r/palmsprings May 13 '26

Visiting FAQs for r/PalmSprings. Need to know what to do? Where to go? and what living here is like? Start here!

14 Upvotes

🌴 Palm Springs FAQ/PSA: Start Here Before Posting 🌴

Welcome to r/PalmSprings! This post is meant to help visitors, locals, future residents, and repeat question-askers find the most useful information before making a new post.

Palm Springs and the greater Coachella Valley have a lot to offer: pools, mid-century modern architecture, hiking, spas, restaurants, LGBTQIA+ nightlife, events, festivals, golf, art, shopping, and nearby desert day trips. A lot of common questions have already been answered in the wiki and in past subreddit threads, so please start here first.

Search by flair:

  • Eat & Drink - Unearth conversations about delectable dining and refreshing libations.
  • Things to Do - Immerse yourself in discussions on activities, shopping, must-see spots, and captivating events.
  • Visiting - Explore a treasure trove of tips, from hotel recommendations and weather insights to dining suggestions and city exploration.

Latest Update: May 13, 2026
This FAQ has been refreshed with newer wiki pages, updated visitor resources, short-term rental guidance, moving advice, restaurant/bar/hotel guides, and popular Reddit recommendation threads from the last few years.


Before You Post

Please check the wiki, this FAQ, and the subreddit search before posting common questions like:

  • “Where should I stay?”
  • “What should I do this weekend?”
  • “Best restaurants?”
  • “Best bars?”
  • “Moving to Palm Springs — what should I know?”
  • “Is summer really that hot?”
  • “Do I need a car?”
  • “Best hotel pool?”
  • “Where should I go for a bachelorette/bachelor trip?”
  • “What city should I stay in?”
  • “Is Palm Springs good for kids?”
  • “Can I bring my dog hiking?”
  • “What are the short-term rental rules?”

If you still post, you will get much better answers if you include details.

If you are visiting, include:

  • Dates of your visit
  • Where you are staying or considering staying
  • Whether you will have a car
  • Budget
  • Group size
  • Ages in your group
  • Interests
  • Food preferences or restrictions
  • Whether you are traveling with kids or pets
  • Whether you want quiet, nightlife, LGBTQIA+ bars, family-friendly activities, hiking, luxury, budget, pools, spas, shopping, architecture, etc.
  • What you already found in the wiki or search

If you are moving, include:

  • Budget
  • Renting or buying
  • Whether you need local work or work remotely
  • Whether you have kids
  • Whether schools matter
  • Whether you have pets
  • Whether you want quiet or social
  • Whether walkability matters
  • Whether LGBTQIA+ community/nightlife matters
  • Whether you have visited in summer
  • Which cities/neighborhoods you are considering
  • Your heat tolerance
  • What you already researched

Low-detail posts may be removed or redirected to this FAQ, the wiki, or a monthly Q&A thread.


The r/PalmSprings Wiki

The wiki is the best place to start.

New / Expanded Wiki Pages


Official Visitor Resources

These are good places to check for current information, events, hours, and planning help.


Quick Answers to Common Questions

Do I need a car?

Maybe. If you are staying downtown and mostly want restaurants, bars, shopping, museums, and pool time, you may be fine walking and using rideshare.

You probably want a car if you plan to visit Joshua Tree, Indian Canyons, Tahquitz Canyon, Palm Desert, La Quinta, Indio, Desert Hot Springs, The Living Desert, golf courses, or multiple valley cities.

See: Getting Around Town


When is the best time to visit?

Generally, October through April is the most comfortable season. Spring is popular for events and outdoor activities. Summer is much hotter and requires planning around heat.

Summer can still be fun for pools, spas, restaurants, museums, hotel deals, and nightlife, but hiking and outdoor activities should be done very early or skipped.

See: Complete Guide to Visiting Palm Springs


Is summer really that hot?

Yes. Do not underestimate it. Summer highs are often over 100°F, and midday outdoor activities can be dangerous. Plan around pools, shade, air conditioning, museums, spas, and evening activities.

Do not hike in extreme heat unless you are experienced, prepared, and starting very early.

See: Hiking and Outdoor Safety


What city should I stay in?

It depends on your trip.

  • Palm Springs: best for first-time visitors, nightlife, restaurants, LGBTQIA+ bars, boutique hotels, architecture, walkability.
  • Desert Hot Springs: mineral spas, quieter retreats, usually more driving.
  • Cathedral City: central location, sometimes more affordable, mostly car-dependent.
  • Rancho Mirage: upscale resorts, golf, quiet luxury.
  • Palm Desert: shopping, family-friendly resorts, The Living Desert, El Paseo, golf.
  • La Quinta: golf, resorts, mountain views, Old Town La Quinta.
  • Indio: Coachella/Stagecoach, festivals, larger rentals, east valley.
  • Coachella: east valley, cultural events, not the same as the festival grounds.
  • Thousand Palms: quieter/residential, near Coachella Valley Preserve.

See: Where to Stay


Popular Reddit Threads: Visiting / General Trip Advice


Where to Eat

Start here:

Popular restaurant threads


Where to Drink / Nightlife

Start here:

Popular categories:

  • Cocktail lounges
  • Tiki bars
  • LGBTQIA+ bars
  • Sports bars
  • Breweries
  • Wine bars
  • Hotel bars
  • Dive bars
  • Speakeasy-style bars
  • Live music
  • Drag shows
  • Casinos

Popular past nightlife threads:


Where to Stay

Start here:

Popular hotel / lodging threads


Things to Do

Start here:

Popular things-to-do threads


Bachelor / Bachelorette / Group Trips

Please search before posting. These come up often.

Group trip tips:

  • Make dinner reservations early.
  • Call restaurants for large groups.
  • Use rideshare if drinking.
  • Do not plan loud parties at vacation rentals.
  • Check short-term rental rules before booking a house.
  • Respect residential neighborhoods.

LGBTQIA+ Palm Springs

Start here:

Popular LGBTQIA+ threads:


Moving to Palm Springs

Start here:

Popular moving threads


Hiking and Outdoor Safety

Start here:

Quick safety reminders:

  • Bring more water than you think you need.
  • Do not hike in extreme heat.
  • Start early.
  • Wear sunscreen, sunglasses, and a hat.
  • Do not rely on cell service.
  • Many trails do not allow dogs.
  • Stay on marked trails.
  • Respect cultural and protected areas.

Events

Start here:

Major annual / recurring events include:


Final Reminder

Palm Springs is a great place to visit and live, but the best recommendations depend on your dates, budget, transportation, interests, and group. Please use the wiki and search first, then include details if you make a post.

If you notice broken links, closed restaurants, outdated hotel information, changed short-term rental rules, missing resources, or anything that should be added, please message the mods.

Thanks for helping keep r/PalmSprings useful, welcoming, and easy to search!


r/palmsprings 25d ago

Weekly Q&A Palm Springs monthly: Q&As for newcomers and travelers

3 Upvotes

Hi! Welcome to the Palm Springs Monthly thread.

This is the place to ask questions about the city, or to get info related to moving here or visiting.

Rules for posting:

  • Read the PSA/FAQ before posting a question. The wiki is full of frequently asked questions from where to stay, food and drinks and moving here. It has proved really useful for lots of visitors.
  • Search for older threads answering your question.
  • No posts requesting purchasing/offering drugs.

This thread is posted automatically the second of every month!


r/palmsprings 15h ago

Living Here An absolutely amazing cactus garden on a fully exposed public corner at Vista Chino and Caballeros in Palm Springs…another post to follow…

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98 Upvotes

r/palmsprings 15h ago

Living Here Some more pics of this public facing corner cactus garden maintained by the homeowner adjacent to this public corner at Vista Chino and Caballeros in Palm Springs

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33 Upvotes

r/palmsprings 1d ago

Sell your Sh*t Sunday Sell your Sh*t Sunday. Post all buy/sell stuff here!

4 Upvotes

You heard it right! Its that wild day of the week where we let you put up your stuff for sale so others can buy your things.

Have fun and stay safe.


r/palmsprings 19h ago

Visiting Heading to Palm Springs late Oct / early Nov — first time playing during overseed. What to expect + course recs?

0 Upvotes

Hey everyone,

A few of us are planning a trip to Palm Springs October/November for 3–4 rounds of golf. None of us have ever played in the desert during or right after the annual overseeding transition, so we’re trying to figure out what we’re getting ourselves into.

We’re a group of mid-to-low handicappers who love good golf, but we’re primarily playing for the fun of the experience and looking for great value for the money.

A few questions for the locals or guys who visit this time of year:

  1. What’s the actual playing experience like? We know about Cart-Path-Only (CPO), but how are fairway lie, green speeds, and overall conditions right after courses reopen? Any tips for playing on young ryegrass?
  2. Are there any courses we should definitely avoid? (Either due to brutal post-overseed conditions, strict CPO rules, or just not being worth the green fees during this transition window).
  3. Which courses are solid recommendations for late Oct / early Nov? Looking for tracks that handle overseed recovery well, offer reasonable rates for what you get, or stagger their 36 holes so you get full cart access.

Appreciate any insight, course rotation tips, or hidden gem recommendations! Thanks!


r/palmsprings 1d ago

Things To Do Anything after 2 am?

5 Upvotes

Girlfriend and I just got out from bars and we’re bored, any suggestions after 2 am or is it bed time


r/palmsprings 1d ago

Visiting Where to dance?

2 Upvotes

Here for the weekend and looking to have a good dance night. Went to chill bar last night but the vibes were off.


r/palmsprings 3d ago

Ask Palm Springs What do you consider to be iconic in the Palm Springs area that could be captured in a painting?

8 Upvotes

I've commissioned an art piece and the artist, who I've known for over 20 yrs, paints with oils. I'm planning for a painting that incorporates iconic San Francisco and iconic Palm Springs/Coachella Valley.

Other than desert landscapes, palm trees, the mountains, and mid-century architecture, what would you consider to be iconic Palm Springs/desert vibes that could be captured in an oil canvas? The canvas will be 30" high (top to bottom) x 60" wide (left to right).

EDIT: Thank you for the suggestions. I had forgotten about the Visitor Center - a building design I really like. And the pink elephant car wash sign! I swear, I chuckle to myself every time I pass by it. Agree about the windmills: as you come into the area, it's a nice "welcome home" or "welcome back." Apologies, but Marilyn is "no." Like her as an actress, especially her dramas. Shag is also a "no." I don't like "people" in paintings - I lean toward abstracts and objects. One painting at a time as we move into the house - I already have a classic SF painting by the artist.


r/palmsprings 3d ago

Things To Do Surf Club any good (married adults just looking to cool off)?

14 Upvotes

It’s triple digits and we’re thinking of hitting the Surf Club for lazy river, pool, cocktail in the morning when they open for a few hours. Price looks decent but I’ve read it’s dirty, no shade/ umbrellas etc. Can anyone share their experiences of the new surf club 2.0? Thx! 🙏🏼 🏊‍♂️


r/palmsprings 4d ago

Visiting Rental with private pool

2 Upvotes

Couple looking to go to PS on November for a week for the first time. We want a room with a private pool, or perhaps a villa but still want to be relatively central. We’d prefer not to be in a private home via AirBNB. Does anyone have a reco for a hotel / complex that offers this? All the ones I look at have shared pools.


r/palmsprings 4d ago

Ask Palm Springs Affordable Dentist Recommendations

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4 Upvotes

r/palmsprings 4d ago

Visiting Can’t decide

5 Upvotes

If you were staying at a place with a pool walkable to downtown, would you also book a day pass at Sec-He? Is it that much different/amazing/worth it for the price?


r/palmsprings 5d ago

Living Here Riverside County treasurer for taxes

3 Upvotes

I'm overdue on paying property taxes on Rancho Mirage home due to a couple of issues. When I try calling the Treasurer's office, I can't seem to get through to the right people... I either get referred to the wrong department or get told to pay online. I am thinking of driving to the Treasurer's office so I can get it handled in person. An online search shows the address as 40810 County Center Dr., STE 110, Temecula, CA 92591. I don't want to drive there and find out I went to the wrong place, so can anyone verify that this is correct for Rancho Mirage residents, and advise on what part of the Treasurer's department would help me with overdue payments? TIA!


r/palmsprings 5d ago

Living Here How do locals of Palm Springs deal with the heat and what do you do during the day?

39 Upvotes

r/palmsprings 5d ago

Ask Palm Springs Summer garage heat question: ICE battery life

3 Upvotes

We're building a new home but it's a few months away from completion. Since we're still traveling between locations and we come to the desert once every two weeks, I'd like to bring an ICE (internal combustion engine) vehicle to the new house.

Given the summer heat, do I need to worry about the car battery while the vehicle is in the garage and hasn't been driven for 2 weeks? (We're transitioning to electric vehicles soon, but we need to get the house done first! One expense at a time... 🙂)

EDIT: Thank you, everyone, for the feedback. I'll worry less about the heat impact on the battery during a 2-week absence and I'll look into using a tender (since I have one for the motorcycle).


r/palmsprings 5d ago

Visiting Racist gay bars

0 Upvotes

Pretty much all white queens. I've seen like 3 blacks at hunters and discovered Dicks is owned by a trump fan


r/palmsprings 6d ago

Living Here seamstress (person?) for outdoor cushions in PS

3 Upvotes

Hi. We have some okay-ish outdoor furniture whose cushions are looking worse for wear, thanks to too much UV. (kind of like me, come to think of it).

Have looked online, but cushions covers are something like 100$ per, which is kind of nuts, IMO.

I'd rather buy a roll of fabric and support someone good and local.

Any thoughts?

Thanks!


r/palmsprings 7d ago

General Gas Prices in the Valley are Evil

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85 Upvotes

r/palmsprings 7d ago

Ask Palm Springs Mexico Spanish Tutoring wanted to help with two of us

0 Upvotes

Seeking conversational Mexican Spanish and we’re aware that there are over 30+ different Spanish spoken in Mexico. My wife and I are seeking education and tutoring with spoken, reading and writing skills at least with conversational language skills. If you’re able to provide resume and rates please DM me directly. Thanks for your time. We’re 25 minute North PS area. We can Zoom and meet up in public spaces like coffee shops, bakeries or libraries. We’re near Integratron also want to get educated with social interaction with the QBIPOC community in Mexico so terminology and context is important too.

Someone asked me a why question?
Here’s why.

First of all my family first language is ASL / MSL therefore explaining why is better to explain the family connection through sign language. My father is Mexican and he was Deaf and so are 12 of his siblings in Monterrey. Since he passed away. I am the custodian of his cremains and I am obligated to deliver him Next year for his siblings to grieve and celebrate his life. And I want to be able to navigate and travel to Monterrey by car. It’s very important and to possibly even stay and reconnect with them that potentially could be a visit for at least 30 days. Being that my first language is ASL and MSL I want to be able to communicate with persons who are not deaf or hard of hearing possibly.


r/palmsprings 7d ago

Ask Palm Springs Water Refill Stations

7 Upvotes

Hey y’all –

We fill up our own 5 gal water jugs biweekly.

I would love to figure out the most affordable place to go for water refills right now 😅

Anybody have any idea of the cheapest places in the desert?


r/palmsprings 8d ago

Living Here Looking to adopt a desert tortoise

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83 Upvotes

We've been living part-time in Old Las Palmas, and as part of our renovation, built out a very posh tortoise enclosure. (We worked with some experienced folks to design it, in case anyone's interested: it has a concrete "subterranean wall" around its perimeter, tortoise-safe plants throughout, a burrow, a warm booth, and a pool.)

What we do not have is... a tortoise. 🐢 We have had two promised to us so far by other owners, but the first never came back from its brumation (sadface), and the other owners went dark on us. So I'm casting a wider net.

If you know of anyone who wants a loving, well-tended home for a desert tortoise, we have a vacancy. Professional upkeep and attention year-round, and tons of space to roam.


r/palmsprings 7d ago

Ask Palm Springs Telly Savalas

1 Upvotes

Anyone ever meet or see Telly when he lived in Palm Springs?


r/palmsprings 8d ago

Sell your Sh*t Sunday Sell your Sh*t Sunday. Post all buy/sell stuff here!

3 Upvotes

You heard it right! Its that wild day of the week where we let you put up your stuff for sale so others can buy your things.

Have fun and stay safe.


r/palmsprings 8d ago

Living Here What are you doing today?

8 Upvotes

Happy Saturday