Palm Springs, California
Palm Springs for Grown-Ups: Things to Do for Adults
Palm Springs was built for grown-ups: mid-century dining rooms where people still dress for dinner, a Rat Pack supper club, a hot mineral spring in the middle of town and palm canyons under the mountains. Here's how to spend a few days well.
- Best base
- Downtown or the Tennis Club district, walkable to Palm Canyon Drive
- Ideal stay
- 3 nights, with a day at Sunnylands or Joshua Tree
- Book ahead
- Spa at Séc-he day pass, Purple Room weekend shows, Melvyn's, Sunnylands house tours
- Good to know
- Palm Springs International (PSP) is about 10 minutes from downtown; the canyons keep reduced summer days
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Itineraries and guides
Start with the 3-day Palm Springs itinerary, or our Palm Springs weekend itinerary for two days. Couples should read things to do in Palm Springs for couples. Road-tripping the desert? Add Scottsdale or the coast at San Diego.
Grown-up essentials
The Spa at Séc-he
200 E Tahquitz Canyon Way, downtown
The Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians' spa, built over the tribe's sacred hot mineral spring. The Taking of the Waters day pass ($135 Monday to Thursday, $165 Friday to Sunday and holidays) includes a private 15-minute soak in the 105-degree mineral water, plus the saunas, steam rooms, salt caves and pools. Open daily 8 a.m. to 7 p.m.
Tip: Book the day pass ahead for a weekend, and plan a long, slow afternoon.
Melvyn's at the Ingleside Estate
Ingleside Estate, 200 W Ramon Rd
Old Hollywood Palm Springs: a classic steak and seafood dining room at the Ingleside Estate, with live music every night. Dinner daily 5 to 9 p.m.; the bar is open 11 a.m. to 10 p.m.
Tip: Book dinner for 6 p.m. so you eat while the music plays.
Dress: Dressy; "we still dress for elegance"
Purple Room Supper Club
Club Trinidad, 1900 E Palm Canyon Dr
A 1960s supper club once loved by the Rat Pack, open six nights a week. Tuesday to Thursday there's entertainment from 6:30 to 9:30 p.m. (Thursday is a three-course dinner with live jazz for $59), and on weekends ticketed dinner shows: dinner at 6 p.m. and the show at 8 on Friday and Saturday, 5 and 7 p.m. on Sunday.
Tip: Book weeknights on OpenTable and weekend shows on the club's own site.
High Bar at Kimpton Rowan
Kimpton Rowan, 100 W Tahquitz Canyon Way
A seventh-floor rooftop pool bar looking across the palms to the San Jacinto Mountains. It is for hotel guests by day and opens to the public most evenings.
Tip: Come for sunset, when the mountains turn pink.
Indian Canyons
38500 S Palm Canyon Dr, 5 miles south
Palm, Andreas and Murray canyons on the Agua Caliente reservation. The Palm Canyon path runs through one of the largest undisturbed palm oases in the world, with more than 2,500 palms and a stream, starting at the Trading Post. Open daily October 1 to July 4, and Friday to Sunday only from July 5 to September 30.
Tip: Start early; hiking in the desert heat is hard work.
Palm Springs Aerial Tramway
1 Tram Way, off N Palm Canyon Dr
Heads-up: Closed for annual maintenance September 8 to October 4, 2026; tentatively reopens Monday, October 5, at 10 a.m.
A rotating tram car climbs from the desert floor into the pines of Mt. San Jacinto State Park. Round-trip tickets are $36.95 for adults and $33.95 for seniors (65+).
Tip: Bring a jacket: it can be cold at the top even when the valley is hot.
A day, three ways
For the desert, walk Palm Canyon or join a ranger at Tahquitz Canyon, then cool off at the Moorten Botanical Garden. For design, start at Albert Frey's Visitor Center, then the Palm Springs Art Museum. For culture, visit the Agua Caliente Cultural Museum and soak at the spa next door.
Tahquitz Canyon
500 W Mesquite Ave, edge of downtown
A rocky canyon trail to a 60-foot waterfall. Admission includes a 2.5-hour ranger-led hike, leaving at 8 a.m., 10 a.m., noon and 2 p.m. from October to June. Open daily October 1 to July 4, and Friday to Sunday only in summer.
Moorten Botanical Garden
1701 S Palm Canyon Dr
A one-acre garden of more than 3,000 desert plants, including the Cactarium. October to May it opens 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. (closed Wednesdays); June to September, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Friday to Sunday only. Adults $7.
Palm Springs Visitor Center (Tramway Gas Station)
2901 N Palm Canyon Dr
Albert Frey's 1965 gas station, with its soaring wedge of a roof, is now the official visitor center: the place to pick up maps and get your eye in for desert modernism. Open daily 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Tip: Stop on the way up to the Aerial Tramway, which starts just behind it.
Palm Springs Art Museum
101 Museum Dr, downtown
Modern and contemporary art, glass and desert architecture at the foot of the mountains. Open Thursday to Sunday: 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., and noon to 8 p.m. on Thursdays; closed Monday to Wednesday.
Agua Caliente Cultural Museum
Agua Caliente Cultural Plaza, 140 N Indian Canyon Dr
The story of the Agua Caliente people, in a museum on the 5.8-acre Cultural Plaza beside the spa, with an oasis trail outside. Open Tuesday to Sunday 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.; adults $10.
Evenings
Have dinner at Copley's or Workshop in the Uptown Design District, then a rum drink at Bootlegger Tiki. On Thursday, stroll VillageFest; any night, the Casablanca Lounge at Melvyn's has live music from 6 p.m.
Copley's on Palm Canyon
621 N Palm Canyon Dr
American cooking with tropical and European touches, in part of Cary Grant's former estate. From 5:30 p.m. seven nights a week October to May; in September it is closed Monday and Tuesday.
Workshop Kitchen + Bar
800 N Palm Canyon Dr, Uptown Design District
Seasonal American cooking and serious cocktails in the Uptown Design District. Dinner nightly from 5 p.m. (until 11 p.m. Friday and Saturday), plus Sunday brunch 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Reservations on Resy.
Bootlegger Tiki
1101 N Palm Canyon Dr (behind Ernest Coffee)
A dim, red-lit tiki bar on the site of Don the Beachcomber's legacy, pouring classic tiki drinks with house-made juices and syrups. Open 3 to 11 p.m. Sunday to Thursday and until 1 a.m. Friday and Saturday; happy hour runs during the first and last hour.
Casablanca Lounge at Melvyn's
Ingleside Estate, 200 W Ramon Rd
Melvyn's restored historic bar, with classic cocktails and live music every evening from 6 to 9 p.m. On Fridays and Saturdays a second act plays from 9 p.m. to midnight.
VillageFest
Palm Canyon Dr, downtown
A Thursday-night street fair on Palm Canyon Drive with nearly 200 booths of art, crafts and food. From October through May it runs 6 to 10 p.m.; from June through September, 7 to 10 p.m.
Tip: Stroll it before or after dinner on a Thursday.
Spencer's Restaurant
Palm Springs Tennis Club, 701 W Baristo Rd
A classic dining room at the historic Palm Springs Tennis Club. Dinner Thursday to Monday 5 to 10 p.m., weekend brunch 8 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.; closed Tuesday and Wednesday.
Worth knowing
- The Aerial Tramway closes every September for maintenance; in 2026 it is shut from September 8 and tentatively reopens on October 5.
- Indian Canyons and Tahquitz Canyon open daily from October 1 to July 4, and only Friday to Sunday in summer.
- Sunnylands' center and gardens are free, open Wednesday to Sunday from mid-September to early June.
- The Palm Springs Art Museum is open Thursday to Sunday only, until 8 p.m. on Thursdays.
Everything here was checked in September 2026. Many places keep shorter summer hours and the tramway closes each September for maintenance, so confirm before you go.
Questions people ask
What is there to do in Palm Springs for adults?
Soak in the hot mineral spring at the Spa at Séc-he, dine at Melvyn's or Copley's, catch a dinner show at the Purple Room supper club, drink at Bootlegger Tiki or the High Bar rooftop, hike Palm Canyon and ride the Aerial Tramway.
Is Palm Springs good for a weekend away?
Yes. Two nights covers a spa afternoon, a canyon hike, a supper club and two good dinners. Add a third night for Sunnylands or Joshua Tree.
When is the best time to visit Palm Springs?
October to May. The canyons are open daily then, VillageFest starts at 6 p.m., and Sunnylands is open. Summer brings reduced days at many sights.