16 Great Things to Do in Palm Springs, California

The nonprofit Palm Springs Historical Society offers neighborhood tours for people of all abilities: by foot, bicycle, car and bus. Per-person prices start at $40.

The Palm Springs Historical Society has tours focusing on the city’s architecture and celebrity homes.

Steven Portoles

“Anything with ‘celebrity’ in it sells better,” says Kathy Leonard, director of tours for the historical society, and the “Rat Pack Playground,” “Golden Era Hollywood Homes” and “Frank Sinatra’s Neighborhood” tours are the most popular. Leonard adds that the average age of participants is 60.

When Kathy Whepley, 60, and her husband, Brian, 62, of Tacoma, Washington, visited Palm Springs in March 2024, they enjoyed the Rat Pack tour. They also picked up a self-guided modern architecture map ($5) at the Palm Springs Visitors Center to see more of the city’s modern side. (The center itself is symbolic of desert modern architecture, with its distinctive cantilevered roof.)

“It’s great if you want to take a drive around and look at all the cool houses,” Whepley says. “Even if the weather is great, you can see a lot from your car with stops and short walks.”

Art & architecture

When it’s hot outside, head indoors to a museum, such as the Palm Springs Art Museum.

Visit Greater Palm Springs

Midcentury modern fans flock to Modernism Week’s signature event every February, and the shorter four-day event each October for tours and programs.

When it’s hot outside, head inside. The newly imagined Agua Caliente Cultural Museum ($10; $5 for 65-plus) was opened in downtown Palm Springs in late 2023 by the Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians to display traditional and contemporary Native American art and artifacts. Get your modern and contemporary art fix a few blocks away at the Palm Springs Art Museum ($20 admission; $18 for 62-plus; free on Thursdays after 5 p.m.).

Outdoor activities

Even during warmer months, visitors can play pickleball or golf at one of the area’s more than 100 golf courses in cooler mornings and evenings, and visit museums or spas during the day. If you bring a pet, take precautions to keep them safe in the heat.

Neil Sullivan, 77, and his wife, Louise Sherrill, 76, of Denver, have visited the Palm Springs area for three straight years — and always in February. “It’s to get a break from the cold and play some golf,” Sullivan says. “The brilliant green of the fairways set against the blue sky and brown mountains are pretty stunning scenes.”

Sullivan also recommends the hourlong drive to Joshua Tree National Park to see its iconic namesake yucca that’s often mistaken for a cactus. The park offers long hikes and easy nature trails such as the half-mile, paved Oasis of Mara trail, where you can see the desert fan palm — the only palm native to the western United States, and the nation’s largest native palm. For people with mobility challenges, consider a jeep tour in the park or surrounding area.

The Palm Springs Aerial Tramway takes travelers to hiking trails and restaurants.

Visit Greater Palm Springs

Back in Palm Springs, you can appreciate the sprawling beauty of the Coachella Valley — four mountain ranges surround flat Palm Springs — from the Palm Springs Aerial Tramway ($34.95; $31.95 for 65-plus), which offers two restaurants and hiking trails at the top. In a 10-minute journey, the world’s largest rotating tram travels to an elevation of 8,516 feet and 2.5 miles up to Mount San Jacinto State Park.