I recently traveled to Palm Springs during the week before Coachella’s 1st weekend with my boyfriend to celebrate our 1 year anniversary. We were both pleasantly surprised not only by the size of Palm Springs but by all of the super fun things to do/ places to go there! So just incase you’re not ‘Chella chillin’ this year, here’s a list of things you should do in Palm Springs.
- Go Downtown
Palm Canyon Drive is the main downtown road of Palm Springs, Rancho Mirage, and Cathedral City so its only fitting that this should be one of your first stops, day or night. The street is lined with restaurants and bars to cater your every craving. A bar/restaurant crawl would be a great way to spend a day or night with friends and family!
2. Village Fest
Not only does Palm Springs have a way fun downtown restaurant and bar scene, but every Thursday night the main road is blocked off for a street fair! You can sample all kinds of food from hummus and beef jerky to kettle corn and fudge, you can see some incredible local artists, or just walk through it all and enjoy the beautiful weather. With over 180 vendors, there’s something for everybody at the Village Fest. Heads up: make a restaurant reservation as far in advance as you can, this place gets super busy and the restaurants rarely have room for walk-ins on Thursday nights.
3. Fisherman’s Market & Grille
Just because Palm Springs isn’t directly on a beach, doesn’t mean you can’t get amazingly fresh seafood! This place is a local favorite; at least 4 of our Uber drivers recommended it. Their menu is incredible, not to mention the specials they have each night. With the freshest fish and the most creative flavors, this restaurant is the perfect date-night spot. I’m making my bae take us back to Palm Springs just for the food, tbh.
4. Hangout at a Hotel Pool
Most of the hotels here have 3-5 pools ranging from the kiddie pool to the 21+ pool. Sit by the pool for a day, order a double pitcher of margarita and soak up the sun. I can’t think of a better way to spend a day on vacation that by relaxing in a cabana at a pool by a golf course. If you need a little more adventure than that, head over to another hotel and sneak into their pool!
5. Party at the Saguaro Hotel
Every person I talked to asked if I was going to all of these crazy pool parties at the Saguaro and I was getting major FOMO. Stop by the Saguaro or check out their calendar on their website and see what’s going on while you’re in town! More likely than not, even if nothing is on the calendar there’s something going down for real at this place!
6. Go on a Hike
If you know me at all you know that I love nature, but only in small doses. Me recommending or even agreeing to go on a hike is shocking, but I had so much fun! The weather is perfectly sunny, but not too hot to take a drive to Agua Caliente Indian Canyon and hike one of the many, many trails they have. Palm Canyon might be my favorite! Most of your hike will be shaded by some of the tallest palm trees you have ever seen! Fair warning, this is an extreme rattlesnake habitat so watch where you step!
7. Go Golfing
Yeah okay, I’m not super thrilled about this option either, BUT the courses in Palm Springs are some of the most beautiful ones I have ever seen! You never know whom you could meet or what kind of connections you could make out there. Check out the Escena Golf Course website here and see for yourself.
8. Get Married
Okay, okay, so maybe don’t do this spur of the moment in Palm Springs – this isn’t Vegas – but Palm Springs has a ton of really beautiful wedding venues! Some of these are totally worth adding to your Pintrest wedding board.
There are so many more fun things to do in Palm Springs than just Coachella, so go ahead- book a flight and see for yourself what you can find out there in the desert!