Things to Do in Palm Desert

Palm Desert has more to actually do than any city in the valley outside Palm Springs, and it is compact enough that a full day works without much driving.

The Living Desert

Part zoo, part botanical garden, part conservation project, The Living Desert covers 1,200 acres of Sonoran habitat with giraffes, cheetahs, wolves and a very good model railroad exhibit that adults pretend is for the kids. Go at 8am opening in warm months — the animals are active and most of the paths have no shade by eleven. Budget three to four hours.

McCallum Theatre

The valley's main performing-arts house books touring Broadway, orchestras, comedians and dance from November through April. Check the calendar before you plan your evenings; it routinely gets acts that skip Palm Springs entirely.

El Paseo

The mile-long shopping street is the valley's Rodeo Drive comparison, with about 300 shops, galleries and restaurants, plus a rotating outdoor sculpture exhibition along the medians. Park free in the Gardens on El Paseo garage and walk out from the middle. Shops close between five and six, so shop first and eat second.

Hiking and the mountains

The Santa Rosa and San Jacinto Mountains Visitor Center on Highway 74 is the gateway to the national monument, with exhibits, rangers and the Randall Henderson trailhead behind the building. The Bump and Grind Trail, off Painters Path, is the valley's standard fitness climb: about 1,000 feet of gain in two miles, with a view of the whole basin at the top. Both are dawn activities from May through October.

With kids

The Living Desert first, then the Palm Desert Aquatic Center in summer, then the Children's Discovery Museum of the Desert nearby. Add the El Paseo sculpture walk if the weather is kind.