Palm Springs itinerary in 5 days
Including La Quinta and Palm Desert
Hotel
Palm Springs:
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This cute boutique hotel in Palm Springs is a renovated, Spanish Mission style building with pool and lush desert garden, surrounded by a beautiful courtyard. Their rooms have been updated and are nicely decorated.
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♥♥♥♥
We rented a lovely condo in the town of La Quinta which is about a half hour drive from Palm Springs. Our unit was a three-bedroom, three bathroom unit. The peaceful resort is immaculate with twelve pools. We rented through Airbnb but you can rent directly through the Legacy Villas management office as well.
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I keep updating this itinerary because I have been to the Palm Springs/La Quinta areas several times now. I just love it there. It's such a great warm get-away during the cold winter months in Canada. I find the mountains and desert so soothing and the hiking is stunning and there are nice museums and art everywhere.
The first time I came to the area we stayed at a cute, renovated, Spanish Mission style hotel in central Palm Springs called Hotel California, but on my last few trips we decided to rent an Airbnb and stay in the small town of La Quinta. This sleepy town in the Palm Springs area is beautiful and peaceful. You will need a car when visiting this area but the driving is easy - no big-city traffic jams!
Hiking Trails
Living Desert Zoo and Gardens in Palm Desert. They have three different marked trails, all with interpretive signage and exhibits.
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Indian Canyons located in Palm Springs. There are several hiking trails. We hiked along the Andreas Canyon trail which is a one-mile loop in a tranquil setting with magnificent palm trees, interesting vegetation and a year-round flowing stream. It was a moderate-level hike.
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Murray Canyon to the Seven Sisters Waterfall is a stunning hike but involves several river crossings on rocks or logs so it can be a challenge for some with balance issues.
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Palm Canyon trail is gorgeous. It is much longer and involves somme steep climbs and some scrambling.
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La Quinta Cove in La Quinta. This is a nice walk along more rugged terrain. The paths were not very clearly marked.
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Joshua Tree National Park. Named for the bristled, twisted Joshua trees typical of the area, this large park has many hiking trails, at a variety of levels, and beautiful views of the Coachella Valley below.
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This year we joined some friends on a guided hike in Joshua Tree. I highly recommend this. We learnt so much and Ethan took us outside of the regular trails. If you are interested in a guided hike, contact Ethan at jtreeadventures.com.
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Bump and Grind in Palm Desert. This trail has some steep inclines and is a good workout. There are several trails that connect to Bump and Grind. It is a popular trail as it is very close to El Paseo in Palm Desert.
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Thousand Palms Oasis Preserve. Located in Indio, this trail is part of the Coachella Valley Preserve System. It is a long hike and steep in spots but has beautiful views and areas with lush palm trees.
Day 1
La Quinta
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Afternoon
We arrived in La Quinta from Los Angeles and checked into our Legacy Villas condominium. This beautifully landscaped resort-condominium complex is a perfect spot for families and groups of friends. The complex has 12 pools and a club house.
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We went for a walk around the complex to familiarize ourselves with the area and then went to do some grocery shopping. There are plenty of grocery stores and markets in the area.
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Evening
We walked to Old Town La Quints this evening for dinner and ate at Enzo's Bistro and Bar. The food was delicious and plentiful.
Noteworthy Restaurants
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Enzo's Bistro and Bar. Located in Old Town La Quinta, this is one of our favourite restaurants in the area. The food is consistently delicious and the service is good. They have a large outdoor patio.
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Heirloom Craft Kitchen. This casual restaurant located in Indio, right near La Quinta, serves fresh and healthy food for breakfast, lunch or dinner. Their tomato soup and salads are delicious.
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Lavender Bistro. This restaurant in La Quinta is perfect for a special occasion. The patio is lit up beautifully and they have live music in the background. The food is delicious but a little pricey.
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The La Quinta Cliffhouse. Another special occasion restaurant, the Cliffhouse has a beautiful outdoor setting up on a hill with waterfalls and ambient lighting. The food and drink menu is really nice with lot of delicious choices.
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Lulu California Bistro. Right on the strip in Palm Springs. The food was fresh and tasty, with a diverse menu and large portions.
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Stuft Pizza. Located in Old Town La Quinta. It has a lively atmosphere serving pizza, sandwiches and salads.
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JC's Patio Cafe. On El Paseo Drive in Palm Desert. Cute cafè with an outdoor patio. They have a nice menu of fresh salads, sandwiches and soups.
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Grill on Main. In Old Town La Quinta, this is a delicious spot for dinner.
Day 2
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Morning
This morning following breakfast, we headed to Old Town La Quinta. A short drive from our condominium, this cute village has small boutiques, coffee shops and restaurants. It is surrounded on one end by a beautiful park with ponds and walking paths. We spent some time walking around and had a coffee.
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We then headed to the Palm Springs Art Museum. This small but impressive museum has three locations. Today we visited the main one in the heart of downtown Palm Springs. It houses a beautiful modern art collection, a glass collection, as well as mid-century modern furniture. They offer docent led tours several times a day which are highly recommended. We did a tour about some of the artists who were inspired by the California desert.
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Afternoon
Following the museum we decided to walk around the main street of Palm Springs on South Canyon Drive. There are lots of gift shops and restaurants along this lively strip.
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We had lunch at Lulu California Bistro right on the strip. The food was fresh and tasty, with a diverse menu and large portions. After lunch we continued to window shop for a little longer and then headed back to our condo.
After a short rest we went for a hike around the periphery of the complex and at the base of the mountain behind our resort, followed by some relaxing on the hammocks at the resort.
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Evening
This evening we stayed in and had dinner in the condo.
Day 3
Morning
After breakfast today we headed to the beautiful Annenberg Estate, also known as Sunnylands. This former home of the wealthy Annenberg family, located in Rancho Mirage, has been declared a historic site. It has been the vacation site of several celebrities and is still used as a conference centre for dignitaries and public officials. It is sometimes referred to as "Camp David of the West".
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There are several tours offered on the estate. To tour the inside of the house, tickets must be purchased far in advance. Unfortunately we were not able to obtain tickets to tour inside but we did an open-air shuttle tour of the Sunnylands grounds and gardens which are stunningly landscaped.
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Afternoon
After Sunnylands we decided to stop at the Living Desert Zoo and Gardens in Palm Desert where we walked along their hiking trails and paths, while also admiring some of the animals. They have three different marked trails, all with interpretive signage and exhibits. This was a lovely way to spend the late morning and early afternoon.
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We headed to Old Town La Quinta for lunch. We had pizza and salads on the patio of Stuft Pizza. It was a nice and lively restaurant. We walked around the town after lunch and stopped for a coffee and dessert at a local cafè before heading back to the condo.
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Evening
This evening we stayed in and barbequed at our condo.
Favourite Museums
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Palm Springs Art Museum. This small but impressive museum has three locations. Today we visited the main one in the heart downtown Palm Springs. It houses a beautiful modern art collection, a glass collection, as well as mid-century modern furniture. They offer docent led tours several times a day.
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Sunnylands. This former home of the wealthy Annenberg family, located in Rancho Mirage, has been declared a historic site. There are several tours offered on the estate. To tour the house, tickets must be purchased at least one month in advance. Check their website for availability. There is an open-air shuttle tour of the grounds and gardens. Tickets for this tour can be obtained on location.
Itinerary Add-ons
This itinerary can be combined with:
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Day 4
Morning
This morning we drove to the Indian Canyons located in Palm Springs where there are several hiking trails. We chose to hike along the Andreas Canyon trail which is a one-mile loop in a tranquil setting with magnificent palm trees, interesting vegetation and a year-round flowing stream. It was a moderate-level hike and the views were gorgeous.
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After the hike we drove to the Trading Post within the park and were able to hike part of Palm Canyon trail which leads down into the canyon. It was very beautiful.
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From there we drove to the Moorten Botanical Garden where we had a tour led by a Master Gardener docent. We learned about desert vegetation as well as the water and light requirements for these plants.
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Afternoon
We stopped in Palm Desert and walked around El Paseo Drive - the upscale shopping district in Palm Desert. There are lots of galleries, high-end clothing stores and many restaurants. We stopped for lunch at a small outdoor cafe called JC's Patio Cafe. They have a nice menu of fresh salads, sandwiches and soups.
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After lunch we walked around the strip and stopped for cappucino and a treat at Il Sogno, which is a cute patisserie along El Paseo.
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We returned to our condo for a short rest and then went for a hike at La Quinta Cove. This was a nice walk along the rugged mountains. The paths were not very clearly marked.
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Evening
This evening we went to the Grill on Main in Old Town La Quinta for a delicious dinner.
Day 5
Morning
This morning we did a jeep tour to Joshua Tree National Park. Named for the bristled, twisted Joshua trees typical of the area, this large park has many hiking trails and beautiful views of the Coachella Valley below.
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There are several companies that offer jeep tours to the park. At this time I don't have a recommendation for one, but there are reviews of several online.
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Afternoon
After an enjoyable morning at the park, we headed to Los Angeles.
