Page 97 - 2018 Travel Guide to California

A MID-CENTURY MODERN home with the San Jacinto Mountains in the background,
opposite top; pool table in the Jacinto, an indoor/outdoor event space at the Kimpton
Rowan Palm Springs hotel, opposite bottom; relaxing at Indian Canyons, right; pool fun
at a vacation rental home, bottom.
Many of the finest examples of Mod-
ernism are boutique hotels—Arrive,
Holiday House and The Monkey Tree, to
name a few—and almost all have played
host to the Hollywood A-list. Dozens of the
famous personalities who’ve lived, loved
and played in Palm Springs—from Elvis
Presley to Elizabeth Taylor—are commem-
orated in pink granite stars (the “Walk of
Stars”) embedded in downtown sidewalks.
Its population once surged in winter and
cleared out by May. No longer. Palm Springs
is now a trendy year-round destination, not
least as the weekend haven of choice for
sleek LA hipsters come to laze or party by
the pool with cocktail in hand. And Palm
Springs’ sizeable gay and lesbian popula-
tion translates into an uber LGBT-friendly
and fun destination, and never more so
than during the annual Gay Pride Festival
(November) and White Party (May).
Cultural Oasis in the Desert
This city lies at the entrance to a desert
oasis where majestic mountains and palm
trees come together to offer stunning vistas
from the historic downtown village. For
centuries inhabited by the Agua Caliente
band of Cahuilla Indians, Palm Springs was
so named by the native tribe for the city’s
healing hot springs and palm oases. Listed
on the National Register of Historic Places,
Indian Canyons comprise four distinct
canyons located on the tribe’s reservation
and open to the public for hiking
throughout the day. This Native American
heritage is also honored at the downtown
Agua Caliente Cultural Museum, where
basketry, pottery and other traditional skills
workshops are hosted.
The Palm Springs Art Museum is consid-
ered one of California’s finest regional
museums. This world-class venue is
notable for its contemporary art and
astounding glass art in the Denney Western
American Art Wing. Its Mesoamerican col-
lection includes basketry, pottery and other
artifacts by local Amerindian tribes. A few
blocks away, the Palm Springs Art Museum
Architecture & Design Center, in a 1960s
former bank building of classic Mid-Cen-
tury Modernist styling, houses the
museum’s growing collection of architec-
ture and design-related pieces.
Aviation buffs and WWII aficionados
will exult to the warbirds on display at the
Palm Springs Air Museum. It’s one of the
world’s foremost museums dedicated to
WWII aircraft, displayed in two hangars
replicating the European and Pacific the-
aters. Flying demos are occasionally
offered, as are Warbird Rides in a P-51 Mus-
tang and C-47 Skytrain.
Tramway to Another World/
Summer Fun
To truly appreciate Palm Springs’ beauty
and scale, climb aboard the Palm Springs
Aerial Tramway—the world’s largest
rotating tram car—for hiking and dining at
almost 6,000 feet near the top of Mt. San
Jacinto. The Bogert Trail complex rewards
hikers with sensational views over the city,
as does the Desert View Trail in Mount San
Jacinto State Park.
In summertime, find fun for the family
at Wet’N’Wild waterpark. And every
Thursday evening, the city becomes a street
festival as its main downtown area trans-
forms into Villagefest with crafts, artwork,
street foods and music. There’s always
something happening in Palm Springs.
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