Day 1
Early morning sunrise at your site or villa patio with a leisurely breakfast in your rig or a desert restaurant.
After breakfast, we head out to explore the San Jacinto Mountains with a ride on the Palm Springs Aerial Tramway – an exciting 10-minute, 360-degree journey 8,516 feet above the valley floor. Remember it’s 30 degrees cooler on the mountain!
Then a drive down Palm Springs’ Palm Canyon Drive and tour historic sites of the desert’s early beginnings, including the frontier-era McCallum Abode and Ruddy’s General Store, circa 1930. Kids will love lunch at one of the many sidewalk cafes or local Mexican restaurants.
After a good lunch, take a relaxing ride at Coyote Ridge Stable. Ride horseback through the scenic foothills of the Coachella Valley with views of the San Gorgonio Mountains and Mount San Jacinto. During summer months, every family should visit Knott’s Soak City water park – home to thrill rides, a wave pool, and water slides.
Dinner at perhaps Roc’s Firehouse Restaurant and then, take the family to Big League Dreams Sports Park for fun in the batting cages, playing video games, or engaging in indoor/outdoor soccer.
Day 2
Start the day with a walk around the grounds of the resort. Fine-tune your putting game on our 150 feet of putting green or try your hand at pickleball fun for all ages.
Don’t forget breakfast before departing for a big day ahead, step back in time for a hearty breakfast at Ruby’s Diner: an inspired 50’s themed diner located in Palm Desert.
Make your way to the Living Desert Zoo & Botanical Garden in Palm Desert, where the entire family can see mountain lions, bobcats, wolves, and giraffes and explore the flora and fauna of the world’s desert regions. Don’t forget to marvel at the massive outdoor railroad display built by the Living Desert docents. It’s one of a kind!
Now that you’ve worked up an appetite, we highly recommend that young and older alike travel about ten minutes East from The Living Desert into Indio, to visit the world famous Shields Date Gardens, a desert tradition since 1924. This stop features food and fun for a great lunch stop. Be sure to try a world famous date shake and delicious date samples!
Spend the afternoon on the creative side at the Children’s Discovery Museum of the Desert in Rancho Mirage, Coachella Valley History Museum in Indio or Palm Springs Art Museum in Palm Springs.
Cap the afternoon off with a bit of history. Explore Palm Springs Air Museum, where you’ll find one of the largest collections of flying WWII aircrafts in the world or enjoy the outdoors at Palm Desert Civic Center Park, one of the largest parks in Palm Desert, this 70-acre span includes four baseball fields, six tennis courts, four volleyball courts, three basketball courts, a picnic area, an amphitheater, notable collection of public art, a skate park, a children’s play area and a dog park.
After your long and eventful day, return to the resort for a rest or brief swim before heading to El Paseo for dinner in one of the many great restaurants there. Afterward, take the family for a fun evening at Fantasy Lane Bowling Center or one of the great area movie theaters!
Day 3
This morning take a load off and schedule a Swedish massage to treat sore muscles or simply melt away the stress in the expert hands of Healing Hands Massage Therapy here on property and let the kids play by the pool.
Next it’s time to be picked up to go and experience the thrill of lighter-than-air travel, ballooning aloft in the unique panorama of the California desert resort area at Indian Wells. Fantasy Balloon Flights high-hour FAA-certified pilots guide multicolored hot-air balloons aloft to see the bird’s-eye view of the many country clubs, the low desert wildflowers, date palm groves & citrus fields. Go later in the day and experience the ‘Champagne’ adventures lift off daily during the early mornings and again just prior to sunset.
For dinner head to The River at Rancho Mirage, one of the desert’s newest outdoor entertainment complexes. With a wide variety of unique shops and fabulous restaurants, including kid favorites like Cheese Cake Factory and Babe’s Bar-B-Que Grill & Brewhouse this evening is sure to please. The River is a wonderful way to unwind before you head out to the open desert for a stellar guided tour of the heavens above. Sky Watcher provides high-powered telescopes and sky binoculars revealing the grandeur of the universe, providing a closer look at stellar objects, star clusters, planets, galaxies and the moon! This unique concept of astronomy combined with mythology and storytelling is an unforgettable learning experience. (Allow 1.5 hours)
Day 4
No visit to Palm Springs is complete without a tour of our nearby National Park. After breakfast, we will spend a full day exploring the many wonders of Joshua Tree National Park. This awe-inspiring park covers more than 1,240 square miles of the Mojave and Lower Colorado Deserts. Expert guides will tell you the history of this area, including the Native American lore and ancient geology of this world-famous place. You will see 1.5 billion-year-old rock walls thrust up by the San Andreas Fault and other fault lines that run beneath the Desert. This wildlife sanctuary is home to coyotes, eagles, and Big Horn sheep. This is a great place to enjoy a picnic for lunch. (Allow a full day)
Tonight we will dine at Matchbox Pizza, located in the heart of downtown Palm Springs, and offering some of the best wood-fired pizza in the West. After dinner, allow for a little time to shop along Palm Canyon Drive for that perfect take home souvenir.
Day 5
This morning after breakfast, you will have some free time to enjoy the pool at the Resort before your 11am departure.
