properties, 200+ contemporary images and historic images. It's available for iOS and Android devices (although note it costs $4.99).
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But don't stop there - go and shop the look too. Whether its preloved from Revivals or heaps of fun from our favorite PS HomeBoys, there's a lot to keep you shopping.
And don’t forget a stop at the Palm Springs Art Museum Architecture and Design Center
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3. Visit Joshua
Tree National Park
You have to be fascinated by an place that sends out subscriber emails that alert you to a "Temporary Closure for Nesting Raptors", right? Well that's Joshua Tree National Park (JTNP) for you. And we love it up there - and on what street again is the TPAH located? Yep, JT Place.
So get in that rental (perhaps cool it down first) and head up to the unique, spiritual magic of JTNP. It's the only national park open 24/7/365.
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We like to drive into the park from the much quieter southern entry at the Cottonwood Visitor Centre and effectively do a big loop all the way back to Palm Springs (see this map). Also, no matter which way you go you have to see the otherworldly Cholla Cactus Garden, it looks like something out of a Star Trek movie (it's also featured in the stunning photo at the very top of this page).
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4. See world class drag
A recent edition of Palm Springs Life magazine, had an incredible feature on the past, present and future of drag culture in Palm Springs. It was such good social journalism. You can read it here.
As the sub-headline said, and we agree 10,000 percent, "in the desert, the art of drag is here to stay — and slay." And slay it certainly does.
PS Drag Brunch is literally a three-minute drive from the TPAH at The Saguaro. A bit further afield up in North Palm Springs is Toucans, a tiki-inspired drag hot spot, and keep an eye on the calendar at Reforma, a great new venue where Flipphone productions is getting very good reviews for their pop-inspired brunches.
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5. Get wet, dry off, repeat
We just love swimming, and we hope you do too.
We love the pool and spa right here at the TPAH and, frankly,
we rarely leave it when in PS.
That said when we do, the city and the wider valley offers up so
many cool aquatic options. To give you a sense of how eclectic your options
can be, here's four of our favorites.
We love the spring waters on a day pass at Azure Palm Hot Springs in Desert Hot Springs, we love eating next to the pool at Azucar in La Serena Villas in downtown Palm Springs (ask for a poolside table when you book and sneak a cocktail upstairs at Sugar High, which is also made for Instagram pics!), we love swimming in the waterfall at the end of Tahquitz Canyon hike and we love renting
this hot tub with a view like no other.
#splash
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6. Remember, love wins
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Palm Springs is a mecca for the LGBTQ+ community, whether you call it home or you're a very welcome visitor. Here, please remember, love wins.
So camp it up, get out your leathers, put on that little whatever-damn-color-you-love-you-in dress and hit the town. There's so many options ranging from bars, clubs and major events, to pool parties, gay resorts (clothes or no clothes, clutch the pearls), hiking clubs, social groups, and the list is pretty much endless.
Bringing some order to this colorful chaos so that visitors can partake is quite a challenge but we'd point you to one (or both) of two sources we rely on.
K-GAY 106.5 is the Coachella Valley's very own gay radio station. You can listen live online as you tap into their weekly 'Gay Desert Guide'. They also publish the useful gay visitor map of town you will see about but can actually access online here.
We also recommend the effort of Visit Greater Palm Springs and its LGBTQ+ website
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7. It's happy hour somewhere, huneeee!
We love a tipple, especially on vacay (and of course we've not yet found a decent bar in PS that didn't also cater pretty well with non-alcohol options, so inclusive is the name of the game when we cocktail).
We could list a dozen bars here but it's been done for us, many times over, so we're going to point you to the best best-of lists and go and have a drink...
The Alchemist Magazine dedicated a whole edition to Coachella Valley bars, check it out.
Palms Springs Life Magazine is literally biblical in the scale and detail it affords to documenting best-of's when it comes to drinks with their Best Bars in Greater PS, through to Best Happy Hour, and any number of other drinks-focused pieces (think Four Restaurant Quality PS Cocktails to make at home)
We know we said we'd leave it to others but we can't help but make sure you know that three of the hottest cocktail bars in town are right here in South PS and super close to the TPAH (under five minutes Uber/Lyft) - Del Rey at Villa Royale, Bar Cecil and Seymour's at Mr Lyons. Check them out, you won't be sorry (just tipsy).
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8. If you can, go to Coachella, it's totally worth it
The Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival, really known the world over simply as Coachella, began in 1999 as a two-day event at the Empire Polo Club in Indio, California. Interestingly, the location was selected after it hosted a massive Pearl Jam concert in 1993 when PJ was fighting Ticketmaster over outrageous booking fees at LA venues (so some things clearly never change).
The first festival featured alternative and punk rock bands, including headliners Beck and Rage Against the Machine, and attracted over 25,000 people but it lost the organizers a ton of money and nearly ended then and there. In fact, no 2000 edition took place, but thankfully in 2001 it came back as a one-day event and has since injected itself into the cultural zeitgeist year after year. And don't forget it's not all about Beyonce, its a major art event too. 2024 featured Dancing in The Sky by Morag Myerscough and Babylon by Nebbia Works. The astronaut pictured here was called Escape Velocity by Poetic Kinetics.
Some people love to hate on the event or those who attend but not here at the TPAH - if we’re in California in April we’ll be there. And once you go you’ll appreciate what we're raving on about. It's not the cheapest thing to do and it takes a bit of organization but trust us when we say if you're here at the TPAH for Coachella, great choices all round. If you’re not, you should give some serious thought to coming back and experiencing it.
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9. Take the tram to another world
On the Palm Springs Aerial Tramway you can get from the steaming hot desert floor to an amazing summit of temperate forest with matching cool temperatures in a matter of minutes.
On the trip up you ascend two and a half miles to the peak at 8,516 feet and you do so in what is the largest rotating tram car on the planet. It really is surreal how different it suddenly becomes as you pile out into the forest after just being in a pool in the desert below!
You'd most likely have passed the entrance to the Tramway on your way into town if you came from Los Angeles but it is about a 10-minute drive from the TPAH.
You can try and buy tickets in advance online but note that most tickets aren’t sold that way and if it shows your preferred time as sold out it almost certainly isn’t so just go along and they’ll sort you out.
Check the schedule online for seasonal changes but the first tram up on weekdays is usually 10.00am and its 8.00am on weekends/holidays. The last down is usually 9.30pm except Friday/Saturday which is 10.30pm. Don’t miss it, it’s one hell of a walk home otherwise…
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10. Celebrate indigenous cultural revival
After a very long construction period impacted heavily by the pandemic, the brand new Agua Caliente Cultural Center opened to much local anticipation in 2024. And the wait was worth it because the center has turned out to be a beautiful example of the revival of local indigenous culture and something that many Native and non-Native Palm Springs residents are particularly proud of.
The Museum, which is a formal affiliate of the Smithsonian, has a permanent collection made up of five exhibits covering the journey of these First People’s starting with Home, then Creation and Migration, then the Land, followed by Change, Adaptation and Self-Determination and concluding with the Future. All five hit the mark well. There are also additional temporary exhibits and finally the beautiful Oasis Trail, a permanent outdoor exhibition located in the middle of the Agua Caliente Cultural Plaza, that includes native plants, rock formations, and water features inspired by those found in the Agua Caliente Indian Canyons and Tahquitz Canyon.
You can buy tickets online or in person and there’s plenty of parking at the Museum, which is approximately a 10-minute drive from the TPAH.
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11. Visit Sunnylands
The first thing to note is that Sunnylands is it is simply stunning. We often go to the gardens there just to sit and reflect and reground.
The second thing to note is that sadly, it is not open all year round, going on a “summer hiatus” between early June and mid-September each year (check website for specific dates).
So if you're at the TPAH during these summer months unfortunately this one won't be on your list. If you're here during the rest of the year we highly recommend having it on your to-do itinerary.
So what is Sunnylands? Originally it was the 200-acre private winter estate of the Annenberg family, whose money primarily came from founding and later selling TV Guide magazine (and who went on to donate over $3 billion to a range of philanthropic causes!). Over time the property fully passed into ownership by a trust that formalised what it had largely already become, “a place of tranquility and hospitality where national and international leaders convene to promote world peace and facilitate international agreement”. Informally the property is also always made available to sitting US Presidents for affairs of state and has been regularly used in this way most recently by President Obama when hosting Chinese President Xi.
To visit the main home you need to buy tickets, which go on sale the month before the ticketed time. If that doesn't work, it’s absolutely worth visiting for the truly immaculate desert gardens and visitor centre which are free and host great exhibitions when open.
