Sun, Fun, and the Magic Nights
Fun Facts: Palm Springs has the largest concentration of midcentury modern residential architecture in the world, showcased every February during the Modernism Week celebration.
With more than 70,000 pools, Greater Palm Springs can boast that it has more pools per capita than anywhere else in the country.
Greater Palm Springs is the home of more than 100 golf courses, which is why many refer to us as the Golf Capital of the World.
City of Night: L.A. and Palm Springs After Dark
Every city has its own personality. One way to figure it out? Ask whether it’s a city of day—or of night.
Los Angeles, by day, is often less glamorous than the myth. It’s a flat sprawl of template malls and traffic, washed in the dull gray of early summer haze. A city where even the sunshine feels tired. John Rechy’s City of Night and The Doors’ L.A. Woman already asked the right question:
“Are you a lucky little lady in the City of Light, or just another Lost Angel? City of Night.”
But L.A. at night—that’s when the curtain lifts. Head to the Griffith Observatory and look out: a jeweled web of lights flickers across the basin, smudged by heatwaves and mystery. It’s not quite the movies, but it’s close enough to dream.
Palm Springs: A City Made for After Dark
A couple of hours southeast sits a very different kind of place—Palm Springs. It’s not a city you want to explore under the noon sun, especially in summer when the mercury hits 108°F and barefoot walking becomes a safety hazard. Even the air is tactical: misters hiss vapor into the heat like something out of Play Misty for Me, only to have it evaporate instantly.
But then comes night.
The temperature drops. A cashmere wind picks up. Palm trees whisper secrets under the moonlight. Suddenly, it’s poetry. Lights flicker on. Out come the cocktail dresses, the linen shirts, the soft clink of ice in glasses. It’s showtime.
There’s something uniquely seductive about the desert after dark. Maybe it’s the breeze. Maybe it’s the way the heat finally lets go. Or maybe it’s the mirrors—everywhere in Palm Springs: on ceilings, in closets, covering bedroom walls. A surprise, considering the city’s largely older population and the many plastic surgery centers on nearly every block.
Palm Springs is self-aware. Like Las Vegas, it knows it’s not like other cities. That’s the charm. It’s curated, strange, unapologetically itself—and summer tourists keep pouring in, despite the heat. Getting there is a challenge. Leaving is harder.
But Things Are Changing
Palm Springs has always been defined by its weather, but that weather is shifting:
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Hotter Summers: Days over 117 °F are more frequent. And as the sayimng goes, “temperatures rising.”
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Longer Heat Waves: What used to last a few days now stretches into weeks. AND, you can now add humidity, a recent unwelcome addition to the already unbearable heat.
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Warmer Nights: Evening temps often stay above 80°F—less relief from the heat.
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Flash Floods: Sudden storms, often from tropical remnants, hit harder. Dry riverbeds flood fast.
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Climate Change Is the Culprit: These extremes—hotter hots, drier dries, stronger storms—are fueled by global warming.
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Winter Isn’t Safe Either: The once-mild winters are warming up too, chipping away at the desert’s seasonal allure.
These shifts are more than just a nuisance—they’re changing tourism, pressuring infrastructure, and reshaping how locals and visitors experience the region.
And in the end…
So yes, Palm Springs may still be best seen by night. But as the nights get warmer, and the days get hotter, the city—like so many others—is adapting to a new climate reality.
Book early. Come late. Stay up. Stay cool. And bring shades—for the sun and the mirrors.
Best Food & Drink
1. The Tropicale Palm Springs
A chic and sophisticated décor provides the setting for our distinctive “world cuisine”, a provocative mix of zesty influences that creates a delightful dining experience in Palm Springs, California. Plush high-backed semicircular banquettes surround our dining room and offer comfortable and private seating. The cuisine has a light, exotic feel with an emphasis on Pacific Rim specialties, from Chilean Sea Bass baked in Banana Leaves or Kahlua-Barbecued Pork Chops to all sorts of tasty tapas, salads, wood-fired pizzas, and desserts. The Coral Seas Lounge, a hip mid-century style bar is lined with sexy black leather bar-stools and is reminiscent of the upbeat lounges of old Palm Springs. It wraps around the dining room and leads outside to a lush, tropical, 2000 square foot dining patio where a variety of specialty cocktails and old-school favorites are mixed – an ideal place where friends gather and martinis are sipped under the starlit desert sky.. Map
Best Places to Stay
1 Korakia Pensione
257 S. Patencio Rd., Palm Springs, California 92262, United States
This Mediterranean style bed and breakfast bills itself as a retreat. In the heart of downtown Palm Springs, the Korakia Pensione (the name translates to “Crow Hotel”) is a magnificent oasis made up of multiple buildings spread across an acre and a half. The heavy stone, almost tiki look, exterior spreads from the outside to the rooms and villas inside.
HOTEL INFO
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2. Sparrow
Originally built as Castle’s Red Barn in 1952 by MGM actor Don Castle and his wife Zetta, it was one of the original resort getaways for Hollywood elite. Legend has it that iconic actress Elizabeth Montgomery had her first marriage at the Red Barn. The property also has had incarnations as Catalina Palms, El Rancho Lodge and now Sparrows Lodge. The Lodge was fully restored in 2013 and many of the original buildings are still in use with modern updates retaining the charm of the original Red Barn.
THE LODGE:
Sparrows Lodge is a completely restored 1950s retreat. You will be welcomed roadside with a simple hand-painted sign with two Sparrows. The Lodge has a modern rustic vibe that carries through to our rooms, communal barn, outdoor fire pit and vegetable garden, accented by a collection of fine art including works by Ruscha, Kelly, Katz & Baldessari. The 20 rooms feature exposed beam ceilings, russet red walls, concrete floors with inlaid pebbles and butterfly chairs. Swiss army blankets top plush mattresses, and instead of closets you’ll find a metal footlocker along with hooks and hangers. Our bathrooms feature rain showers, and many include horse troughs as bathtubs. Most rooms have private patios. All rooms have AC/Heat and ceiling fans. With no televisions or phones in the rooms, there is an environment of ease and simplicity.
Sparrows Lodge
1330 East Palm Canyon Drive
Palm Springs, CA 92264
tel. 760 327 2300
3. Old Ranch Inn
Day 1
RELAX, JUST DO IT
Time to chill, get some sun, take in the fresh air and relax. There are more pools per capita in Palm Springs than the entire United States—enjoy one, you’ll like it.
Day 2
THE PLANE, THE PLANE!
The Palm Springs Air Museum is home to one of the world’s largest collections of flyable WWII aircraft and from Korea and Vietnam; and unlike many other museums, our air-conditioned hangars have no ropes to keep you from interacting with our exhibits. In addition to our aircraft, exhibits and activities allow visitors of all ages to gain a fresh perspective of World War II — the unparalleled event that shaped the world we live in. A new hangar opened May of 2017 holds exhibits and aircraft from the Korea and Vietnam Wars.
Day 3
RISE ABOVE IT ALL
Leave the city, the heat and the margaritas behind an head on up the mountain in the Palm Springs Aerial Tramway—the world’s largest rotating tram car—travels over two-and-one-half miles along the breathtaking cliffs of Chino Canyon, transporting riders to the pristine wilderness of the Mt. San Jacinto State Park. During your approximately ten-minute journey, tram cars rotate slowly, offering picturesque and spectacular vistas of the valley floor below. Once you reach the Mountain Station—elevation 8,516 feet—enjoy two restaurants, observation decks, natural history museum, two documentary theaters, gift shop and over 50 miles of hiking trails.
