My family and I are spending a week in Palm Springs. There will be two adults and two teenagers. We are going to be there in the beginning of July. I need suggestions of different activities to do duringthe day and at night besides playing gof and relaxing by the pool. Approximately ho many miles is San Diego and LA from Palm Springs? Is it worth spending a day in Mexico from Palm Springs?

Palm Springs in early July is going to be HOT!!! If golfing, be sure to get a very early tee time, so you can be on and off the course before the heat become unbearable.

There's a water park (Knott's Splash Park) in Palm Springs that might be a good place to keep cool one day.

LA is a few hour drive. San Diego takes a little longer. I wouldn't recommend Mexico for a day. It can take quite a while to get across customs. And just last week they did a big bust on the corrupt cops, including the police chief in Tijuana.

No question it will be hot here. Get out on the golf course as early as possible. A lot of courses get started at 6 am. Drink a lot of water. Make sure there is a cooler of ice water on the cart. Drink before you are thirsty and also consider some electrolyte drink, like gatorade. Another idea for very good quality golf and about 15-20 degrees cooler is to drive west on I-10 about 40 min. to Oak Valley. There are 36-hole and 18-hole facilities there. Great tee rates, too.

The Water Park is a good idea. Top of the tram is great too for a way to get out of the heat during the day. Time your non-pool outdoor activities for after the sun goes behind the San Jacinto mtns.

L.A. is about 2 hours and 15 minutes (+/- 102 miles. San Diego is about the same, maybe another 15 minutes (+/- 120 miles). The back way to San Diego is scenic over the Highway 74 way.

The border should not be that bad. Friends crossed a couple weeks ago (by car) and it took about an hour(on a Sunday0 to get back through U.S. customs. if you are set on it, park on the U.S. side and walk across. You can get a taxi to Avenida Revoluccion, the main drag, right across the border. Negotiate the fare before you get in. Keep in mind that Tijuana is in Mexico, but it really isn't Mexico. it is a gritty border town. Not to say it can't be interesting or enjoyable. But if you have never been to Mexico, it would be a shame for this to be your only impression.

Enjoy.

Bring sunscreen and wear it all the time. If you want to cool off for a day take the tram up to the top of the mountain where it is typicall 30-40 degrees cooler than the valley floor. It's a totally different world -There are lovely hiking trails through heavily wooded areas. SD is two hour down I-15 and LA is about 1-2 hrs. depending on traffic I-10 west. There is an awesome outlet mall 10 minutes from PS - Cabazon Center. Do the guided hiking trails through the Palm tree lined canyons - it' shaded. I'd also consider just staying in San Diego in Pacific beach for a couple of days. Your kids will love it.

san diego is about 2 1/4-2 3/4 depending which way you go (there are several choices). i find the drive enjoyable so if you wanted a day on the beach it would be worth it to me (go to pacific or mission beach). check the weather first as it could be sunny in ps but overcast in sd.
joshua tree is a nice place to go for either a drive or a short hike (due to heat). go VERY early so you are out of there by 10 or so.
make sure you have a good vacation by using the sunscreen always and drink lots of liquids. have fun.

A previous poster stated that LA is 1 to 2 hours depending on traffic. There is no way you can drive to LA in an hour! It's a 2 hour drive. And yes, the outlets in Cabazon are some of the best I've ever come across and they are continuing to get better with new stores all the time.

Hi,

I second rm's suggestion of taking the aerial tramway up 8000 ft to the top of the nearby which offers great views over the area and is cooler.

Also possible is a drive to the joshua Tree National Park which is a worthwhile drive.

Ideas for Palm Springs in July: swimming, shopping at the outlets and malls, eating (wonderful food), ice skating, movies, art galleries, antique shopping, historical and photo musuems, theater, minature golf, relaxing...