Palm Springs is all very midcentury modern and trendy. The town itself is quiet small and can easily be explored on foot and in a short time period.
The area is very pretty since it is surrounded by mountains. It does get very hot with being in the desert and is quite windy as well.
Doing a road trip? Check out my Los Angeles guide here, San Diego guide here, and Las Vegas guide here!

Las Palmas Brewing: A cute brewery downtown with a back beer garden space. They are focused on Farmhouse style beers and do a good job with them. They also have natural wine and usually a guest tap or two.
Boozehounds: A super cute spot with indoor, atrium and outdoor seating. They have happy hour, brunch and a full food menu. They are dog-focused and super dog-friendly. The food and drinks I had here were superb.
Townie Bagels: A cute spot for delicious bagels and coffee.
Stay at Movie Colony Hotel: This is a nice midcentury modern hotel with a lovely pool and a great price tag. The location is conveniently walkable to everything downtown. It is also pet-friendly if you’re traveling with a pup! There are lots of cute and cheap hotels in town, but I did enjoy my experience here!
La Quinta Brewing: This brewery has 3 locations—the brewery in Palm Desert, the taproom and grill in Old Town La Quinta and a quaint taproom in Palm Springs. In downtown Palm Springs they have a nice patio with misters perfect for people watching and gazing at the sunset. They have 10 taps, guest taps, and average beers.
Hop on the Aerial Tramway: Unfortunately this was closed during my visit, but I have heard great things!

Joshua Tree National Park is not a very exciting national park. Expect lots of the namesake Joshua Trees and piles of rocks.
The park is one hour east of Palm Springs and can easily be explored in a half of a day. You will need a National Park Pass or to pay to enter.
The west side of the park (closest to Palm Springs) is much cooler with a lot of Joshua Trees whereas the east side is more much classic desert.
Things to do in Joshua Tree National Park:
- Hidden Valley Trail: This is a mostly flat loop trail that is 1 mile long and takes about 25 minutes. The views here are decent but nothing too crazy.
- Keys View: A nice viewpoint of the surrounding mountains.
- Cholla Cactus Garden: A cool area to go for a stroll and explore the various types of plants.
- Arch Rock Trail: This is a mostly flat 1.1 mile out and back trail to Arch Rock. It takes about 30 minutes and you essentially walk through the desert to one rock and back.
- See Skull Rock: A rock that does indeed look like a skull
- Barker Dam Trail: This is a mostly flat loop trail that is 1.4 miles long and takes about 30 minutes. It is not super scenic and there are some petroglyphs but they’ve mostly been painted over.