Brenda

Our family will be in Southern California Christmas week (14 and 16 yr.sons)and want to add on another 3-4 days somewhere else. I want warm climate. Have thought of Baja Mexico, Las Vegas or Palm Springs. We usually like to explore new areas, have adventures, love swimming.Years ago my grandparents used to winter in palm Springs and I think of it as a place where there is really nothing much to see and do, mainly for golfers or older folks, not families with teenagers. I would love to hear from folks any suggestions and comments about Palm Springs. If you have been there are you glad you went?

DeeInLB

Hi, Brenda. My husband and I (age 30, who live in Long Beach) went to Palm Springs for the weekend back in February. It's still a smallish town, and the majority of folks we saw around were retirees. There is a street fair on Thursday nights on the main road through town that has lots of craft and food booths -- that was kind of fun. You also could hike or horseback ride, or take the tram up to the top of the mountain, in addition to swim or play golf. We enjoyed our trip there because it was only two hours from home yet still felt like a getaway. But if I were a teenager going there with my family, I think I would be bored.

PS Local

I live here, so maybe it doesn't count. "Palm Springs" is really 9 different cities in a region called the Coachella Valley, each with their own unique character and appeal. The median age in the Coachella Valley is around 34.

Depends on what you like to see and do. I think of the area as an outdoor paradise when the weather is at its best, typically mid-October to the end of April. I hike in Indian Canyons with replendent waterfalls cascading 90 feet into palm lined pools; cross-country ski in the San Jacinto Wilderness; hike to the top of Mt. San Jacinto, second highest peak in Southern California at almost 11,000 ft;rock climb; see an amazing array of flora and fauna at The Living Desert; freefall from 10,000 feet on a skydive out of Bermuda Dunes airport; go hot air ballooning and skim over the country clubs in La Quinta; play golf amid landscapes blended into the mountain coves that are so beautiful you can't believe it; walk the beautifully landscaped grounds at the La Quinta Hotel, ano 1926; take a chance at the tables at the new Agua Caliente casino; hang out downtown and soak in the ambiance at the martini bar at The Falls steakhouse; listen to afro-cuban bands at Muriel's; dine from a choice of hundreds of restaurants, many that can hold a candle to any fine dining expereience anyplace; hear bad outlaw poetry from the hipsters at Peabody's on poetry night; hear acid jazz or blues bands at King's Social Club; drink a beer at the Village Pub and watch an interesting mix of locals and tourists hang out; visit the old haunts of Sinatra, like Le Valleuris and Melvyns; drive by the house Liberace built for his mother in the neighborhood I live in (and it looks it, too); read a book in shorts on the chaise lounge by the pool in January, while Dave Schwarz on The Weather Channel laments below zero temps in the northeast; check out the splendor of the Marriott Desert Springs Resort during the holidays; Sometimes I get in the car and go up to Joshua Tree National Park, which redefines the phrase "surreal beauty." Or drive the back way to Big Bear, about an hour-and forty five minutes to go ski at Snow Summit.

I have been to Vegas more times than I can count (fun!) and have also driven the length of the Baja Peninsula (twice) and taken the car ferry across the Gulf of California from Topolobampo to Puerto Vallarta. Don't know if I would do it today, though. Sadly, Baja has changed (and not for the better) since it was "discovered" by the S. American drug cartels as a viable smuggling route into the U.S. So, like I said. Guess it depends on what you like to do (and this post is way too long).

Brenda

Thanks for the long post. I appreciate the details. I am going to look on the web to learn more about some of the places you mentioned like Joshua Tree National Park, Indian Canyons.. We don't golf, won't be fancy dining or going to bars/clubs. Horseback riding sounds great, we love waterfalls particularly playing in the pools. Are there either any natural hot springs in the mountains or if not that rivers or pools of water you can go in? What would New Years be like there? Temp between Xmas and New Years? Do you know how far of a drive it is from say San Clemente? Thanks so much.

J T Kirk

Palm Beach sums up the word "retro". To me (a non-retiree) it's a cool place.
Do check out Joshua Tree. It's awesome. The rock formations are, as mentioned, surreal. There are some great hiking trails there, as well as some great rock climbing.

PS Local

Suggestions:

Horseback riding: Smoketree Stables in Palm Springs

Indian Canyon Hikes: Tahquitz (guided) and/or Murray Canyon (unguided)

Hot Springs: Lots of developed places in Desert Hot Springs where you can soak in geothermally heated water. There are a couple natural spots along the San Andreas fault and near the Salton Sea. I suggest you contact one of the Jeep Tour companies (another fun thing) to see if they go there.

Temps that time of year are typically cool or even cold (e.g. heavy sweater) nights and warm sunny days. Maybe 45 - 75 degrees F. as a range.

San Clemente is doable in about two hours from the desert with a choice of routes. Two possibilities are (1) the Ortega Highway (74) over the mountains, or around the mountains via the 91 freeway to the 55 to 405 south to 5 south.

You can browse www.palmsprings.com and/or www.inpalmsprings.com for info.

PS L

Gail

Brenda
There is a wonderful restaurant, the Europa in a hotel called the Villa Royale-just off Palm Canyon. The hotel was once the home of Sonja Hennie-spelling? the skater.

Brenda

Thanks everyone for all of your input. Still have not decided whether Baja will be better for our teenage sons. PS Local- do you know if we are able to go into the palm lined pools of water at the waterfalls at Indian Canyon?

PS Local

I second the Europa as mentioned above---great place (although you said that was not your thing).

All of the Indian Canyons have water pools that are palm lined. Some are more spectacular than others. Tahquitz Canyon is the most spectacular by far. Murray Canyon is a personal favorite.
Descriptions of some of the canyons here:

http://www.palmsprings.com/points/canyon/

Info about the Agua Caliente indians here:

http://www.aguacaliente.org/CulturalHistory.shtml

Though it might bum the teenagers out, the Agua Caliente museum will illustrate how these people lived a thousand years ago.

A final word on the pools---we have had a dry year and I have not hiked the canyons for about four months---not sure how much water there is back there right now. You could call the visitor's center and ask,(760) 416-7044.

PS L

Tom

I've had some hits and misses with Europa the past year. By far one of the best settings in town for a romantic meal, but the food portions and quality have been disappointing on the last two visits (in comparison to what I had been previously used to at this restuarant). A friend of mine is a local food critic and said that he's also heard a decent amount of recent complaints. Be forewarned that it's an expensive restuarant and not one that teenage boys would appreciate.