The things to do in Palm Springs that we could check are the Palm Springs Aerial Tramway, Indian Canyons, Moorten Botanical Garden, the Palm Springs Art Museum, mid-century architecture tours, the Uptown Design District, Thursday night VillageFest and the Cabazon Dinosaurs. You can walk downtown without a car, but the Tramway, the canyons and Joshua Tree need a ride. We read each page on 15 October 2026.
The sights, with address, hours and price
Palm Springs Aerial Tramway
Address: 1 Tram Way, Palm Springs, CA 92262 (Palm Springs Aerial Tramway, home page, read 15 Oct 2026)
Hours: Winter hours, 5 October 2026 to 27 May 2027. Monday to Friday, first tram up at 10:00 a.m. Saturday, Sunday and holidays, first tram up at 8:00 a.m. Last tram up at 8:00 p.m. and last tram down at 9:30 p.m. Summer hours start 28 May 2027. The ticket booth opens 30 minutes before the first tram. The site says hours can change without notice (Tramway hours page and parking page, read 15 Oct 2026)
Price: Adult $36.95, senior (65 and over) $33.95, child (3 to 10) $20.95. Each includes a $2 online fee. Children under 2 are free but need a boarding pass from the booth on the day. Ride 'n' Dine, with dinner at Pines Cafe, is $45 for an adult and $31.50 for a child, available after 4 p.m. If online tickets sell out, you can still buy at the booth on the day (Tramway tickets page, updated 2 Oct 2026)
Price: Parking is $15 a car. It opens at 9:00 a.m. on weekdays and 7:00 a.m. on weekends and holidays. Taxis and buses may use the drop-off area, which has a 10-minute limit (Tramway parking page, updated 13 Nov 2025)
Note: The Tramway says the ride takes about ten minutes. It goes from the Valley Station at 2,643 feet to the Mountain Station at 8,516 feet. The site says the top is usually about 30 degrees cooler than the valley floor (Tramway press release of 1 Sep 2026, home page and weekly planner page)
Note: Annual maintenance closure in 2026: 8 September to 4 October, with a tentative reopening at 10:00 a.m. on 5 October. The last day to ride before it was 7 September. We found no dates for the 2027 closure. The hours page, updated 7 Oct 2026, lists winter hours from 5 October (Tramway press release, 1 Sep 2026)
Indian Canyons
Address: Toll gate at 38520 S. Palm Canyon Drive, Palm Springs. The tribe also sells tickets at the Agua Caliente Visitor's Counter, 2901 N. Palm Canyon (Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians, Indian Canyons hours page)
Hours: October 1 to July 4: daily, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., last vehicle in at 4 p.m. July 5 to September 30: open only Friday, Saturday and Sunday, same hours. Hours are subject to change, says the page. Ranger-led hikes run October to June, Friday to Sunday at 10 a.m. and 1 p.m. They are free with paid admission and last about 1.5 hours
Price: Adults $12, seniors 62 and over $7, students $7 with ID, children 6 to 12 $6, U.S. military free with ID. Annual pass $125. Visitors must be 18 or older to enter the canyons alone. No animals are allowed
Note: The tribe's site blocked our reader. We read an archived copy of the hours page dated 15 May 2026, through the Internet Archive. The page then carried a notice that the canyons were closed 24 to 31 May 2026. Check the live page for prices and any closure
Moorten Botanical Garden
Address: 1701 S Palm Canyon Drive, Palm Springs, CA 92264. Phone 760-327-6555 (Moorten Botanical Garden, home page, read 15 Oct 2026)
Hours: Season hours, October 1 to May 31: 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., closed Wednesday. The page lists no hours for June to September (same page)
Price: Adults and seniors $7, veterans $5, children 5 to 12 $3, children under 5 free (same page)
The garden says it has more than 3,000 varieties of plants along a nature trail. The garden's website has an expired security certificate, so your browser may warn you.
Palm Springs Art Museum
Address: 101 Museum Drive, Palm Springs, CA (Palm Springs Art Museum, main museum page, read 15 Oct 2026)
Hours: Sunday 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Monday to Wednesday closed. Thursday noon to 8:00 p.m. Friday and Saturday 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. (same page)
Price: Adults $25, seniors (62 and over) $23, students and teachers $17. Always free for children under 18 and for active-duty military and their families. Free on Thursdays from 5:00 to 8:00 p.m., funded by the City of Palm Springs. The museum goes cashless on 15 October 2026 (same page)
Mid-century homes and Modernism Week
Modernism Week is a non-profit that runs festivals and architecture tours of the city's mid-century modern homes.
Hours: Modernism Week October: 15 to 18 October 2026, tickets on sale now. Modernism Week 2027: 11 to 21 February 2027, tickets on sale 1 November 2026 at noon PDT. The next October festival is 14 to 17 October 2027, with tickets on sale 1 August 2027 (Modernism Week, home page, read 15 Oct 2026)
Note: The organizer also runs seasonal 22-seat mini-coach architecture tours from 15 October 2026 to 29 May 2027, with tickets on sale now. The page lists no prices, tour lengths or addresses, and we did not confirm them (Modernism Week, architecture tours page)
Downtown and the Uptown Design District
Downtown sits on Palm Canyon Drive. The tourism board lists the Palm Springs Art Museum and Palm Springs Downtown Park in its central area (Visit Palm Springs, neighborhood guide dated 28 Aug 2026).
The Uptown Design District runs along North Palm Canyon Drive from Alejo Road to Vista Chino, just north of downtown. Visit Palm Springs describes it as vintage furniture shops, design galleries, boutiques, restaurants and bars. It has no entry fee. Each shop and restaurant sets its own hours, and we did not check them.
VillageFest
VillageFest is a Thursday night street fair on Palm Canyon Drive in downtown Palm Springs. Its website, run by the City of Palm Springs, lists it every Thursday from 6:00 to 10:00 p.m. on 15, 22 and 29 October 2026, with more than 180 vendors. It says the fair is dog friendly. We found no entry fee on the page, and we did not read the summer hours (villagefest.org, home page and calendar, read 15 Oct 2026).
Joshua Tree National Park day trip
Palm Springs has the closest airport to the park, says NPS. The NPS fees page lists a standard pass at $15 to $30, and the most common one is the 7-day private vehicle pass (read 15 Oct 2026). We did not confirm a distance or a drive time from Palm Springs. NPS says public transport to the park is limited and points to the Morongo Basin Transit Authority, whose routes we did not check. Read our Joshua Tree in one day guide for entrances, fees and a one-day route.
Cabazon Dinosaurs
Address: 50770 Seminole Drive, Cabazon, CA 92230. Phone 909-272-8164 (Cabazon Dinosaurs, home page, read 15 Oct 2026)
Hours: The page lists summer hours only: Monday to Thursday 9 a.m. to 6:30 p.m., Friday to Sunday 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. It lists no hours for the rest of the year, so check before you go (same page)
Price: Adults 13 to 55 $15, children 3 to 12 $13, seniors and military $11. Tickets are sold only at the door (same page)
The park's two best-known dinosaurs are Mr. Rex and Dinny. It says it has more than 100 more, plus a dino dig and a fossil and gemstone panning sluice. We did not confirm the distance from Palm Springs. The Amtrak Connection bus (Route 39, below) stops in Cabazon at the Morongo Casino Hotel. We did not check how far that stop is from the dinosaurs.
With kids
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Tramway: child ticket (3 to 10) $20.95.
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Indian Canyons: children 6 to 12 $6. Ranger-led hikes are free with admission from October to June.
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Moorten Botanical Garden: children 5 to 12 $3, under 5 free.
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Cabazon Dinosaurs: children 3 to 12 $13, with a dino dig and gemstone sluice.
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Art Museum: free for children under 18.
Free things
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Palm Springs Art Museum: free Thursdays, 5:00 to 8:00 p.m. Free at any time for children under 18.
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Uptown Design District: no entry fee to walk it.
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Downtown Palm Canyon Drive: no entry fee. VillageFest runs Thursdays, 6:00 to 10:00 p.m., and its site lists no entry fee.
Where to stay in Palm Springs
We did not check any hotel's rate or room list, so we give no prices. Rates change by date, so look up your own.
The tourism board's neighborhood guide (28 Aug 2026) names these areas.
| Area | What the tourism board says it suits |
|---|---|
| Downtown | First-time visitors and car-free trips. Restaurants, shopping, nightlife and museums |
| Uptown Design District | Design lovers and food fans. Vintage shopping, restaurants and boutiques |
| Vista Las Palmas and Racquet Club Estates | Mid-century modern architecture |
| South Palm Springs | Relaxation and outdoor trips. It lists access to Indian Canyons |
Getting around
Price: SunBus, the local bus: adult single ride $1.00, day pass $3.00, 10-ride pass $10.00, 30/31-day pass $34.00. Youth single ride $0.85, day pass $2.00. Seniors 60 and over and riders with disabilities pay $0.50 a ride and $1.50 a day. A transfer is $0.25 on a single ride and included with a day pass (SunLine Transit, fare information page, read 15 Oct 2026)
Getting there: Palm Springs International Airport (PSP): SunLine has two bus stops a short walk from the terminal, at El Cielo and Kirk Douglas Way and at Tahquitz Canyon Way and Civic Drive. Taxis wait outside baggage claim, and the airport says taxis may offer a $25 flat fare for eligible trips from PSP, so confirm with the driver. Uber and Lyft pick up at the south end of the terminal. We did not find a distance or time to downtown on the airport's page (flypsp.com, ground transportation page, read 15 Oct 2026)
Getting there: From Los Angeles by public transport: Amtrak Connection bus Route 39 runs from Fullerton to Palm Springs, with stops at Downtown and the Airport. Eastbound it leaves Fullerton at 10:50 a.m. and 5:00 p.m., stops at Cabazon (Morongo Casino Hotel) at 12:20 p.m. and 6:30 p.m., and reaches Downtown Palm Springs at 12:50 p.m. and 7:00 p.m. and the airport stop at 1:00 p.m. and 7:10 p.m. Westbound it leaves the airport stop at 7:45 a.m. and 2:10 p.m. and reaches Fullerton at 10:05 a.m. and 4:35 p.m. Buses connect with Pacific Surfliner trains and need advance reservations (Pacific Surfliner timetable effective 4 May 2026, read 15 Oct 2026). Fares were not listed on the timetable.
Do I need a car in Palm Springs?
It depends on the trip. For a stay downtown, no. The tourism board says many downtown hotels are within walking distance of restaurants, shopping, museums and nightlife, and that rideshares, bikes and tours can take you farther. The Art Museum, Palm Canyon Drive and VillageFest are in that central area.
For the Tramway, Indian Canyons, Cabazon and Joshua Tree, plan on a car, a rideshare or a tour. The Tramway's parking page says taxis and buses use its drop-off area, but we did not find a SunBus line that goes there, so treat it as not confirmed. Indian Canyons asks Uber and Lyft drivers to show company stickers at drop-off and pickup. For Joshua Tree, NPS says public transport is limited.
Best time to go
Note: NOAA's 1991 to 2020 monthly normals, Palm Springs Regional Airport (NOAA NCEI, normals-monthly-1991-2020, station USW00093138, read 15 Oct 2026)
| Month | High / low (F) | Rain (in) |
|---|---|---|
| January | 70.5 / 47.6 | 1.14 |
| April | 86.7 / 59.1 | 0.09 |
| July | 108.6 / 79.4 | 0.25 |
| October | 91.1 / 64.5 | 0.20 |
Summer is very hot, and even the July nights average 79.4 F. Indian Canyons cuts its summer hours to Friday to Sunday from July 5 to September 30, and the Tramway is cooler at the top, usually by about 30 degrees.
What we checked and what can change
Read on 15 October 2026: the Palm Springs Aerial Tramway's home, tickets, hours, parking, weekly planner and technical pages and its 1 September 2026 maintenance press release; the Palm Springs Art Museum's main museum and visit pages; Moorten Botanical Garden's home page; the Modernism Week home and architecture tours pages; Visit Palm Springs' neighborhood and Uptown Design District guides; the Cabazon Dinosaurs home page; the VillageFest home page; NPS's Joshua Tree fees and directions pages; SunLine's fare page; Palm Springs International Airport's ground transportation page; and the Pacific Surfliner schedule page and timetable PDF. NOAA's normals came from the NCEI data service.
Read through other routes: the Indian Canyons hours page, through an archived copy dated 15 May 2026, because the tribe's site blocked our reader.
Not confirmed: current Indian Canyons prices and closures, VillageFest summer hours and whether it charges anything, Modernism Week tour prices and lengths, Moorten Botanical Garden hours from June to September, Cabazon Dinosaurs hours outside summer, a bus to the Tramway, the distance from Palm Springs to Cabazon and Joshua Tree, the Tramway's 2027 maintenance dates, Amtrak Connection bus fares, and any hotel rate. The Tramway's home page also shows a $46 ticket with a meal that we could not match to the $45 Ride 'n' Dine price on its ticket page. Prices and hours change, so check the operator's page for your date. We did not visit Palm Springs for this page.
