Things To Do In Palm Springs

Oct 5

Written By Cara

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Palm Springs is a one of a kind city in the Sonoran Desert in California known for it’s hot springs, resorts, golf courses, and unique architecture and location amongst mountains, canyons, and of course…palm trees.

We visited for a weekend trip recently to see what there is to do in Palm Springs during the pandemic. Luckily, if you like to walk around and get outside, there is plenty to do when visiting a new city.

In this article, we’ve made a list of things to do for a great weekend in Palm Springs, as well as nearby at Anza-Borrego Desert State Park.

Note: We went to Palm Springs at the beginning of September during some of the worst wildfires in California. Thankfully they are almost all out in Southern California at the time of writing this, but the weekend we drove to Palm Springs, we past the Bobcat Fire and El Dorado Fire and the skies were smoky even in Palm Springs. Despite this and the pandemic, it was still such a great time!

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Hikes:

If you’ve been to our blog or YouTube channel before, you’ll know we pretty much hike everywhere we go. It’s a great way to discover a new place especially when the hike comes with a view of everything!

We chose the Tahquitz Canyon Trail hike to Tahquitz Falls.

1.7 Mile Loop (2.7km)
Features 60ft waterfall, rock art, ancient irrigation systems
We spotted some of the rock art, lizards, and hummingbirds

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You have to pay an entrance fee which was $12.50 for an adult when we went. The reason for this is Tahquitz Canyon is part of an Indian Reservation - the Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians.

We were recommended the Palm Canyon hike or the Andreas Canyon instead of this one, as it has a year-round stream along the loop as well as native palms.

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Other options for hiking nearby include:

Joshua Tree (drive from Palm Springs)
Mt. San Jacinto (aerial tramway closed due to Covid-19)
Indian Canyons (includes Palm Canyon, Murray Canyon, Andreas Canyon)

Note: The waterfall was almost dry so I don’t recommend this one for summertime, even though we enjoyed it.

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Food & Drink

Another love of ours is food and coffee (especially a good cold brew). Before going on the hike, we stopped at Koffi in Central Palm Springs to pick up some coffee. It was a nice place, with friendly staff and we approved of the cappuccino and cold brew! They have two other locations around Palm Springs as well.

For brekkie, we ate at Elmer’s Restaurant on the outside patio area and really enjoyed everything we had and also how friendly and safe the staff were during this time. We tried their signature dish, a classic German pancake and it was perfect after the morning hike.

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If you visit during the summer and want to cool down, trying a date shake in Palm Springs or a Dole whip is a great option and quite unique to the area. Dates grow great under the California sun and especially near Palm Springs, which is why date shakes are a popular option here. We got a shake and Dole whip from Lappert’s, but you can find a few other places selling these drinks too. They tasted great and were fun to have whilst we walked around the town.

Note: Unfortunately I do not believe the date shake from Lappert’s was nut-free even though we were told it was. Always double-check if you have a peanut or nut allergy like myself, as they sometimes use walnuts in these recipes.

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Things To Do

One of the best things about visiting Palm Springs is that it’s a place to relax and unwind. Walking around the downtown area and checking out the shops and restaurants is a popular option, but if you want some ideas, below is a list of things we did (during the pandemic and summertime) to see more of Palm Springs.