Palm Desert
 

My Mom and I are taking a long weekend this weekend to Palm Desert. We are staying at the Marriott Spa/Hotel. We are looking for attractions to see and things to do. So far, I have Joshua Tree, Anza-Barrigo State Park and the Windmill Tour as some tenative things to do. Are there other activities aside from hiking that are good to do around the area? We will have a car at our disposal. What is the shopping like near PD? Resturants?

Any help would be wonderful!

Thank you!

Kate

Kate:

I like the Coachella valley precisely because there AREN'T alot of things to do! It's a great place to just simply relax! That being said, you may want to check out the park that's on Washington St., north of the 10 freeway. I haven't been there, but I've been told that there's a really nice oasis there. Plus, it's on the San Andreas fault! A couple of years ago, I went on a walk through another oasis that's actually located in Palm Springs. Sorry, can't remember the exact name, but I think it's the "Indian trail," or something like that.

As far as restaurants, the valley has more good restaurants than I can count! I have been going for so long that I frankly don't remember the names; I just know where they're at! There are plenty of restaurants along Palm Canyon Drive (rt. 111), especially in neighboring Rancho Mirage. Most are generally pretty good.

And for shopping, Palm Desert actually has the valley's main mall -- the Westfield Shopping Center. It has all of the usual mall stores. El Paseo is a street to the north of Westfield that has generally higher-end stores (Saks, Baccarat, etc.). BUT, for really good shopping, IMO, NOTHING beats the Cabazon outlets! It's about a 45-min. drive east on the 10 freeway from Palm Desert. It has hundreds of shops -- most of them from the top designers (Gucci, Armani, Boss, Burberry). Here's the website: http://www.premiumoutlets.com/outlets/outlet.asp?id=6

Enjoy your stay and your time w/your mom!

LT: Good suggestions. Just a little correction: Cabazon and those outlet malls are actually <i>west</i> of the Palm Springs/Palm Desert area. It will take about 20-25 minutes to drive north on Palm Canyon/Indian Canyon from PD to I-10, then it's a 15-minute squirt west to Cabazon.

There are a couple of casinos in the area-- Casino Morongo in Cabazon and Spa Casino in downtown Palm Springs. Might be worth a visit for a couple of hours. And how about those Fabulous Palm Springs Follies? Your mom might like the lineup of stars from days past, as well as the high-kicking Follies girls-- all over 50.

Another suggestion would be to take her on the Airial Tram to the top of the mountain. The view is fantastic, on a clear day you can see all the way to the Sultan Sea.

Hey rjw!:

I stand corrected. It is west; not east! :)

BTW, have been to both casinos . . . the slots are VERY tight!

The Living Desert Zoo &amp; Botanical Gardens is an interesting place to spend a few hours (www.livingdesert.org)

I second the recommendation of the aerial tram. (www.pstramway.com).

Restaurants -- so many good ones, depending on your tastes &amp; budget. We recently enjoyed the Tuscany Restaurant in the Marriott Resort (Italian, obviously). We also loved Johannes Restaurant in Palm Springs. Any place that has Ahi Tartare and Spaetzle on the same menu is allright in my book. :) We also like Le St. Germaine for French, Roy's for Asian Fusion. There are also lots of steakhouses and chain restaurants, if that interests you. My friends swear by the Kaiser Grille, but I haven't tried it yet.

Have a nice trip!

OP, Anza-Borrego is a long way from Palm Desert..about 2 hrs each way.

Are you going for the short film festival? It is being held thru this weekend at the Camelot theatres.

Shopping: In addition to the Westfield Mall, which is like every other mall in the US, there is the River, at Bob Hope and the 111. It has a number of restaurants, including Pierro's Acqua Pazza, Cheesecake Factory, Babe's BBQ, The Palm Desert swap meet (new merchandise) at the College of the Desert on Monterey in Palm Desert, is weekends from early til lunch time. Window Shopping on El Paseo is interesting. I've found some great &quot;stuff&quot; at thrift &amp; consignment stores along Hwy 111 (concentrated between Cathedral City &amp; the River, a few further south in Palm Desert)

What type of food &amp; how much do you want to spend? More restaurants are located at the Gardens at El Paseo, Pacifica in the Desert is a good Seafood place (owned by the San Diego Pacifica), nice atmosphere. The Casino in Rancho Mirage is actually closer than the ones mentioned by RJW, on Bob Hope near the 10. They have the ususal buffet restaurant as well as Maraskino, a nice sit down place. There is no longer a Kaiser Grill in PD, you'll have to go to Palm Springs for that. LG's is a top-notch steak house in PD.

And I love the Living Desert, too.

Dear SC,
This is after the fact, but.... Shopping along the El Paseo is great. Stores such as Saks, Pottery Barn, Williams-Sonoma to name a few, some of my favs.
For good eats try the ~Daily Grill~ on the Paseo. For fine dining try ~Jillian's.~ Also a newer eatery is ~Augusta~ all on the Paseo which would be next on our list to try.
Regards, Diney

Drive the &quot;Palm to Pines&quot; scenice route. From P. desert to Idyllwaild (in the mountains) and down to Banning. You also see Lake Hemet en route. Very nice drive.

Every time I go to Palm Desert, I see hot air balloons off in the distance, and think what fun it would be to take a ride in one sometime.

I can't recommend doing a balloon ride enough. The beauty of the desert in the morning with the sun illuminating the reds and purples of the Santa Rosa Mountains against the backdrop of snow covered Mt San Jacinto can be surreal. As the balloon drifts it is completely quiet between blasts of the gas burner and the views seem to go on forever.

That is the serene side. Of course, there was the time I bungee jumped from a balloon. That was great too, but a different kind of experience.

Not sure if they still do that out here or not...