2 weeks in Palm Desert
 

My family are coming from UK to Palm Desert for 2 weeks from August 12 and are looking for great day trips. Need to be able to return to Palm Desert each evening. Any suggestions? Thanks, Andy

It's going to be very hot.....

That's right. REALLY REALLY HOT. If you want day trips of the outdoor variety you really have to do them at the crack of dawn so that you can get back to your hotel and air conditioning or the pool during the day. I'm going there next week and trying to prepare myself for the extreme daytime heat.

That's a tough one.

Big Bear is about 100 miles--into the mountains w/winding roads, taking longer than a normal 100 mile trek on a highway. That would spell RELIEF and it's beautiful.

Los Angeles is about 125 miles. Lunch in Beverly Hills?

Fallbrook and Julian are sweet towns in the mountains as well. 1.5 hrs.

Anything else in the desert area, you really don't want to out in the mid part of the day.

Assume you are at a hotel with a LARGE swimming pool. ;)

If you are looking for a mountain village, Idyllwild is much closer than Big Bear, Julian and Fallbrook. Idyllwild is less than an hour drive from Palm Desert and located on top of the San Gorgonio mountains (miles behind where the tram goes up).

The Aerial Tramway is fun though a bit scary. There are a lot of hiking trails on top of the mountain. Note of the two restaurants in the lodge on top Peaks (the sit down restaurant) is decent but Pines (the buffet) is pretty bad.
http://www.pstramway.com/

With the current exchange rate you will get a very good deal in the outlet shops in Cabazon. These are located about 10 miles northwest of Palm Springs off I-10. Next door is the Morongo Casino which has all the games that casinos in Las Vegas has.

I'm sorry, and it is probably much too late to do anything about it -- but TWO WEEKS in Palm Desert in August?! Hot does not even come close to it. It will probably be much too hot to do anything out of doors after about 10:00 a.m. Certainly not laying out by a pool or anything like that.

And there are not enought cooler destinations w/i a reasonable drive to fill two weeks. Idyllwild and the tram take care of 2 days - and then what?? You say your family - do you mean children? If so, how old? Be really careful small kids and the extreme heat.

There is a reason summer rates are so low in Palm Spgs/Palm Desert.

Don't want to rain on your plans - but we are just trying to prepare you . . . . .

Definitely shopping in Cabazon.

August can be very uncomfortable. People don't realize that there is also a monsoon season in midsummer which means it isn't a dry heat!

There are a few indoor things you can do in the desert, the IMAX movies in Cathedral City have covered parking. But basically you'll be wanting to get up very early, be in by noon, and then you can go out again after sundown.

Are you going on business or the like? That is a LONG time in Palm Desert... we actually go out for a few days here and there over the summer but we live in Orange County ...

Somehow, I can kinda understand why a family from the UK might actually ENJOY being in a place where the sun will probably shine every day for two weeks.

I would second the idea of the tramway (IMO not nearly as "scary" as some of the ones you may have ridden in Europe).

You might also consider a day trip over to Joshua Tree National Monument.

Hi Andy..
Well like everyone has stated, it will be stinking hot..you can take the palms to pine highway to San Diego and visit La Jolla/Del Mar..
You can go to the Del Mar Race track for some betting on the ponies.
Have lunch on the terrace at Georges at the Cove and play at the beach before heading back to Palm Desert.
Have a good time!

dmtc.com
georgesatthecove.com

I would never go to Palm Desert in August. Horrible place to be.

At least in Las Vegas, there is night life to enjoy when it is a balmy 95 at midnight.

If you lay by the pool with the spray misters going, I find the heat to be tolerable and the pool feels refreshing. Since the desert is dry when you get out of the pool you actually feel cold as the water evaporates.

If you want to experience hot, go to Death Valley. I was there a few weeks ago and it was 122F (50C). There were almost no Americans there but many Europeans and Australians. The pool at Furnace Creek was too warm to be refreshing (over 90). However, pools in Palm Desert/Palm Springs won't be that warm.

Thanks for the replies. We realise it is going to be hot, but did not realise how hot! Our summer over here has been pretty much rain and more rain this year!

My family does include 2 children (18 year old girl / 14 year old boy). We were planning 1 day LA/Hollywood visit and 1 day to Universal Studios.

Your suggestions have given me plenty of things to look at. Keep them coming!

Thanks.

I have many friends who live in Palm Desert all year around and they love it. So do I.

You can go to Joshua Tree National Park, Yucca Valley, Murrieta Hot Springs, Temecula for wineries, Hwy 74 to Idyllwild, Carlsbad on the coast.

There are supper clubs, museums, golfing, bicycling in Palm Desert area and many things to keep you occupied. Hike in the Agua Caliente Indian Reservation, have a date shake at Shields in Indio. Have fun.

I owned a condo in PD for 5 years. I have some friends who basically stay indoors for two months, some who disappear to cooler places for two months, and some who stay and enjoy the absence of snowbirds and inexpensive golf. Heat tolerance is an individual thing. Be sure to drink lots of water (you need to do this a lot when you first arrive). Although like I said, August is not usually a dry heat.

I don't think I'd go hiking except up at the top of the tram or in Idyllwild. Even the local hiking clubs schedule their weekly hikes outside of the desert. Especially if you have no experience, I would not go out wandering.

Good point, I was thinking of hikes in early morning or early evening but I didn't write that.

Andy, you really should read up on all the precautions for heat stroke before you arrive.

Idylwild will be nice, in the mountains, as a break from the heat.

Are you planning to stay over in the LA area when you do Universal/LA/Hollywood -- they aren't close enough to Palm Desert to be considered a day trip.

The only day trip I would take would be from my front door to the swimming pool!

It's a few hours drive, but you could spend a day in San Diego at the beach.

Two hours to LA, two hours to San Diego. Same difference.

You can take the tram up to the mountain. I forgot exactly what it's called now, but I'm sure someone here will know. That will give you a bit of a break from the heat.