Palm Springs · 3-day itinerary
3 Days in Palm Springs: A Grown-Up Itinerary
Three days gives you the canyons and the mountain, a long afternoon at the spa, a supper club night and a day out in the desert, with a classic dinner every evening.
- Day 1
- Indian Canyons, Moorten Botanical Garden, High Bar at sunset, Melvyn's
- Day 2
- Visitor Center, Aerial Tramway, Spa at Séc-he, Purple Room
- Day 3
- Sunnylands or Joshua Tree, Copley's, Bootlegger Tiki
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Day 1: Canyons and cocktails
Hike early, rest in the heat of the day.
Morning
Indian Canyons
38500 S Palm Canyon Dr, 5 miles south
Palm Canyon from the Trading Post; start early.
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.
Afternoon
Moorten Botanical Garden
1701 S Palm Canyon Dr
A cool hour among the cacti.
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.
Sunset
High Bar at Kimpton Rowan
Kimpton Rowan, 100 W Tahquitz Canyon Way
Open to the public most evenings.
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.
Dinner
Melvyn's at the Ingleside Estate
Ingleside Estate, 200 W Ramon Rd
Dress up; live music from 6 p.m.
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.
Day 2: Mountain and mineral spring
Up the mountain in the morning, into the water in the afternoon.
Morning
Palm Springs Visitor Center (Tramway Gas Station)
2901 N Palm Canyon Dr
Albert Frey's gas station, on the way up.
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.
Late morning
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.
Check it has reopened after the September maintenance.
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+).
Afternoon
The Spa at Séc-he
200 E Tahquitz Canyon Way, downtown
Book the day pass ahead.
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.
Dinner
Purple Room Supper Club
Club Trinidad, 1900 E Palm Canyon Dr
Weekend dinner shows; jazz dinner on Thursdays.
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.
Day 3: The wider desert
Gardens in Rancho Mirage or the boulders of Joshua Tree.
Day
Sunnylands Center & Gardens
37977 Bob Hope Dr, Rancho Mirage (about 25 minutes)
Free gardens, Wednesday to Sunday.
The Annenbergs' desert estate, where presidents and royalty stayed. The center and gardens are free, open Wednesday to Sunday 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. from mid-September to early June. Historic house tours take seven guests at a time and are ticketed.
Dinner
Copley's on Palm Canyon
621 N Palm Canyon Dr
In Cary Grant's former estate.
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.
Late
Bootlegger Tiki
1101 N Palm Canyon Dr (behind Ernest Coffee)
Open until 1 a.m. on Fridays and Saturdays.
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.
Swaps
- Rather see the high desert? Swap Sunnylands for a long day in Joshua Tree National Park, about an hour away; carry plenty of water.
- Prefer a guided hike? Swap Indian Canyons for the ranger-led walk to the waterfall at Tahquitz Canyon.
- Purple Room dark that night? Book Spencer's at the Tennis Club, then end at the Casablanca Lounge.
- Here on a Thursday? Walk VillageFest on Palm Canyon Drive before dinner.
Joshua Tree National Park
West Entrance near the town of Joshua Tree (about an hour)
Boulder piles and forests of Joshua trees where the Mojave meets the Colorado Desert. A seven-day vehicle permit is $30; the West Entrance takes debit and credit cards only.
Tip: Carry more water than you think you need; there is none in most of the park.
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.
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.
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.
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
Is 3 days in Palm Springs enough?
Yes. It covers a canyon hike, the Aerial Tramway, a spa afternoon, a supper club night and a day at Sunnylands or Joshua Tree, at an unhurried pace.
Is the Palm Springs Aerial Tramway open in September?
Not for most of it. In 2026 the tramway closed for annual maintenance on September 8 and tentatively reopens on October 5.
Can you visit Palm Springs in summer?
Yes, but many sights cut back: Indian Canyons and Tahquitz Canyon open only Friday to Sunday from July 5 to September 30, and Sunnylands closes until mid-September.