As I’ve mentioned in a few blog posts, my dad turned the big 6-0 a week before Christmas, so his birthday wish was for all of us to spend the holidays together somewhere sunny and warm. He decided on Palm Springs, California, for a variety reasons—we’d never been there together as a family, the weather is typically good in December, and it was a relatively easy/not too expensive flight for all of us to get there, since my two brothers and I all live in different states. The charming, colorful city did not disappoint, and we had a great week there over the holidays!

Where We Stayed

Part of my dad’s vision for the week was for us all to spend time together as a family playing games, cooking big meals together, etc. That’s not really feasible for a group of six in a hotel, so my dad decided to go the rental house route. He booked a four bedroom, three bathroom house from Ryson Vacations, a local rental management company, per our friends’ recommendation. My brother and sister-in-law slept in a room with an ensuite bathroom, and then my other brother and I each got our own bedrooms, sharing a bathroom. My desert-chic, citrus-themed room was super cute!

It was so nice to have so much space for the week, especially since we spent Christmas there (our first time spending Christmas anywhere but our house or my grandparents’ house). We set up a little transportable light-up tree in the corner of the living room to make it more festive. The rental house came with a garage, pool, hot tub, ping pong table, grill, outdoor dining table, and outdoor fireplace, all of which we made use of. The spaces were great and perfectly fit our needs as a group of six.

My only complaints were that the house didn’t feel the cleanest, and there were a handful of things that were broken (such as the lights being out on the front porch). The management company was only somewhat responsive and did not get some of the small things fixed during our stay, which was a little disappointing. We expected better since the house is managed by a company instead of individuals, like Airbnb. But overall, the rental was still in a great location and allowed us to feel very comfortable during our week-long stay.

What We Did

Trivia at Coachella Valley Brewing Co.

I’ve been getting my parents hooked on trivia! During our first night in the city, we went to trivia at a nearby brewery called Coachella Valley Brewing Co. It was in a weird, industrial-looking part of town but thankfully was still a ton of fun. They weren’t serving food that night (I think sometimes they partner with food trucks), but they did say we could bring in our own food—we decided just to eat pizza beforehand.

I couldn’t find any of the national trivia companies in Palm Springs, such as Geeks Who Drink or Team Trivia (both of which I do in Denver), so the trivia options I did find in the city are all independently run. This trivia happened to be Christmas theme, which was really fun! It was a slow crowd due to the holidays but we ended up winning first place, which included money off our bar tab, a free four-pack, and a souvenir glass. The host (find him here) was really fun and offered a great variety of questions. He said he does trivia at a few other locations in the Coachella Valley, so I would definitely go again!

Hiking Museum Trial

We spent our first full day in Palm Springs exploring downtown and going on a hike behind the art museum, aptly named Museum Trail. Even though it’s only a two mile hike, it was pretty steep and took us about an hour and a half to complete, if I had to guess. The views from the top were well worth the effort, and there were picnic tables and even a pull-up bar and weights to enjoy. I learned during my trip that Palm Springs is very unique because the elevation goes from roughly sea level to 10,000 feet in the San Jacinto Mountains with virtually no foothills—meaning it gets very steep very fast, nothing gradual about it!

Exploring the Palm Springs Art Museum

After our hike, we got milkshakes at Great Shakes and wandered around downtown to kill time before exploring the art museum. The Palm Springs Art Museum has free entry on Thursdays starting at 5pm, as well as music and drinks for purchase. I saw this on a list of things to do in Palm Springs, but I wasn’t sure if it would be worthwhile—I love museums but have found that art museums can be really hit or miss. I’m glad we decided to go this time because this museum did not disappoint. It had so many unique, eye-catching pieces that even some of the less artistically-inclined members of our party still really enjoyed the outing. The sphere of mirrors was absolutely mesmerizing (reminded me a spirograph or kaleidoscope) and the bonnet made of sewing pins was reminiscent of The Handmaid’s Tale. The old tourist couple—believe it or not—is made of copper, among other materials. SO creepy! I sat down on the bench across from them and thought they were real.

Midcentury Modern Architecture Bike Tour

I didn’t know much about Palm Springs before visiting, but I did know that the city is famous for its colorful houses. Turns out, it is known more specifically for midcentury modern architecture (picture: single-floor homes, minimalistic design, floor-to-ceiling windows, and geometric lines). My dad is the reason I have an interest in architecture and interior design—we used to go to open houses together and he still sends me home listings from Zillow—so this midcentury modern architecture bike tour was on the top of his Palm Springs bucket list.

I cannot recommend this tour enough. Our tour guide Brennan, who runs the show, was excellent; he was funny, personable, extremely knowledgeable, and perceptive to our needs and interests as a group. Even the less confident cyclers and people not as interested in architecture had a great time. We biked around three prominent neighborhoods in Palm Springs and learned about the history of both the town and architecture. Brennan taught us about the official Palm Springs colors, the typical layout of midcentury modern houses, and the famous architects who pioneered the style, among many other things. We saw one of Liberace’s houses and heard about the extravagant parties Frank Sinatra used to throw in the area. We saw the famous #thatpinkdoor that went viral on Instagram several years back. And we even happened upon an estate sale, so we got to see inside one of the homes and take a peek at some of the goodies (there was a fabulous colorful striped dress/coat combo that looked like something Midge Maisel would wear, but it wasn’t in great condition).

If you visit Palm Springs, you HAVE to do this tour. Such a highlight of the trip. You can bring your own bikes and helmets, but we ended up renting ours from Big Wheel Tours, which partners with Brennan’s company and offers discounted rental prices.

Hiking in Joshua Tree National Park

Joshua Tree National Park is about an hour drive outside of Palm Springs, and we ended up visiting twice. The first time we visited it was a Saturday, and as you can imagine, it was packed. We brought lunches for a picnic and then hiked Skull Rock Trail, an easy and flat 1.8 mile loop. It was so crowded though that it was, as my sister-in-law put it, like an outdoor museum. While this trail was easy and great for beginners, it was busy with tourists clearly not prepared to hike. There were also very few Joshua trees along this route (although the geology was spectacular).

The second time we visited on a Tuesday, early in the morning, and had a much better experience. We hiked Lost Horse Mine Trail, which was about a seven-mile hike a little further off the beaten path. As the name suggests, the loop took us past an old mine over 100 years old, which was cool to see. We also got incredible views of the park at the peak and were able to walk among way more Joshua trees—it felt like a jungle out of Jurassic Park.

If you visit Joshua Tree National Park, I recommend going early in the morning and on a weekday, as the park gets very crowded and parking fills up quickly. Be sure to stop by one of the visitor centers also for some cool souvenirs, like my awesome new t-shirt!

Busting Out of an Escape Room

As a fun family activity one day, we decided to do the Vampire’s Lair escape room at Palm Springs Escape Rooms. Their website boasts some of the largest escape rooms in the U.S., and I can confirm that it was very spacious! We had so much fun and managed to escape this spooky room just in the nick of time (well, the game master gave us an extra two minutes). I chose this vampire room because the description said it was great for beginners and puzzle experts, and since half of our party had done an escape room before and the other half hadn’t, I would say the description was very accurate. I thought we might snap at each other and lose our tempers, but everyone had so much fun! The game master even took a couple of great group photos of us.

Seeing a Movie at the Palm Springs Cultural Center

I saw online that the local cultural center was doing a couple of special screenings, such as Christmas movies and an anniversary version of The Exorcist. For Christmas Eve, my mom and I surprised everyone with tickets to Die Hard (because obviously Die Hard is a holiday movie). Not only was it fun to watch on the big screen, but we also got to hear from a woman who worked on the film as a foley artist, who is responsible for recording the everyday sounds you hear in films (in this movie, she discussed the shattering of glass, footsteps, and the helicopters specifically). It was so interesting to hear from her! If you visit Palm Springs, I recommend checking out what’s happening at the cultural center in case they have any other cool special screenings—you never know who you might see or hear from since the town is so close to Hollywood.

Watching Don’t Worry Darling

During our bike tour, Brennan told us how some important movie lady went to a party in Palm Springs, saw one of the preserved midcentury modern neighborhoods, and decided a movie had to be made there. Enter: Don’t Worry Darling, starring Florence Pugh, Olivia Wilde, and Harry Styles. The pic above is one of the houses in the cul-de-sac where all the main characters live! So cool. We watched the movie on Amazon Prime in our rental house. While the film had it’s issues, it was still very intriguing, and we all loved seeing the place we had just visited on the big screen.

What We Didn’t Do

Riding the Aerial Tramway

One of the top things to do in Palm Springs is ride the Aerial Tramway up the side of the San Jacinto Mountains. The ride takes about 10 minutes one-way and there is a restaurant and hiking at the top. I really wanted to do this and saved it for our last full day, but when we drove over in the morning, security guards told us the tram was closed due to technical difficulties! First of all, a little sketchy. But also, if you want to ride it, I guess I recommend scheduling it early in your trip in case there are any hiccups. The wait is also typically several hours (!!) so I suggest going first thing in the morning.

Visiting the Downtowns of Different Coachella Valley Cities

My siblings and I were surprised to learn this, but Palm Springs is just one city in a long string of towns in the Coachella Valley, including Cathedral City, Palm Desert, La Quinta, Indio, and Coachella, among others. For this reason, be careful when you look up restaurants and stuff to do in the area—some of it might be a further drive than you think! A lot of our week was spent relaxing around the house, either swimming, lounging in the hot tub, or playing games. For that reason, we didn’t go out on the town much or get a sense for the vibe of the area. But from what driving around we did do, it seemed like each town had its own unique look and style that would be worth exploring if we visit again. I’m sure there are some amazing vintage stores that I’d like to check out next time!

What to Pack

From the moment I stepped off the plane into the Palm Springs open-air airport, I regretted my packing decisions. When I checked the forecast before leaving, it said 60s pretty consistently for the week (I’m terrible at judging temperatures). Some of the days got into the 70s, but overall I think it generally felt a lot warmer in Palm Springs than I expected—very sunny and full-on hot a couple of the days. I packed way too many jeans and sweaters, which I never ended up wearing. Of course, Palm Springs is in a desert, so it cooled down quite a bit at night and can rain in the winter. If I did it over again I would focus on packing a lot of layers—things that can easily be taken on and off and transition from day to night. I think linen or palazzo pants would have been good… jeans are too thick but a dress would have been chilly in the evenings. I also would have brought way more hiking and athletic clothes, as we did a lot more outdoor activities than I expected.

Annnnd that’s a wrap! We had such a great time relaxing and spending the holidays in Palm Springs. Aside from a little rain on the day of our biking tour, we had great weather and felt pretty spoiled lounging poolside in December. We all discussed whether we would spend the holidays in Palm Springs again, and everyone agreed yes!

Have you ever been to Palm Springs? What were your thoughts on the little city?

 

Miles of smiles,

Grace