Things To Do In & Around Palm Springs

Following on from my last post about my desert road trip from Las Vegas to Palm Springs, today I'm sharing some of my favorite things to see and do in and around Palm Springs, as well as my favorite places to stay and where to dine. 

Palm Springs is such an interesting place to visit. Located around two hours east of Los Angeles it's an oasis in the desert full of palm trees, stunning resorts, mid-century modern architecture, and so much more. The first time we visited back in December 2014 I didn't really know an awful lot about Palm Springs. In fact, all I really knew, or what I thought I knew, was that it was a desert oasis for golfing retirees! While there are definitely golf courses and retirees, that's only a tiny part of Palm Springs. The city and the area surrounding it have so much to offer visitors of all ages.   

Have you visited Palm Springs before? We've visited Palm Springs once on a family vacation, and I've been there three times for Alt Summit conference. It's a great place for a desert getaway, especially in the cooler months. While it can get chilly there (it snowed the first time we visited!) Winter in Palm Springs is usually still quite warm, making it a great place to escape from the cold in other states. 

Here's a look at some of my favorite places to visit in and around Palm Springs...

A Desert Road Trip: Las Vegas to Palm Springs

One year ago today, just a week before the world shut down, I was on my way from Palm Springs to Las Vegas for a flight home after the annual Alt Summit blogging conference. I had planned to share all about my trip as soon as I got home, but with everything that ensued it felt a little irresponsible to post about a fun trip. Plus, with the entire family suddenly home 24 hours a day and being thrown into the world of home learning time for blogging wasn't really something I had much of. 

The world is obviously still under the grip of the virus, but with vaccinations rolling out and a new, much more responsible federal government that actually takes the pandemic seriously, things are looking up. So today I thought I'd finally share that road trip and my time in Palm Springs with you all. A word of warning, you're going to see lots of pics of me here and not a single pic of my kids! 

Alt Summit is my favorite conference for bloggers, influencers and creatives. Each year it takes place in late Winter/early Spring in Palm Springs, California. In past years I've either flown direct or driven from San Francisco. This was my first year attending after our move to Colorado, and unable to get direct flights with one of my chosen airlines, I decided to fly to Las Vegas and drive the rest of the way with my friend Sareka who was flying in from Michigan. I met Sareka at Alt Summit the year before when we were roomies. That's my favorite thing about Alt Summit. I always learn a lot when I'm there, but the connections and friendship I've made are the best part. 

The drive between Las Vegas and Palm Springs is about four hours long. With a few stops thrown in it ended up taking the better part of a day in each direction. There are a couple of different routes that you can take, and we opted to go with the route that took us through Mojave National Preserve, a small section of Route 66, and past the northern entrance of Joshua Tree National Park. I've shared a map of the route at the end of this post. My plan had actually been to take one of the other routes this year, but Alt Summit, like most conferences, was cancelled due to the pandemic. 

Our first stop, and one that you will see no matter which route you take, was the iconic Seven Magic Mountains sculptures. If you've been here a while (or even just a short time) you'll likely know that I'm a big fan of colorful art. I'd been wanting to visit Seven Magic Mountains for years, and I've got to say that they didn't disappoint. Well, the crowds did - I would've preferred to have it all to ourselves, but that just shows how popular it is. If you're not familiar with Seven Magic Mountains, it's a series of seven sculptures reminiscent of balancing rocks, or cairns. The sort of sculpture you often find on desert hikes, but on a much larger scale. And slightly more colorful too! These 25 foot tall sculptures by Swiss artist Ugo Rondinone were installed back in 2016 and were originally only supposed to be in place for two years. They proved to be so popular that the installment was given an extension through to the end of 2021. If you 've been wanting to see them in person, this is your year to do it! 

Moorten Botanical Garden in Palm Springs

This weekend I'll be travelling to Palm Springs to attend the blogging conference Alt Summit. This will be my third time attending Alt Summit in Palm Springs and I can't wait. While the conference itself is jam packed full of fun activities and workshops, and amazing keynotes and panels, there is always plenty of time available for a little exploring around Palm Springs.

In past years I've headed out with friends on a colorful door tour (Palm Springs has the BEST mid-century architecture and loads of colorful doors), a hike through a slot canyon, and most recently a visit to the Moorten Botanical Garden - which I'm sharing here today.

If you're a nature lover, gardener or even just intrigued by desert life, Moorten Botanical Garden is a must see in Palm Springs. This iconic garden may be tiny, but what it lacks in size it makes up for in the sheer number of stunning cacti and desert plants on display. I've never visited a spikier garden!

Palm Springs Doors & Gardens

It was pretty grey and rainy here in the Bay Area this weekend, and the grey skies and cooler weather have hung around for the start of the week as well.

All this cooler weather has got me thinking back to my trip to Palm Springs at the beginning of February for the blogging conference Alt Summit. I've been meaning to share photos from my time spent in the little spot of color in the desert that is Palm Springs, so let's brighten up the day with a little mid-century modern goodness and some colorful doors.

If you're a fan of mid-century modern architecture and design like me, Palm Springs is a must see. While we were in town for Alt Summit, my friend Jessica and I knew we had to get out and see some of Palm Springs' most well known homes. So during a break in the afternoon, we hopped in the car with our map from saltycanary.com (which you can find at the bottom of this post) and spent an hour or so taking photos of homes that we'd love to live in .