things to do in palm springs

palm springs 101

first - let’s get your bearings!

palm springs is a one main street kinda town. north palm canyon aka “the strip” is where you’ll find most of the restaurants, shops etc. it’s the hub of town and where you’ll likely be spending your time!

when walking, if you’ve passed the arrive hotel you’ve gone too far north and if you’ve passed the bevmo, you’ve gone too far south. as a point of reference, the thompson hotel is right in the middle.

on the northern end of the strip (on the side closer to the mountain) is the vista las palmas neighbourhood. we highly recommend getting the quintessential palm springs experience by checking out the midcentury modern houses. walk or bike around the streets outlined in pink!

get active

HIKING

there’s lots of great hikes both downtown and in the surrounding areas. if you’re looking for a bigger adventure, joshua tree is about an hour drive from downtown.

In or near downtown we recommend these hikes:

thousand palms oasis hike, tahquitz canyon hike, indian canyons hiking trails and the andreas canyon hike

GOLF

we recommend indian canyon south for a public golf course! booking is available online HERE.

PICKLEBALL

public pickleball courts right in the heart of downtown. click HERE to create an account and reserve.

BIKING

Palm Springs is great to explore on a bike. Many hotels offer free rentals, but if not, you can rent bikes with Bike Palm Springs

go exploring

our favourite thing to do in palm springs is to walk around the neighbourhoods & look at the houses. these are two of our favourite walks:

VISTA LAS PALMAS / OLD LAS PALMAS NEIGHBOURHOOD

vista las palmas and old las palmas epitomize mid-century modern! celebrities from elvis to frank sinatra and marilyn monroe and dean martin called this neighbourhood home. below is a map outlining the neighbourhood, but to keep it simple - when you’re in town getting your coffee at la jefa, just pop into any of the side streets on the mountain side and explore.

if you want to go on a self-guided tour to see which celebs lived where, check this link out here.

these are the general boundaries of the neighbourhood:

WHAT WE CALL “THE ZSA ZSA GABOR LOOP”

this is a great walking route that we made up. it will take you less than an hour and it goes uphill in a cool neighbourhood with great views. to get there, go to 595 W Chino Canyon and walk up the hill, going counterclockwise. when you come down the top of the loop, make sure you go all the way to the top -marked with a star below! (and yes, zsa zsa gabor lived here)

go shopping

there is lots of great shopping all along the strip in palm springs - these are just a couple of our faves:

mojave flea | downtown

basically lots of cool small stores within a big store. cool knicknacks, vintage clothing, a bit of everything.

phylum | downtown

we love this store - great homeware, design, sunglasses, fun things.

the shops at thirteen forty five | downtown

an assortment of small design, jewelry and clothing shops

desert premium outlet | 25 mins from downtown

the outdoor outlet mall

get cultured

check out modern art at the palm springs art museum, right in the heart of downtown - the hockney exhibit is currently on and it’s great

it’s modernism week while you’re in palm springs! see what’s going on + sign up for tours HERE