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 a rhythm. Some pulse with daylight; others come alive after dark.

Los Angeles: The City of Night

By day, Los Angeles can feel like a myth unraveling. A vast sprawl of chain stores, choked freeways, and sunburnt haze. Even the sunlight feels overworked. As John Rechy’s City of Night and The Doors’ L.A. Woman once asked:

“Are you a lucky little lady in the City of Light, or just another Lost Angel? City of Night.”

But at night? That’s when the curtain rises.

Climb up to Griffith Observatory and you’ll see it: a jeweled basin of light stretching to the horizon, shimmering under heatwaves and possibility. It’s not quite Hollywood—but close enough to believe in.

Palm Springs: After-Hours Allure

Two hours southeast lies a different kind of city—Palm Springs. Don’t let the retro chic fool you: this isn’t a daytime town. Not in the summer, when 108°F is a normal afternoon, and the pavement can melt your sandals.

By day, survival is tactical. Misters hiss like snakes. Shade is currency. The air vibrates with heat.

But then comes night.

The temperature drops. A cashmere wind stirs. Palm trees sway like stage performers under moonlight. Suddenly, everything softens. The lights glow. Linen shirts appear. Ice clinks in cocktail glasses. The desert exhales—and the show begins.

There’s something seductively cinematic about Palm Springs after dark. Maybe it’s the breeze. Maybe it’s the way the heat finally lets go. Or maybe it’s the mirrors—everywhere. On ceilings. In closets. Across bedroom walls. A curious abundance in a town with an older population and a plastic surgery clinic on every corner.

Palm Springs doesn’t pretend. Like Vegas, it knows what it is—and that’s its magic. Campy, curated, and completely itself. Despite the blistering sun, summer tourists keep coming. Getting there may take effort. Leaving is harder.

But Something’s Changing

Palm Springs has always revolved around its weather—but that weather is evolving:

• Hotter Summers: Triple digits are now routine. 117°F isn’t shocking anymore.

• Longer Heat Waves: What once lasted days now stretches for weeks.

• Humid Heat: A cruel twist—moisture now mixes with the dry, making it even less bearable.

• Warmer Nights: Evening temps cling above 80°F, offering little relief.

• Flash Floods: Sudden tropical downpours turn dry riverbeds into torrents.

Climate change is the culprit. It’s reshaping the seasons, the skyline, and the tourism calendar.

Even winter—the long-reliable reprieve—is warming. The once-perfect off-season? Now less perfect.

These aren’t just inconveniences. They’re shifting how the desert lives, breathes, and entertains.

And yet…

Palm Springs still shines brightest at night. But the nights are warmer now, and the city—like everywhere—is adjusting to a new reality.

Book early. Arrive late. Stay cool. Stay curious.
And always pack your shades—for the sun… and the mirrors.

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.