Palm Springs Travel Answers

Palm Springs isn't too exciting. A few miles further is Palm Desert that has lots of fun things to do. First recommendation is the Living Desert Museum in Palm Desert. It is a combination of gardens, zoo and various other attractions. They have constructed deserts from around the world. You'll see the native plants and animals. There is also a small zoo with lots of different birds and animals including cheetahs, giraffes and the elusive mountain sheep. http://www.livingdesert.org/ There are lots of neat restaurants and galleries and street art in downtown Palm Desert. One thing the kids (and you) might enjoy in Palm Springs is the funicular to the top of Mt. San Jacinto. Take a jacket; it's chilly up there but the views are fantastic. http://www.pstramway.com/ Here's the Palm Desert web site. http://www.palmdesert.com/ Here is another useful web site. http://www.palm-desert.org/things-to-do If you want to see the desert and the famous Joshua Trees, take a short trip out to Joshua Tree National Park. It is an amazing place. http://www.nps.gov/jotr If you're interested in Native American (Indian) history, visit Indian Canyons. palmsprings.com/points/canyo... You have plenty to keep busy for 2 days. I'd suggest the Living Desert for a full day and the next day try the Aerial Tramway up San Jacinto and then one of the teen activities in the area.

Superb. Many thanks for your help.will check the suggested links now!

You're welcome. Have fun. We lived near there for 20+ years and still own a timeshare in Palm Springs. There is an amazing amount of stuff to do. BTW, our kids loved the San Diego Wild Animal Park and San Diego Zoo. Are you planning to visit either? If you can only do one, make it the Wild Animal Park. Great fun.

There ia an Aviation museum somewhere there.

The Aviation Museum is at March Air Force Base in Moreno Valley. It's a bit of a drive but if you like seeing historic planes, might be fun. It may be on the Palm Springs info web sites. If not, check Google for Moreno Valley, CA.

Keep in mind that in July the temperatures often can be in the 105-110+ range, so you'll probably want to limit your time walking and hiking outdoors. When I lived there, I noticed that, in the summer months, those who golfed would often tee off at the break of day in order to avoid the stifling heat. But many people can take the heat in small doses. When I visit now, I will be at the pool for a while, then go in to an air-conditioned room for a while. Be careful and have a good time!

Good call David. I forgot about the heat. I always liked it. It can be brutal though. My parents came to visit once and we took them to Palm Springs. The temperature was 119 Fahrenheit that day and my stepmother refused to get out of the car. (She was the one who insisted on going to Palm Springs that day. LOL) It is, as the saying goes, a very dry heat. That's good because you don't sweat a lot. It's bad because you don't sweat a lot. You don't realize you are getting dehydrated because you aren't sweating. Drink as much water as you can get down and you'll be fine. Go to outdoor places early or late in the day. Take the Aerial Tramway up the mountain in the heat of the day and it will be much cooler on the mountain. You may need a jacket up there. It always cools off at night in the desert so plan evening activities if it gets very hot. It is not always that hot so you may be lucky. I forget not everyone likes temps of 100+ . . . ;^)

Yes, we're off to San Diego too so thanks for that. Someone said to us that the Zoo - even if you're not a Zoo kind of a person - if worth a visit.

My husband will love that !

I agree it's really Hot in Palm Springs and that whole area in July. I'd also mention that many things that are open in the spring time are closed during the summer. I had never been to Palm Springs until one year I had to take a group of Indonesian students there as a day-trip. They were about your children's ages. There was absolutely nothing for them to do. I took a couple of girls to an up-scale department store--excellent air conditioning--and we all got make overs. Then we went to one of the few restaurants open and sat there all afternoon waiting for the depature time. The food, conversation and air conditioning were great but not really worth the trip. I've heard that it is much cooler up the mountain but the funicular was not working when we were there. I think there is some sort of water park near there that would fun for the kids, but not sure. Yes, the S.D. Zoo is great, even if you're not a zoo person. Also it is located in Balboa Park which is full of museums great and humble. There is a museum there for almost any interest, not to mention the plants and flowers in and out of the zoo. I have a huge San Diego page with more information about Balboa Park and other things around the city that you can check out. However, if you want anymore info about San Diego let me know and I'll try to help.

Good thoughts. I had forgotten how everything closes in the summer. That's because most tourists come in the winter to escape the cold elsewhere in the world. Palm Desert is better than Palm Springs in keeping things open. I know the Living Desert is open in the summer because we've walked it in 100+ degree heat. Wear loose clothing, a hat, sunglasses and stop often to drink water. Also, there is often a cooler period during July if you are lucky. (I might add that I froze to death when in Scotland!) We all relate to weather differently. San Diego and LA will be much better because they have the Pacific Ocean to moderate their temperatures. San Diego is near perfect all year. We do prefer the San Diego Wild Animal Park to the San Diego Zoo (both run by the same people) but if it is wildly hot, the Zoo is in a much cooler location so choose that. Both are absolutely wonderful, our favorite zoos. There is a fun historic Old Town park in San Diego easily accessible by train and with plenty of parking. The Gaslight District is great fun and major shopping if your teens are shoppers. There is a neat port area that is developed for tourists. Lots to do. I hope you are checking VT member pages for San Diego. Click on someone's name if they answer you here and you will go directly to their Home Page. Then you can click their Travel Pages and scroll down to San Diego. I notice several replies here by people who have excellent SD pages.

Thanks for pointing out that places migth be shut. We're actually on our way from Vegas to SD and thought that stopping at Palm Springs might be convenient as it is otherwise a very long drive.....now wondering whether we should do that drive anyway. Are we mad even to think to rive it in one go, what do you think ?

Oh my, you probablly don't want to do that, at least not in July and probably not any time. Have you looked at the Google Map in Earth View? I taught in that area for 12 years and it is pure desert, i.e. no nothing there. You leave Barstow and head south through sand, gravel and lots of heat. No restaurants, no gas stations, no water, no help if you have car trouble. If you go from LV to SD, you want to take Interstate 15 (I15) down on the western side of the SB Natl. Forest through Barstow, Victorville, Temecula (wine country), Escondido to San Diego. You'll still go briefly through some brutal desert, but it is more interesting with lots of Joshua Trees, excellent views (especially the Cajon Pass down the mountain), and importantly, places to stop for meals, gas and help if you need it. The worst stretch is from Las Vegas to Victorville but it's soon over and the rest is a very nice drive. I highly recommend you rethink your itinerary, much as I love the Palm Desert area. You don't have a lot of time and you want to see as much that is pretty as possible. LV to SD via I15 will give you a bit of everything, is an excellent and well-serviced road and has wonderful scenery most of the way. Some time in the future when it's cold and miserable in Scotland in January or February, visit Palm Springs / Palm Desert. Everything will be open; the place will be busy and the weather lovely. The grass is green there in the winter! Summer everything is dead and brown . . . heat and no rain. Check Google Maps, Earth View and pull the little pegman down onto the road south of Barstow and you'll see what I mean. http://maps.google.com/

Thanks for that. I have googled it but very difficult to make out from maps what kind of roads we're talking about etc. I am therefore hugely grateful for your input. I have a proper California map here and can see clearly which route you mean. I think we will skip PS this time and perhaps visit it another time, when not so hot. More days in SD then :0)

You will LOVE San Diego. It's my favorite city in California. SF is second, Sacramento third and LA is way down the list. There are a lot of fun things to do in LA but the traffic makes it not very much fun to get there. I'm surprised more people don't visit Sacramento. It's a beautiful city with lots of trees, 7 museums, 2 rivers, a picturesque Old Town, good public transportation, excellent restaurants, the state capitol set in a beautiful garden, charming neighborhoods, etc. etc. etc. If you ever get here, take your kids to the Railroad Museum. It's one of the best we've seen.

Good call to skip PS in July. Maybe someday you can visit during the winter months, when it is just pristine and mild. San Diego is wonderful. We took a vacation there in February and thoroughly enjoyed ourselves, staying at Mission Beach. We loved the zoo and Sea World (grandkids with us) and just walking along the beach at sunset. We also enjoyed the Wild Animal Park, but it might be pretty hot in July. It was around 80 degrees in February. Have fun!

I will look into Sacramento. Thanks for the tip. We're flying back home from SF so heading that way anyway !

FYI, just to save confusion while googling, the San Diego Wild Animal Park has changed it's name to S.D.Zoo's Safari Park. Also, I've gone from SD to Vegas and back many times and there are two stops near the half way point, that I've thought interesting and my children enjoyed. They are the Calico Ghost Town and The Early Man Site. Don't know that it would sound interesting to you, but thought to mention it. Calico is a bit commercial, but gives a clear idea of what things were like for those arriving to the area, in 1849, during the Gold Rush days. The Early Man Site is an active archealogical dig that has connections to Dr. Leaky. They give tours and are eager to answer any questions you might have.

Thanks, will check out. What area of SD would you stay in ? We like a bit of beach (we live a stone's throw from the sea at home) and a bit of a buzz it being too commercial and touristy.

It's hard to say which beach to suggest as I don't know what you and your kids especially like. I do have pages on the various beach communities of San Diego that you can take a look at to decide which would be best for you. In the mean time I'll give a preview: Imperial Beach, is an old style surfing town, sort of isolated. It is both a surfing and swimming beach does have a rental place and restaurants to choose from but not much in the way of shopping. Coronado is a beach resort town. Smallish island type. Shopping and dining and a bit more expensive in general, but really a nice place to spend time. Ocean Beach is a blast from the 1960's. Funky/old style hippie. Lots of second hand shops a fishing pier and not commercial at all. Mission Beach and Pacific Beach are the most popular. Then La Jolla and La Jolla Shores are the most expensive and the most scenic of our beach communities. I hope this helps, Linda