Palm Desert

Palm Desert is a city of 53,000 people (2018) in the desert of California between Palm Springs and Indio. It lies in the Coachella Valley at the base of the San Jacinto Mountains. The city is home to many golf courses, attractions, luxury hotels and shops, and spas that make the region a famous getaway for much of Southern California.

By plane

 * Palm Springs International Airport is in the heart of nearby Palm Springs. Scheduled daily flight connections from San Francisco, Seattle, Phoenix, Chicago (O'Hare), Dallas/Fort Worth, Los Angeles, Houston, Atlanta, Salt Lake City, Minneapolis/Saint Paul, Denver, Portland (Oregon), Las Vegas, Calgary and Vancouver. Airlines serving Palm Springs (PSP) include Alaska, America West, American, American Eagle, Delta, and United.
 * LA/Ontario International Airport is about 80 miles (130 km) to the west of Palm Desert and has many more flight connections. The airport lies off Interstate 10 in the Inland Empire.

By car
is the main artery serving the Coachella Valley. From Los Angeles, take Interstate 10 east towards San Bernardino, Indio, and Phoenix. Palm Desert is about a two-hour drive if traffic is not heavy. Weekend getaway traffic can be very heavy. Exiting Monterey Avenue or Cook Street and heading south puts you in the heart of the city.

descends the San Jacinto Mountains into the city from the south. Travelers from the San Diego should head north on I-15, south-east on State Hwy 79 (Temecula Pkwy at exit 58 in Temecula) and then east on State Hwy 371 until it meets with Route 74. Chains may be required on this route in the winter. CA-74 ends at its intersection with CA-11 in the heart of the city. The road itself continues north into town as Monterey Ave.

begins at Exit 111 of I-10, west of Palm Springs, serves a main throroughfare through Palm Springs, Rancho Mirage, Indian Wells and Palm Desert with shops, strips malls, restaurants and hotels lined up along the road. East of Indio Highway 111 eventually goes southeast towards Brawley along the eastern shores of the Salton Sea.

By train
Nearby Palm Springs is served by Amtrak via its Sunset Limited and Texas Eagle routes, which run thrice-weekly.

Get around
Like many California cities, Palm Desert is a very car-oriented city. If you want to have a good time at all, you should rent a car at the airport. Otherwise you'd have to take the bus or walk.

By car
The main highway serving the city is State Highway 111, which links many of the Coachella Valley cities, from Palm Springs to Indio and beyond to the Mexican Border at Calexico. However, this artery has many traffic lights and lots of traffic, so if you are going far, you should consider driving out and hopping on the 10 freeway.

The Rodeo Drive of the area is El Paseo. There are lots of art galleries, shops, and restaurants along the street, which links up with Highway 111 at its ends.

By shuttle
The City of Palm Desert operates the El Paseo Courtesy Carts. The shuttle runs along El Paseo and is free of charge. Although not a viable option for seeing the entire city, it allows visitors to park their cars and see the entire El Paseo stretch.

Do

 * Stroll along El Paseo between Monterey and Portola avenues. This stretch has many fine boutiques, galleries, restaurants, and shops. The free Courtesy Carts make visiting this stretch very easy.

Buy
There are a lot of good places to shop in Palm Desert. You could probably find just about anything.



Go next

 * Joshua Tree National Park. This desert park is definitely worth visiting if you have at least half a day to spare. You can get there in less than an hour by going north on State Route 62.  Take a minimum of four hours to do the loop from the north through the south of the park.  Camping is allowed as well as rock climbing.
 * Idyllwild. Alpine scenery a short drive from Palm Desert via State Route 74 & 243, the Pines to Palms Highway.
 * Cabazon Outlets, A large outdoor shopping plaza with many stores. If you're looking for something to buy, chances are that there is a store in Cabazon that will have it.