Category: Attractions

  • Cabot’s Pueblo Museum

    Cabot’s Pueblo Museum

    World traveler Cabot Yerxa built this spot as a private residence/public museum beginning in 1941. Fashioned entirely by Cabot’s own hand from reclaimed materials, the Hopi-inspired pueblo is one of the most unique destinations in the area, complete with 150 windows, 65 doors, 30 rooflines and views for days. The surrounding property is even more intriguing, dotted with whimsical installations like a 43-foot Native American bust, towering wood letters spelling out “CABOT,” and street signs half covered by brush. Though not abandoned, the museum boasts a fabulous dystopian feel, affording endless photo opportunities.

  • Rancho Mirage Library & Observatory

    Rancho Mirage Library & Observatory

    Completed in 2018, this state-of-the-art facility was built for the public in every sense, with locals and tourists alike welcomed regularly for in-depth tours (offered each Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday at 3 p.m.) and Observatory Public Exploration Nights (O.P.E.N.), during which visitors catch glimpses of our night skies via a research-grade PlaneWave Instruments CDK700 telescope. There’s even a lending program available to library card holders, enabling stargazers to bring an Orion StarBlast 4.5″ Astro Reflector tabletop telescope home for a week to explore the solar system on their own!

  • Rancho Super Car Wash

    Rancho Super Car Wash

    Anyone who has driven along CA-111 in Rancho Mirage is familiar with Rancho Super Car Wash’s famous retro signage. The neon pink display, which showcases an elephant showering itself with its trunk, initially stood at the Portland outpost of Dean, Archie and Eldon Anderson’s Elephant Super Car Wash chain, based in the Pacific Northwest. When Eldon’s daughter, Marilyn, and her husband, Richard Fromme, expanded the enterprise to the Palm Springs area in 1966, they carted the sign with them. The piece has been an icon ever since. Recently restored (and designated a historic landmark), it shines brighter and pinker than ever before and is one of the desert’s definitive must-photograph spots. Bonus – Rancho Super Car Wash offers some of the best auto clean-ups in the entire Valley.

  • The Body Deli’s Barbie Display

    The Body Deli’s Barbie Display

    In the heart of the Valley’s most prestigious shopping district is a skincare store that has become a destination for doll lovers. That is all thanks to owner Margaret Skarin Clark, who creates imaginatively elaborate displays featuring her extensive Barbie collection, which she has been accumulating for over 60 years. The fantastical exhibits showcase both vintage and new figurines and are changed regularly with the seasons. Pictured is the March 2023 display modeled in honor of Fashion Week El Paseo, complete with clothing inspired by Karl Lagerfeld, Louis Vuitton and Chanel.

  • Sunnylands Center & Gardens

    Sunnylands Center & Gardens

    The longtime winter home of philanthropists Walter and Leonore Annenberg now serves as a public space where guests can wonder at the stunning desert landscape. Open Wednesday through Sunday, admission to the 15-acre visitors center is free, with plenty to peruse, including changing exhibitions, an informational film, a fabulous gift shop, a café (one of my favorite spots to grab lunch) and myriad garden paths. Guided tours are also offered of the Annenbergs’ former home, the Sunnylands Estate, a 25,000-square-foot midcentury marvel designed by A. Quincy Jones in 1960. Tours do book up far in advance, though, so plan accordingly.

  • Araby Trail

    Araby Trail

    Looking for a stellar hike? Araby Trail offers adventurers a 3.4-mile trek through the Santa Rosa Mountains, complete with mesmerizing panoramas of the Coachella Valley skyline and unobstructed glimpses of the exclusive Southridge neighborhood, home to Bob Hope’s famous John Lautner-designed flying saucer residence. While thoroughly worthwhile, the hike is challenging, with steep inclines, rocky terrain and narrow footpaths, and can take upwards of four hours to complete, so come prepared with plenty of water, sunscreen and snacks. (The address listed denotes a small parking area at the trail’s head.)

  • Palm Springs Windmill Tours

    Palm Springs Windmill Tours

    The 2,000 windmills that crown the hills leading into Palm Springs have affectionately become known as the gateway to the Valley. The colossal structures, some of which stretch nearly 500 feet in the air, may seem rather unworldly, but the Palm Springs Windmill Tours company grants guests up-close-and-personal access via both guided and self-driving excursions. The tours also lead visitors through a fabulous outdoor installation consisting of all manner of turbine parts, as well as providing a plethora of information on the history and future of renewable energy.

  • Palm Springs Air Museum

    Palm Springs Air Museum

    An exciting destination for both kids and adults, the Palm Springs Air Museum is dedicated to the history of U.S. aviation. Spread across a whopping 10 acres, the facility boasts one of the largest collections of planes in the world, with everything from a Curtiss P-40 Warhawk to an F-117 Nighthawk Stealth Fighter to Walt Disney’s personal Grumman Gulfstream I displayed throughout five hangars. Visitors can even venture through a Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress via tours guided by men who actually flew aboard the massive craft during World War II, affording a truly unique and personalized experience. The museum also features a gift shop, a theater, a canteen, multiple flight simulators and a library stocked with every “Life” magazine ever published.

  • Robolights

    Robolights

    Easily the desert’s most unique attraction, “Robolights” is a massive art installation on the grounds of a private residence in the exclusive Movie Colony neighborhood. The brainchild of artist Kenny Irwin, who began building robot displays as a youngster in the yard of his family’s home using trash and scrap materials, the exhibition has grown to encompass an entire two-acre plot. Though it is no longer open for tours during the holidays as it once was, Kenny’s vivid creations can still be seen from the roads surrounding the Irwin home and are a true sight to behold!

  • Moorten Botanical Garden

    Moorten Botanical Garden

    Initially established as a nursery in 1938 by actor-turned-horticulturalist Chester Moorten, this botanical garden is one of the city’s most popular sites. In fact, its cactarium (pictured) has been dubbed “the most Instagrammed greenhouse in the world!” While the grounds measure just one acre, there is plenty to see and do. Home to more than 3,000 plant varieties, nine geographically-themed gardens, a gift shop, and a menagerie of desert animals, Moorten is an idyllic spot to spend a free hour or two on a sunny afternoon.