Palm Desert, CA Road Trips

1 Living Desert Zoo & Gardens, 47-900 Portola Ave, ☏ +1 760 346-5694. For close-up encounters with spectacular desert plants and animals. People of all ages will have fun. During the summer, due to extremely hot temperatures, the preserve closes at 1:30PM. 2 Palm Desert Civic Center, 73510 Fred Waring Dr, ☏ +1 760 346-0611. Nice park with occasional musical performances, basketball courts, and a nice atmosphere.

Stroll along El Paseo between Monterey and Portola avenues. This stretch has many fine boutiques, galleries, restaurants, and shops. The free Courtesy Carts make visiting this stretch very easy. 1 McCallum Theatre, 73000 Fred Waring Dr, ☏ +1 760 340-2787. Has great shows going on all the time. Balloon flights. There are several balloon ride companies in Palm Desert.

1 Armando's Dakota Bar & Grill, 73260 El Paseo, ☏ +1 760 346-0744. Great Mexican food with good fajitas. 2 Mamma Gina's Restaurant, 73705 El Paseo, ☏ +1 760 568-9898. A more expensive restaurant with great chop salad. 3 Pacifica Seafood Restaurant, ☏ +1 760 674-8666. Seafood at the Gardens on El Paseo.

1 Best Western Palm Desert Resort, 74695 Highway 111, ☏ +1 760 340-4441, toll-free: +1-800-231-8675, fax: +1 760 773-9413. 2 Courtyard Palm Desert, 74895 Frank Sinatra Dr, ☏ +1 760 776-4150, fax: +1 760 776-1816. Check-in: 3PM, check-out: noon. Near plenty of golf course and tennis courts. Beautiful views! Complimentary WiFi in rooms and lobby. The Bistro offers breakfast, dinner, cocktails and Starbucks coffee. 3 Desert Springs, A JW Marriott Resort & Spa, Palm Desert, 74855 Country Club Dr, ☏ +1 760 341-2211, toll-free: +1-800-331-3112, fax: +1 760 341-1872. 4 Embassy Suites Palm Desert Hotel & Resort, 74-700 Highway 111, ☏ +1 760 340-6600. All hotel suites are two rooms, with a bedroom and separate seating area that includes a sleeper sofa. Hotel amenities include six lighted hard-court tennis courts, an outdoor pool, a fitness center, complimentary cooked-to-order breakfast, complimentary evening reception (21 and over only), and the Sonoma Grill restaurant. (updated May 2016) 5 SpringHill Suites by Marriott Palm Desert, 72322 Highway 111, ☏ +1 760 341-9100, fax: +1 760 773-3515. 6 Hampton Inn & Suites, 74900 Gerald Ford Dr (Exit Cook St from I-10, Head South, Right on Gerald Ford Dr), ☏ +1 760 340-1001. Clean, comfortable, spacious accommodations at a reasonable price. All rooms and suites include complimentary hot breakfast, high speed internet access, use of pool, spa, fitness center, and business center. 7 Holiday Inn Express, 74675 Highway 111, ☏ +1 760 340-4303. 8 Homewood Suites by Hilton, 36999 Cook St, ☏ +1 760 568-1600.

Palm Springs International Airport (PSP IATA) is in the heart of nearby Palm Springs. Scheduled daily flight connections from San Francisco, Seattle, Phoenix, Chicago (O'Hare), Dallas/Fort Worth, Los Angeles, Houston, Atlanta, Salt Lake City, Minneapolis/Saint Paul, Denver, Portland (Oregon), Las Vegas, Calgary and Vancouver. Airlines serving Palm Springs (PSP) include Alaska, America West, American, American Eagle, Delta, and United. LA/Ontario International Airport (ONT IATA) is about 80 miles (130 km) to the west of Palm Desert and has many more flight connections. The airport lies off Interstate 10 in the Inland Empire. 1 Bermuda Dunes Airport (UDD IATA) (a few miles from Palm Desert). One of two nearby general aviation airports for private aircraft. Private jet charter services are provided at this airport by Desert Jet. is the main artery serving the Coachella Valley. From Los Angeles, take Interstate 10 east towards San Bernardino, Indio, and Phoenix. Palm Desert is about a two-hour drive if traffic is not heavy. Weekend getaway traffic can be very heavy. Exiting Monterey Avenue or Cook Street and heading south puts you in the heart of the city. descends the San Jacinto Mountains into the city from the south. Travelers from the San Diego should head north on I-15, south-east on State Hwy 79 (Temecula Pkwy at exit 58 in Temecula) and then east on State Hwy 371 until it meets with Route 74. Chains may be required on this route in the winter. CA-74 ends at its intersection with CA-11 in the heart of the city.

Like many California cities, Palm Desert is a very car-oriented city. If you want to have a good time at all, you should rent a car at the airport. Otherwise you'd have to take the bus or walk. The main highway serving the city is State Highway 111, which links many of the Coachella Valley cities, from Palm Springs to Indio and beyond to the Mexican Border at Calexico. However, this artery has many traffic lights and lots of traffic, so if you are going far, you should consider driving out and hopping on the 10 freeway. The Rodeo Drive of the area is El Paseo. There are lots of art galleries, shops, and restaurants along the street, which links up with Highway 111 at its ends. The City of Palm Desert operates the El Paseo Courtesy Carts. The shuttle runs along El Paseo and is free of charge. Although not a viable option for seeing the entire city, it allows visitors to park their cars and see the entire El Paseo stretch.