Palm Springs, California might not scream “kid-friendly vacation spot” however we not too long ago had THE BEST trip there with our household (our children are 9 and 13). So right here’s a fast rundown of our favourite must-see points of interest in Palm Springs in addition to information about the place we stayed, what we ate, and what we’re excited to take a look at subsequent time. As a result of we undoubtedly shall be again!
Did I point out we additionally introduced our nine-pound chihuahua with us? So most of our strategies are dog-friendly too!
Why Trip With Youngsters In Palm Springs?
We selected Palm Springs for lots of causes. First, our East Coast-born youngsters had by no means been to California! In fact, there are many choices for California holidays. However we wished to keep away from the hustle of a much bigger metropolis like Los Angeles or San Francisco, and we preferred the thought of introducing them to the unfamiliar desert geography. Sherry’s mother additionally lives in California, so it was an important likelihood to fulfill up along with her on her facet of the nation. Palm Springs has loads of character and distinctive sights, plus it promised to be heat in mid-March throughout our spring break, in order that sealed the deal.
We thought-about an identical vacation spot like Sedona or Flagstaff, Arizona – however Palm Springs turned out to be simpler and cheaper for us to get to from our small Florida airport.
When To Go to Palm Springs
Most individuals advocate visiting Palm Springs within the winter or early spring (November – April). That is when the climate is usually essentially the most hospitable with common daytime highs within the 70s and 80s. The summer season months often see temps over 100 levels, and a buddy who lives there year-round says it may be extraordinarily intense. Truly her phrases had been “depressing” as a result of it will possibly attain 120+ levels, with swimming pools heating as much as 100 levels themselves! In these months she usually avoids going exterior aside from very early within the morning or late at evening.
The one draw back to coming within the extra fascinating “vacationer season” of winter or spring is that costs will be increased and issues could also be extra crowded. Nonetheless, we had been there in mid-March over our children’ spring break and the climate was nice (most days had a excessive of 75-80) and we didn’t discover something overly busy. We’ll share how we saved cash on our Airbnb as an alternative of paying these further excessive peak season costs somewhat additional down on this put up too.
How We Acquired To Palm Springs
We flew into the Palm Springs Airport (PSP) as a result of it’s handy, charming, and centrally-located within the metropolis limits. And it took us underneath 10 minutes to drive from there to our Airbnb! We had flown into the PSP airport as soon as earlier than (for work) and may’t recover from how a lot of the airport is totally open air. The photograph beneath was taken after we went by way of safety on our journey residence. That means sure, as soon as you’re deep into the airport you get to be exterior! The airport can get busy throughout peak instances, however in our expertise it has been a really low-stress, easy-to-navigate airport.
Alternatively, some folks fly into a bigger airport like LAX in Los Angeles or LAS in Las Vegas for cheaper and/or direct flights. The drive to Palm Springs from LA is about 2-3 hours (relying on site visitors) and from Vegas it’s about 4. Should you’re planning to lease a automobile to make use of in Palm Springs anyway, which we advocate, you would possibly take pleasure in having the additional street journey and the excuse to see sights in one other metropolis.
The place We Stayed In Palm Springs
On a earlier work journey to Palm Springs, Sherry and I stayed on the Saguaro Resort. It was enjoyable and iconic-looking (see beneath), however after we journey with our children (and the canine!) we love and Airbnb or VRBO as a result of we get entry to a whole residence. It’s at all times good to unfold out a bit extra, have entry to our personal kitchen, have a pool all to ourselves, and so on. So this time we rented an Airbnb positioned simply north of downtown Palm Springs.
The Airbnb that we rented ended up being one of many highlights of the journey. We splurged as a result of it was only a few nights and it was Sherry’s birthday whereas we had been there. By splurge we imply every of the three nights we stayed was round $450 – however inns for that very same peak spring break week weren’t a lot much less (some had been extra!). We additionally used bank card factors in direction of the combat to offset our trip bills (we’ve got a Capital One Enterprise Card).
Fast tip: Our Airbnb can swell to $1200 per evening (!!!), however we snagged a deal as a result of they had been making an attempt to fill a number of empty days between two different bookings. So on the lookout for weekdays between two booked weekends (we stayed Tues, Wed, and Thurs evening) would possibly prevent cash as a result of there’s typically much less demand for these days, which implies they get marked down.
As for the home itself, we’d say the views and the partitions of glass and the pool and spa had been the highlights. It was additionally very clear and had a cool trendy and ethereal really feel. Although we’ve got a pool at residence, the youngsters had a lot enjoyable on this one which we even canceled another sightseeing plans we initially needed to spend extra time swimming and lounging as a household. It’s at all times good when a trip really finally ends up being enjoyable! Plus, we simply couldn’t recover from the view of the snow-capped mountains.
If the Airbnb we rented isn’t out there (otherwise you don’t want one thing dog-friendly) listed below are another choices to contemplate (all of which swing fairly wildly in value relying on the dates):
What We Did With Youngsters In Palm Springs
I’ll be the primary to confess that we didn’t have a quintessential journey to Palm Springs. Between spending loads of time having fun with the pool and lounging with the youngsters (and visiting with Sherry’s mother, who got here to our Airbnb to swim and have some meals with us), we didn’t do a ton of sightseeing. However the issues that we did make time to exit and do had been A LOT OF FUN. So I’ll cowl what we did and likewise embody some issues that we wish to come again and do subsequent time.
Cool off in a pool
Like I stated earlier than, the (stunning) spotlight of our journey was the pool! Although we’ve got a pool with a sizzling tub at residence, the addition of some enjoyable pool options (just like the basketball hoop and the raised spa with a view of the mountains) saved drawing us in. Plus with a number of 80-degree afternoons, everybody felt sizzling sufficient within the desert solar to wish to get into the pool. So we extremely advocate selecting a resort or home with a pleasant place to swim, as a result of though we wouldn’t have guessed it might have drawn us in so typically, it actually felt nice to swim in that desert warmth!
Hand around in Downtown Palm Springs
The primary procuring & eating district in Palm Springs is alongside South Palm Canyon Drive and it’s an important place to stroll, get souvenirs, and seize dinner or dessert. We ate all of our dinners on this space (we did some breakfasts and lunches at our Airbnb) and wished we’d spent extra time exploring the encircling shops – so we’ll undoubtedly be again! There are nationwide chains, small boutiques, and kitschy vacationer retailers. One of the best half: parking downtown is free and plentiful! We’ll cowl particular eating places and issues we loved a bit additional down on this put up.
Take a look at the Cabazon Dinosaurs
Talking of kitschy vacationer points of interest, we drove 20 minutes to this campy roadside attraction after dinner one night (to beat the warmth!). It’s principally a enjoyable photograph op, however you may also pay admission to stroll by way of an exhibit that’s overflowing with dinosaur fashions and info which additionally permits you to go up into the most important dinosaurs – like a lighthouse, however toothier. We had enjoyable taking photographs of the youngsters doing wacky issues and simply typically absorbing the kitsch. We had been there in March so that they had been nonetheless painted for Valentine’s Day. Should you simply need the photographs of the large dinosaurs, you are able to do the entire thing free of charge from the car parking zone, however we paid to discover somewhat extra and go up in them and had been glad we did.
Go to Joshua Tree Nationwide Park
One other perk of visiting Palm Springs is your proximity to Joshua Tree Nationwide Park, which is about an hour away. As a result of canine are restricted in most trails in Joshua Tree, we largely did a driving tour with a number of roadside pitstops alongside the way in which. The entire tour took us about 4 hours from our Airbnb and again, together with a fast cease for lunch and procuring within the city of Joshua Tree exterior the park, and let me inform you, it was one other spotlight of the journey! We fully felt like we had been in some alien panorama. The youngsters are nonetheless speaking about how cool it was and so are we!
Our greatest tip is to enter by way of the North Entrance in Twentynine Palms, CA (close to the intersection of Utah Path and Freeway 62). It’s a couple of 15-minute drive previous the extra in style West Entrance, however it was TOTALLY price it. We had NO wait on the North Entrance (this was a Thursday morning) and adopted Park Blvd by way of the park to exit on the West Entrance. Once we left, there was a line of a minimum of 60 automobiles ready to get in on the West entrance and we had zero wait to get into the North one we used!
Pack snacks and plenty of water – it was sizzling & dry, even by 11am. It will’ve been enjoyable doing one of many hikes, however we nonetheless felt completely happy having seen it by automobile over many hours with loads of enjoyable stops to discover. Our favourite cease was on the Dwell Oak Picnic Space, proven within the photographs above. It was uncrowded and the youngsters cherished climbing the rocks.
We additionally stopped at The Rock Store on the way in which out of Joshua Tree and so they had some fairly superb crystals. Sherry and the youngsters every took some residence of their suitcases!
Discover the funky neighborhoods
Sherry and I most likely may’ve spent all day touring the fascinating mid-century neighborhoods in Palm Springs, however as an alternative, we did a few post-dinner drive-arounds. Maybe our favourite was the Sahara Cell House Park behind the Ace Resort. You probably have a free afternoon, I feel certainly one of these strolling or biking excursions can be fascinating.
Eat one thing yummy
Palm Springs had an abundance of eating choices, so we barely scratched the floor on our quick journey. All people’s favourite meal was dinner at Birba (above), which felt upscale and particular, but additionally completely child (and canine!) pleasant. We snagged a reservation prematurely (by 2 days!) so plan forward and e book one a number of days out – perhaps even per week forward of time in case you can.
We additionally cherished grabbing tacos at El Patron on our first evening (beneath).
And I’m really nonetheless serious about the poke burger I obtained at Haus of Poke. I picked up a to-go order there that we ate by the pool and it was *cooks kiss*.
What We Need To Do Subsequent Time
I notice that’s in no way an exhaustive checklist of issues to do with youngsters in Palm Springs. However listed below are a few of the issues we’ve got on our to-do checklist for subsequent time.
Journey the Palm Spring Aerial Tram
This distinctive rotating tram is meant to supply a panoramic journey up Mt. San Jacinto, providing you with an unimaginable change of surroundings (and temperature!).
Hike Tahquitz Canyon Path
Some pals of ours stated the Tahquitz Canyon Path was their favourite path in Palm Springs. It’s a family-friendly hike that begins proper from downtown and takes you to a scenic waterfall.
Peruse the Palm Springs Artwork Museum
Our children love an artwork museum, so we predict this could’ve been a enjoyable cease for all of us – particularly as a result of it’s additionally proper downtown close to all the pieces! If nothing else, it might be enjoyable to discover the numerous sculptures and artwork installations close by, like the enormous Marilyn Monroe statue above.
Go to the Residing Desert Zoo
This Residing Desert Zoo & Gardens is about half-hour exterior of Downtown Palm Springs and is meant to be a good way to be taught extra in regards to the native wildlife up shut.
Tour a Wind Farm
We had been all remarkably fascinated by the enormous windmills seen exterior of city, and I feel we really would’ve cherished to get a more in-depth have a look at them by taking an official Windmill Tour. They even have an app-guided driving tour that may’ve allow us to take pleasure in them at our personal tempo.
Off Street in a Purple Jeep Tour
These off-road Purple Jeep Excursions are stated to be a enjoyable and memorable approach to discover the distinctive desert terrain, so I feel our children would’ve cherished taking one if we had extra time.
Take pleasure in Thursday evening VillageFest
Each Thursday evening between October and Could, Downtown Palm Springs turns into the VillageFest road pageant with distributors, artwork, meals, and music. We had been so beat from our Joshua Tree journey (and had an early flight the subsequent morning) so we skipped it, however we want we had gotten to see it. Subsequent time!
Have breakfast at Cheeky’s
Two totally different pals really helpful Cheeky’s for breakfast, so we’ll must attempt that subsequent time. It’s owned by the identical folks as Birba (and so they’re actually subsequent door to one another) so if it’s even half nearly as good as our dinner there, we’ll completely find it irresistible.
Issues To Do With Youngsters In Palm Springs: A Abstract
Should you’re somebody who likes having an inventory of issues to do, here’s a fast bulleted abstract of the entire sights, eats, and actions we mentioned above.
OTHER FAMILY TRIPS WE’VE TAKEN
Should you’re desirous about our tackle different locations or are in quest of family-friendly journeys, you may additionally take pleasure in these posts:
*This put up accommodates affiliate hyperlinks, so we might earn a small fee once you make a purchase order by way of hyperlinks on our website at no extra price to you.
