I hear there is a nicer drive from PS to LA than the I-10, could someone verify this? Does anyone know which Hwys. I would take and how long would this drive be?

there is a mountain route to san diego but not aware of one to l.a.

You can drive up to the mountains from Palm Springs, but it will just be up the mountain and back down. No getting around driving the 1-10. There is an option of driving the 60 freeway, but most people really dislike a portion of the road that is curvy and not fun to drive when there are a lot of semis.

Going next week--you are thinking of the Palms to Pines Hwy which is hwy 74 and starts in Palm Desert. It ends up near San Clemente though so makes more sense if you are going to San Diego or the southern beach towns. If you're going to the westside of LA, it seems a difficult route because you'd have to come back up the 5 and then 405. Could be done, but the 10 is so fast and easy. You can take the aerial tramway up to the mountains in Palm Springs which is a nice thing to do if you want to see mountains. One thing good about the 10 out of Palm Springs is the outlet mall at Cabazon.

What kam says is basically true. It would be a much longer route. There are a number of ways to do it. If you are really into going the long way around, with the benefit of the scenic part of the ride over the Santa Rosa Mountains from Aguanga into Palm Desert, or even through Idyllwild, I would be glad to describe some routes.