8 Best Nightlife in Palm Springs, Palm Springs and the Desert Resorts

This uptown drinking den picks up where tiki bar founding father Don the Beachcomber left off—first, by occupying its former space where Frank Sinatra guzzled navy grog by the quart and second, by delivering both classic cocktails like zombies and mai tais and fruit-forward, rum-heavy originals decorated with umbrellas, chunks of honeycomb, and flamingos. It's dark, full of kitsch (it's hard not to love the pufferfish lights), and has both late-afternoon and last-call happy hours daily. 

Going strong since 1995, with themed happenings and live entertainment or DJs most nights, this popular sports bar/nightclub/restaurant caters to a young crowd and visiting bachelor/bachelorette posses who want to dress sexy, drink seriously (and cheaply during happy hour), and play hard.

A welcoming place with botanical prints, vibrant colors, carved totems, and globe pendants, Toucans is the longtime go-to for those who love drag queens, cabaret, and festive drinks.

Events are held at the hotel's bar, pool, or restaurant nearly every night, including film screenings, full moon parties, concerts, DJ sets, and trivia/bingo nights. Many are free, most are casual, and some are even family-friendly.

Dance, drink, drag, and dine at this nightclub in a strip mall in the heart of the gay-centric Arenas Road district. By day, it's quite civilized. Socialize on the patio, share a watermelon feta salad, and play games. When the sun goes down, it's time to get down on the large dance floor to the hypnotic electronic beats of live spinners, enjoy drag performers, or marvel at the go-go dancers. Alcohol flows all day, every day no matter the theme.

A young energetic gay and straight crowd comes to this club-scene mainstay for bar grub, drag bingo, bottle service, and Speedo-sporting studs.

Uptown and next door to Bootleggers, this moody, sophisticated establishment was opened in late 2021 by the folks behind Sandfish—which accounts for the extensive collection of high-end whiskies and the Japanese-leaning snacks and sushi menu—to service serious cocktail connoisseurs. It has a New York air, with tufted banquettes, dim lights, leather-covered menus, a wraparound marble bar, and waxed-canvas-apron-clad bartenders who sometimes roll over the bar cart to muddle and shake in your personal space.

The younger sibling of L.A.'s oldest still-operating tiki bar (opened in 1958 in North Hollywood) transports guests from Palm Springs to Polynesia with groovy tunes, pupu platters, and umbrella drinks. Most of drinks, both classic and original, are powered by rum, but gin hounds, rye or dies, and vodka lovers have a few options, too. The bar is on the second floor of a building in the thick of downtown, so try to nab a table on the lanai to watch the action from above. Private parties can reserve a shagadelic room hidden behind a phone booth.