Thoughts on our Palm Springs Plans
 

We will be spending three weeks in Palm Springs in November. We wanted a warm and relaxing getaway from our rain in Seattle. I've only been to Palm Springs once years ago for a professional meeting, so know little of it and Cheryl has never been there. We debated a long time about where to stay and decided on the Triada Palm Springs, Marriott Autograph Collection. We will be in an individual casita with a kitchen. We wanted to be somewhere we could walk to stores, restaurants, etc. and it appears this fills the bill.

We will rent a car as needed - we expect to visit Joshua Tree, drive into the desert, etc, but plan to spend most of out time relaxing in town.

So I'd be interested in comments on recommended places to visit outside of the city, recommended things to do in the city, etc.

Thanks!

Having had several friends in PS/Palm Desert over the years and lots of visits, the most interesting place to me, a lover of palm trees, is the canyon that's the home to the indigenous palms, http://www.indian-canyons.com/ also the home & reservation of the Cahuilla people.

Thanks, MmePerdu.

I agree with Mme. The palm canyons are fascinating. An oasis in the desert. If you can find one, I would suggest an architectural tour of the mid century modern homes or other buildings.

Thanks, the architectural tour is on our list!

Oasis: On top of indian canyons, There is also tahquitz (You Will probably meet an indian guide explaining the place) and Coachella preserve (This one is free, except nominal fee to park the car).
Fed up of warm temperatures and desert? Take the aerial tram to mt san jacinto. It drops you in the snow ! (in winter).
Romantic dinner: Go to Le Vallauris, old world charm under the trees.
Sophisticated shopping: Palm desert main Street. And pack food at Bristol Farm before going back to PS.
Outlet : Cabazon (on I10 towards LA)

Thanks for the additional info, rouelan. And your restaurant recommendation looks great.

Thursday night street fair tends to muck up downtown PS traffic. But the museum is open free Thursday 4 pm to 9pm

I had to look up that lodging, never heard of it. Would be nice to have a kitchen. More people I know stay at the small inns in PS in the neighborhoods such as Desert HIlls HOtel than in downtown hotlels, you can still walk and not nickel an dime resort fees etc.

Spencer's has a nice patio, great for outdoor dining and brunch. Very popular for Sunday Brunch.

We also like the Living Desert.

mlgb, We wanted to stay right downtown "Located in the historic Movie Colony district steps from restaurants, shops and the vibrant downtown Palm Springs." And we like historic properties. There are no resort fees where we are staying (or maybe they are waived for us as Cheryl is Platinum).

And thanks for the restaurant recommendation.

That looks like a really nice place, and it's in a terrific location.

Thanks, that is useful Info, SF7307. It helps to have someone who knows the place confirm that it is a good location!

I ptrefer the neighborhood and small inns to the west of downtown. There are times when N. Palm Springs gives off a slightly sketchy vibe. I don't know this particular one, though. Hopefully it's fine.

Thanks, I will report back.

Soaking in hot springs is something you must do at least once. There are several places in the area that you can enjoy a soak for a day fee. Can't remember which one we did, but you can search online for one that looks good.

Also we enjoyed browsing at a place called Estate Sale, a collection of buildings packed with some amazing furniture and decor from the mid-century era.

Joshua Tree is a great park. We spent almost a full day there leaving Palm Springs after breakfast, taking a picnic lunch and returning in time for dinner.

Hidden Valley is a 1 mile loop next to a picnic area, highly recommend this hike. Plenty of climbers while we were and interesting names for some of the rocks! Check it out :)

Keys view was also good, short loop and we stopped at Skull Rock for photos but didn't take the trail. Cholla cactus garden was just OK.. don't get too close!

Otherwise we just stopped off at various points for photos and saw lots of hummingbirds on the flowers (trip was in spring).

We do plan on soaking in hot springs, and have looked at several online. If anyone has a favorite, I'd like to hear it.

Thanks for your comments on Joshua Tree, sassy_cat. How wonderful to be there with the hummingbirds!

If you like to hike, Whitewater Canyon Preserve is really nice and also good birdwatching. Check hte website for closures

http://www.wildlandsconservancy.org/...hitewater.html

Anohter place not too far away that is a bit different is Big Morongo, lots of boardwalk through Cottonwoods and some fun bird feeders for those who like to do their birdwatching from a chair.

http://www.bigmorongo.org/

Thanks, mlgb especially for the for the Big Morongo recommendation. How long would the drive be from Palm Springs? And how far is Whitewater Canyon from Palm Springs?

To either one its about half an hour or less if you can get out of PS without hitting traffic.. Big Morongo is about 20 milesUse the map link on their website. Google Maps shows a back road but we go via State Hwy 62. Using the turnoff on East or Vale Drive. YOu can do it coming back from Joshua Tree.

YOu could also combine Whitewater and Big MOrongo also.

If you use Google maps use Whitewater Trout or Whitewater Preserve and the routes are correct. It's a pretty place with the old trout ponds, a friendly visitor center and picnic area...very popular on weekends. Even if you don't hike it's worth the drive into the canyon.

As far as the tram be aware that even the parking lot is at high elevation as far as being a good workout walking uphill. The restaurants at the top aren't great but there's a bar. You mayneed winter clothing up there.

Thanks for the additional info. I think we would want to combine Whitewater and Big Morongo. And the google maps tip is welcome as well.

I also enjoyed a tour of the O'Donnell House. It included a tour of the historic Willows hotel.

http://odonnellhouse.com/tour-info/

Thanks, Michelle, we would enjoy a tour of the O'Donnell House.

As a long-time PSP visitor (family has a house in Palm Desert), I'd add the following:

- Get a car for the whole time. This is CA; not the east coast. Public transportation isn't that great.

- You might also try driving to Twentynine Palms and head north to a little town called Amboy. It's a "Route 66" town, so you can see some nostalgia, and it also has a volcanic crater that is actually pretty interesting: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amboy_Crater . Plus, you'll drive through salt flats, and being a midwesterner now living in the east, it's pretty surreal to see it.

- As mentioned earlier, Cabazon outlets can't be beat! Plus, there's an In-n-Out burger just east of the mall.

But, IMO, the best thing about PSP is that there is NOT a lot to do and see. You don't feel rushed/pressured to "go do/see this/that." It's one of the best places in the US to just relax. Great hotels, great restaurants... A perfect recipe for de-stressing!

Hope you enjoy your trip!

PSP is a bit more pedestrian friendly than PD..in terms of walking to restaurants. But obviously you need a car to visit outlying sites. Even in PD if your house or hotel is in the right place you can walk to El Paseo..

Another house Ive always intended to visit but haven't is the Annenberg Estate, Sunnylands.

Looks like you're leavin before the annual "Walk of the Inns" but you might enjoy reading about it. Good map here.. If you like mid-century modern go check out Orbit In and Del Marcos

https://www.facebook.com/PalmSprings...lidayToyDrive/

Thanks for the additional comments. We are staying in the heart of the old movie colony in downtown Palm Springs, so plan to walk to restaurants or catch the occasional Uber to a more distant restaurant. We plan to rent a car only for our outside of Palm Springs Days I wasn't aware there was any public transport in Palm Springs.

And thanks for additional notes, mlgb. I found a website that has all sorts of house tours listed. I'm sure we will do some of that.

Here are some excerpts from my PS TR from about 6 years ago.

Restaurants
<We found the restaurants to be well priced compared to those in DC. Two dining highlights were dinner at Le Vallauris and at the St. James Vineyard Tuscan Grill. We were told that Le Vallauris (mentioned above) is the best restaurant in town and it did not disappoint. The only way that I can describe the service there is "perfection." There was a very large party that took the entire patio area so we expected things to be slow, but surprisingly, that was not the case. Mi Chica started with a rich butternut squash soup that she said was delicious. Her entree of Ahi Tuna was perfectly done. I started with a roasted beet salad with goat cheese and Pistachio oil dressing. The presentation was beautiful and the flavors were a very nice mix. My entree was a half roast duck in a rhubarb sauce - delicious and the skin was crispy, not fatty at all. We usually skip alcohol but order a sparkling water. The water served there is a brand from Norway called Voss. I am going to have to try to find it here. We finished with espresso and had no room for dessert.

We loved the Tuscan Grill. One sign of a good restaurant is how they do simple dishes. Mi Chica ordered Capelline Alla Checca - angel hair pasta with chopped tomatoes. garlic, basil and olive oil. I had the Risotto Alla Fiesolana - that is , Risotto with spinich, goganzola and teleggio cheese. Risotto is something that I love but I am always concerned when I order it because so many restaurants do it poorly. This risotto was easily the best I ever have had. Words cannot do it justice.
We also had dinner at a place called The Fisherman's Market. As it name implies, it has very nicely done grilled fish - they must have at least 15 types on the chalkboard menu. It is a very simple place and the prices are very reasonable. One orders at the counter of the "fish market" where the fish are on display. >

Touring

<The Living Desert and the Indian Canyons, both very worthwhile. We particularly enjoyed hiking the trails in both. Both sites are spectacular in their natural beauty and in their own way. We took the tram ride up the mountain and opted for the dinner package. If we had to do it again, I would skip the dinner. Best that can be said is that it was plentiful, but rather mediocre. One could do much better in town. The tram ride and views however are spectacular. One other highlight was the art museum. Thursday nights are free. The museum has an eclectic and well chosen collection ranging from classic to contemporary. The glass art section is a delight and is highly recommended

Thursday nights (as mentioned above) feature a street craft fair on the main drag. We enjoy that sort of thing.

There is a public bus (Sun Bus) but I'm not usre how practical it is

http://www.sunline.org/destinations

basingstoke, thanks for the several restaurant recommendations. We are thinking abut making reservations at Le Vallauris for Thanksgiving.

mlgb, it looks like we can get to the aerial tramway via that bus, but I don't think there is anywhere else we would go on the bus. We have no interest in casinos or shopping centers. And for the desert parks, we will rent a car.

I adore the Morongo preserve (bigmorongo). In the front of the parking lot you'll find a camper/trailer where someone oversees the place. They have a bunch of bird feeders next to the trailer and you're welcome to sit in one of the chairs and gaze at the birds who frequent the bird feeders. If the timing is right, you'll hear/see woodpeckers in the adjoining trees. The trails intersect with one another. I like the trail on the outside which goes up a hill so you can get great views. There is also a section with trees which look twisted and dead and house a very friendly blue jay which will land on your hand and eat nuts or a bit of a healthy muffin if you stretch your hand out. I love it.

From there you can head towards Yucca Valley and check out "pioneer town". It'll take you back in time when you get there.

Another of my favorites to take visitors is Coachella Valley Preserve - Thousand Palms Oasis Preserve (I think someone else here suggested it) It's a very cool spot to visit and be sure to take the short hike to the lake. If you go a little beyond the lake you can ascend a hill and get a nice view. Both the places are free, which is nice.

A very cute little place to kill an hour or so with a very nominal entrance fee is Moorten Botanical Garden and "Cactarium". It's right in town. Real beautiful and old desert plants and a cactarium with cacti from all over the world.

For Mexican food we like Mirasol. There are two in PS- one is in the movie colony area. For family style Italian pasta we like Marios. It's near the library. They serve a huge glass of wine for five bucks. My husband loves it ;-) The pizza is just OK, but the pasta is <b>very</b> good and everyone we have brought there has liked their food a lot. Our go-to restaurant when we don't feel like cooking is Native Foods for their yummy vegan dishes, especially the Gyro bowl. Good food at a great price.

Thursday through Sunday you can hop on and hop off the free shuttle called <b>The Buzz</b>. It'll take you in a nice long loop through PS with many stops along the way...even to Smoketree Plaza where the Native Foods place is. There are placards on posts around town which indicate where it stops.

Also agree that you must bundle up and head to the top of the tram. It'll be freezing up there but it is a nice rotating tram and you'll get some gorgeous views. Have fun!

Didnt' know about The Buzz...thanks for that.

We will put the botanical garden on our list - thanks! And the shuttle may be useful as well.