Palm Springs felt like a mirage the first time we drove into it. One minute you're passing wind turbines on the freeway, the next you're under palm trees with the San Jacinto mountains looming purple on the horizon. We've been coming with the kids for years now, often in winter, when the desert offered a welcome change of scene. It has become our family reset button.

If you're booking a trip with children, start with our guide to the best family hotels in Palm Springs. For meals, our kid-friendly restaurant guide saves you the guesswork.

Why we love Palm Springs

The light here is different. Desert sun makes everything sharper, and the sunsets over the mountains regularly stop traffic, at least in our car. We also love how easy the town is. It's small, flat and built around pleasure, pools, patios and palm-lined drives. The downtown core is compact, which matters when you have kids in the back seat. And the mid-century modern architecture gives even a simple ice cream run a sense of place. The whole valley looks like a postcard from 1960 that decided to keep going.

What to see and do

  • The Palm Springs Aerial Tramway, a rotating tram that climbs from the desert floor to alpine forest on Mount San Jacinto. There is sometimes snow at the top in winter while it's t-shirt weather below, and the kids never get over that.
  • Downtown along Palm Canyon Drive, for vintage shops, galleries, murals and people-watching from any number of patio chairs.
  • The mid-century modern scene. Drive the neighborhoods and look for the butterfly roofs and glass walls, or time your visit for Modernism Week in February.
  • Joshua Tree National Park is a worthwhile day trip; driving time depends on your starting point and park entrance. Go early, bring more water than you think, and let the kids scramble on the boulders.
  • Indian Canyons, where palm oases and ancient rock art sit right at the edge of town.
  • Hotel pool time. Honestly, this is the main attraction for our kids, and we don't fight it.

Where to eat and drink

The valley does desert-chic patios better than anywhere in Southern California. Downtown Palm Canyon Drive has everything from taco spots to old-school steakhouses, and most places welcome kids early in the evening before the scene turns grown-up. Mexican food is excellent throughout the Coachella Valley, and the date groves nearby mean date shakes are a local ritual. Order one. The first sip converts most skeptics, including our picky one. Many resorts also do poolside dining well, which is worth the premium when you have small children who refuse to leave the water.

When to go and how to get around

October through April is the sweet spot, warm days, cool nights, blue skies. Summer is genuinely brutal, well over 100 most days, and the town half-shuts down. We've done it once and won't again. You need a car. The airport is close to downtown. Driving time from Los Angeles or Temecula varies considerably with traffic if you're stringing together a desert-and-wine-country loop. From downtown LA to the coast, our Los Angeles guide covers the other end of that trip.

Our Palm Springs guides