PALM SPRINGS
Long associated with Hollywood celebrities (the streets have names like Bob Hope Drive and Gene Autry Trail), the Palm Springs area is like a giant sandbox in which adults are invited to play their favorite games (the most popular being golf). Palm Springs itself is actually only one of several adjacent communities in the Coachella Valley, though all offer a similar type of vacation experience. Most visitors stay in country-club-type resorts that have transformed the desert into a lush semitropical paradise (and almost a natural one, in this case, because the entire Coachella Valley sits atop a large underground lake). Most offer golf courses and tennis courts, as well as lavish spas and horseback riding.

Palm Springs has a number of attractions beyond the usual sporting pursuits (golf, tennis). The Palm Springs Desert Museum has desert dioramas and collections of art and Native American artifacts. Nearby are Moorten Botanical Garden and, for relief from the heat, the popular Oasis Water Park.

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 ll-vintage aircraft.

Day tripping in the Palm Springs area is immensely enjoyable. Starting close to Palm Springs proper is the quirky and fun community of Desert Hot Springs, famous for its hot-springs resorts, some serving as "secret" escapes for Hollywood celebrities, others quite casual and family friendly. Desert Hot Springs' eccentric Cabot's Old Indian Pueblo is a combination museum and gift shop.
Nearby, just west via 1-10, is Cabazon, where kids clamor to see the surreal giant dinosaurs outside the truck stop restaurant. Fields of power generating windmills (seen in films, including Rain Man) are visible along Highway 111. The Palm Springs Aerial Tramway takes you 6,000 ft/1,825 m up the San Jacinto Mountain Range, over Chino Canyon. It provides great views of the area—vistas that will be much more breathtaking when the Tramway's new 360-degree circular-view cars are put into service. Once at the top, you can choose from a mule ride, a hike through the wilderness or a meal in the restaurant that overlooks the desert.