Palm Springs is a resort city in the California desert. It became a destination during the 1950s and 1960s when Hollywood movie stars flocked there in droves. Nowadays, the area is filled with golf courses, swimming pools and fantastic mid-century architecture. The town is also very popular with the gay and naturist communities. Spring is one of the busiest times and sees lots of tourists and college students, resulting in booked up hotels, so reserve early.
Arriving in Palm Springs
By air
Palm Springs International Airport (IATA: PSP). Located right in the heart of Palm Springs. Scheduled daily flight connections with major cities throughout the United States and Canada. Served by Air Canada, Westjet and all major US airlines except Southwest.
LA/Ontario International Airport in Ontario, about 70 miles to the west of Palm Springs, has many more flight connections and is the closest airport served by Southwest Airlines.
By car
From Los Angeles, take Interstate 10 East towards Phoenix. Palm Springs is about a two hour drive if there is not much traffic. Beware, weekend getaway traffic can be very heavy.
By train
Amtrak Station, 300 North Indian Canyon Drive (.6 mi south of Interstate 10), 1-800-USA-RAIL (872-7245), [web]. Amtrak's Sunset Limited route connects Palm Springs with Los Angeles and with Arizona and points eastward with three westbound and three eastbound trains per week (arriving Wednesday, Friday, and Sunday). Amtrak also provides Palm Springs with connections to and from the San Joaquins trains, which run up California's Central Valley to the Bay Area and Sacramento, via multiple daily Amtrak Thruway motorcoach runs to and from Bakersfield. Be aware that there are no rental car agencies that provide shuttles to the Amtrak station in Palm Springs and there is no public transportation available there. The "station" is really just an open platform without any building. Taxis from the Palm Springs Amtrak to the Palm Springs airport (where the rental cars are available) is about $30 (2008).
Getting Around in Palm Springs
Palm Springs very a very car-oriented city. You may have trouble getting around without one. You can rent a car, or if you want to splurge, numerous limousine services are available, including West Coast Transportation, Cardiff Limousine and A-1 Sahara Limo.
The main drags are Highway 111 and S. Palm Canyon Drive. Highway 111 runs east-west along the mountain side and connects all the cities in the Palm Springs area. This road has lights and lots of traffic, so if you are going far, you should drive out and hop on Interstate 10. S. Palm Drive is always busy and is hard to find a parking place on the weekends and at night. You should try to park on one of the side roads if possible. Most of the major car rental companies are represented at the airport.
Bus transport is provided by Sun Bus, +1-800-347-8628, with routes around the town and to some neighboring resort cities.
Tourist Attractions in Palm Springs
The Indian Canyons. Tahquitz Canyon, Palm Canyon, Andreas Canyon and Murray Canyon, were sacred Native sites, now open to the public for hiking.
Joshua Tree National Park. This desert park is a great day trip to take while at Palm Springs. You can get there in less than an hour by going north on route 62. Take a minimum of four hours to do the loop from the north through the south of the park. Camping is allowed as well as rock climbing.
Idyllwild is a mountain resort approximately 45 minutes drive away on the beautiful Palms to Pines highway. It can also be reached by a scenic 10 mile hike from the top of the Palm Springs Tramway.
Shopping in Palm Springs
Art. Palm Springs has more than a dozen art galleries featuring local artists and desert themes.
Tylers Burgers, 149 South Indian Canyon Dr. This small hamburger joint, famous for their sliders, has the best hamburgers in all of Palm Springs. Only open for lunch. Be sure to get there early or be prepared to wait because this is where all the locals eat.
Kaiser Grille, 205 S. Palm Canyon Dr, 760 323-1003. Good American food right in the middle of downtown Palm Springs.
The Chop House, 262 S. Palm Canyon Dr, 760 320-4500. Steakhouse along the main drag of Palm Springs.
Le Vallauris, 385 W. Tahquitz Canyon Way, 760 325-5059,. Expensive, but good french food off of S. Palm Canyon Drive.
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