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Palm Springs is
a resort town in the California desert. Palm Springs became a destination
during the 1950's and 1960's as American movie stars from Hollywood
flocked in droves. Nowadays, the area is filled with golf courses and
swimming pools. Nearby desert resort cities include Cathedral City,
Desert Hot Springs, Rancho Mirage, Palm Desert, Indian Wells, La Quinta
and Indio.
Palm
Springs is a resort city in the Santa Rosa Mountains, just south
of Interstate 10 at the foot of 10,000-foot Mt. San Jacinto on the
westernmost edge of the Sonoran Desert. The city is named for the
palm trees that line its streets and for its natural hot springs.
These features along with a warm climate, fashionable hotels and
private homes, golf courses, parks, and swimming pools, make Palm
Springs a major, upscale tourist attraction.
The entire Coachella Valley sits atop a large underground lake.
Palm Springs is one of nine adjacent communities in the Valley,
each offering a similar, yet unique, vacation experience. Most visitors
stay in country-club-type resorts that have transformed the desert
into a semitropical oasis. Recreational opportunities include golf
courses and tennis courts, as well as lavish spas and horseback
riding.
Art galleries, antique stores, and many specialty shops line Palm
Canyon Drive. There is an abundant supply of gourmet restaurants.
Many that are less imposing offer Chinese, Japanese, Mexican, Italian,
and other cuisine.
Among the most popular attractions are the Aerial Tramway, Oasis
Water Resort, Moorten Botanical Gardens, and the spectacular Indian
canyons. The Palm Springs Desert Museum presents desert dioramas
and collections of art and Native American artifacts.
The Living Desert Museum is an outdoor facility that has a large
variety of plants and animals native to the Palm Springs area as
well as more exotic species. The Palm Springs Aerial Museum, located
at the regional airport, houses fully restored World War II-vintage
aircraft.
The southwestern-style Mercado Plaza in downtown Palm Springs features
upscale galleries, boutiques and restaurants. Nightlife in the city
includes fine dining and an assortment of bars and nightclubs, as
well as gambling at nearby Native American-owned casinos.
Day trips from Palm Springs offer exciting possibilities. Close
to Palm Springs is the community of Desert Hot Springs, famous for
its hot-springs resorts: some the private domain of Hollywood celebrities;
others open to all.
Highway
I-10 leads to the Palm Springs Aerial Tramway which climbs 2.5 miles
up the San Jacinto Mountain Range, over Chino Canyon, providing breathtaking
views from circular cars. Once at the top, enjoy a mule ride, a hike
through the wilderness or a meal in the restaurant that overlooks the
desert.
The scenic Palms to Pines Highway 74 south from Palm Desert leads to
a pine-scented setting near Idyllwild, a popular mountain vacation area
with a relaxed lifestyle. At the southeastern edge of the Coachella
Valley are the communities of Indio, Coachella and Thermal, where the
date palm gardens, tours, and samplings are the main attractions.
While in the Palm Springs area, consider a side trip to eastern California's
Joshua Tree National Park where the Sonoran and Mojave deserts meet.
In the higher, Mojave portion of the park, a forest of Joshua Trees
and a number of unique granite rock formations called Inselbergs can
be seen. In the lower, Colorado portion, the Pinto Basin exhibits the
beautiful native plants of this hotter Sonoran Desert. This is an area
gaining international recognition for its winter-season rock climbing.
Hiking and mountain biking are other recreational possibilities, along
with back road jeep trips.
The Nature Conservancy's Coachella Valley Preserve in Thousand Palms
includes 13,000 acres of palm oases and high desert bisected by California's
San Andreas Fault. Cecil B. DeMille filmed The King of Kings
there, in and around the Thousand Palms Oasis. Area hiking is permitted,
and visitors can also experience a covered wagon tour.
Despite the presence of celebrities in Palm Springs and the wealth that
is in evidence, the area can also be affordable as a family destination.
Many reasonably priced accommodations can be found year-round, and those
willing to visit in the summer months can find unexpected bargains.
Palm Springs is a vacation destination of rare beauty and tranquility
in any season of the year.
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