Fun Things to Do With Kids in Palm Springs
Palm Springs is known for its great weather, but it is the desert, so the summer months, from April through October, can get very hot, with temperatures reaching over 100 degrees. Winter months, from November to March, the weather is perfect, with highs in the 70s-80s. If you’re planning a trip to Palm Springs with kids, book it for the cooler months and always stay hydrated by drinking plenty of water!
Here’s our Guide to Fun Things to Do in Palm Springs with Kids
Cabazon Dinosaurs
If you are driving to Palm Springs from Los Angeles, you’ll want to stop at Cabazon Dinosaurs, a large roadside attraction with two giant dinosaurs. The dinosaur walk has several dinosaurs, a dino dig, and fossil panning that youngsters will love. Mr. Rex, Dinny, and their more than 50 dinosaur pals provide ideal picture opportunities for you and your family.
Palm Canyon Drive
Take a drive along Palm Canyon Drive, the main Palm Springs road that runs from Palm Springs to Palm Desert. Palm Canyon Drive is about 20 minutes from Palm Springs. You’ll pass the Palm Springs Aerial Tramway on your way. This is a great place to stop and take some family pictures. There are also some great restaurants along the road.
Parks & Trails
Tahquitz Canyon and The Indian Canyons
One of the most stunning and culturally significant parts of the Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians Reservation is Tahquitz Canyon. A spectacular 60-foot waterfall, rock art, historical irrigation systems, local fauna, and vegetation may all be found in Tahquitz Canyon. The Tahquitz Canyon Visitor Center, situated near the canyon’s entrance, features instructive and cultural displays. In addition to an observation deck and a theater where visitors may see The Legend of Tahquitz Canyon, the Center has an antiquities exhibit.
Only a few hours outside Los Angeles, San Diego, Las Vegas, and Phoenix, Joshua Tree National Park is a natural desert wilderness with minimal facilities spread throughout its roughly 800,000 acres. Every year, some 2.8 million people visit the park to engage in activities like hiking, camping, photography, rock climbing, and simply to take in the tranquil desert beauty. From October through May, Joshua Tree experiences its busiest period.
Tours
The Palm Springs Self-Driving Windmill Tours offers an engaging and educational tour for friends and family. The trip is led by Randy Buckmaster, the tour manager, who will guide you around the first commercial wind farm in the United States using a video and audio program and highlighted destinations.
The trip brings you to ten sites along the way, starting with a display yard of wind turbines. You may also stop at a working wind turbine to snap photographs up close. The trip concludes with a visit to the former gas plant after continuing through a solar farm.
Red Jeep Tours has offered outdoor activities in the Greater Palm Springs area since 1988. Their excursions and events provide a genuine and distinctive destination experience that perfectly encapsulates the spirit of the California desert.
Attractions & Activities
Boomers! Palm Springs is the ideal destination in Palm Springs for date evenings, birthday parties, and family fun since it offers a ton of family entertainment. They provide entertainment for everyone with thrilling rides and attractions, which include go-karts, three 18-hole miniature golf courses, bumper boats, batting cages, a rock wall, and a cutting-edge gaming area with over 100 of the greatest arcade games.
Get Air Trampoline Park Palm Desert
This indoor trampoline park definitely caters to families with amenities like wall-to-wall trampolines, foam pits, ninja obstacles, and dodgeball. The best location in town for gathering for gatherings, birthday celebrations, or just having some fun!
Lap swimming, water aerobics, food and snack concession, locker facilities, multipurpose space for parties, and much more are available for recreational swimmers.
The Fountain of Life in Town Square is a prize-winning interactive fountain that offers visual beauty and a water “sprayground” element. During the summer, this fountain is a popular destination where people of all ages splash around in the water.
Rancho Mirage Library & Observatory
The Rancho Mirage Library and Observatory is a teaching and learning resource for students of all ages that aims to improve existing free public educational opportunities and deepen knowledge and excitement for the night sky.
Escape rooms in Palm Springs | Escape games
Escape rooms are perfect for a birthday celebration, a night out with the family, or even a date night if you can get away. Pick one of the six escape rooms in and near Palm Springs! Work together to look for hints, solve riddles, and cooperate to solve the case.
Recommended for ages 10 and older.
There are many possibilities when riding across Greater Palm Springs, whether you’re an experienced mountain biker or a tourist looking to glide through town on a beach cruiser. Bike Palm Springs has everything you need, including kids’ bikes, adult bikes with child seats, and even hybrid electric bikes when you want a little extra power.
The freshest artisan food and veggies from tiny farms in the Coachella Valley! The outdoor market runs from October to May at 2300 E. Baristo Rd., next to the Palm Springs Cultural Center/Camelot Theatre. June through September, it moves indoors at the Palm Springs Pavillion.
Zoos & Gardens
The Palm Springs area’s greatest attraction for 50 years has been the Zoo. The Zoo is involved in research on conservation, the preservation of habitats, breeding programs, and educational activities internationally and within its local neighborhood. In addition to animal habitats, the Living Desert Zoo and Gardens feature animal encounters, private tours, giraffe feedings, walking trails, and so much more.
Shields Date Garden has highlighted the culinary world of dates for almost a century. Customers are welcomed with every possible product containing dates as soon as they enter the door. Take a seat at the iconic shake counter from the 1960s and enjoy a delicious, refreshing date shake. At the sample counter, try the wide varieties of dates they produce and harvest. However, save room for the acclaimed cafe, which serves high-quality breakfast and lunch dishes, many of which include dates.
California’s Moorten Botanical Garden and Cactarium is located in Palm Springs. Look for the family house, affectionately known as Cactus Castle, as you enter the current Moorten Botanical Garden. Although the one-acre gardens include thousands of varieties collected from throughout the globe, the gardens have a cozy intimacy.
Explore more than a dozen dry biomes for an hour, including the Baja California Peninsula, the Mojave Desert, the Succulent Karoo in South Africa, and the Gran Desierto de Altar in Mexico. The gardens feature agave, bombax, and South African aloe species in addition to cactus. The desert motifs are enhanced by an intriguing assortment of rocks, crystals, fossils, and artifacts from the gold-mining industry.
There are guided tours of the gardens available. However, scheduling in advance is advised.
CLOSED July, August, September – REOPENS October 1, 2022
Museums
Riders can travel more than 2.5 miles along the stunning cliffs of Chino Canyon on the Palm Springs Aerial Tramway, the biggest revolving tram car in the world, before arriving at the untamed wildness of Mt. San Jacinto State Park. Tram vehicles spin gently as you travel for around 10 minutes, providing breathtaking views of the valley floor below. You’ll find two restaurants, observation decks, a natural history museum, two documentary cinemas, a gift shop, and more than 50 kilometers of hiking paths at the Mountain Station, which is located at 8,516 feet.
Children’s Discovery Museum of the Desert – Temporarily Closed until December 2022
Kids will love learning about themselves and the world around them at the Children’s Discovery Museum of the Desert. The museum fosters individual growth by encouraging creativity and curiosity via interactive exhibits and program exploration.
History comes to life at the Palm Springs Air Museum, and visitors can get close to antique World War II and Korea/Vietnam-era aircraft. The museum is continually adding new exhibits.
Fifty-nine planes and aircraft are on exhibit within four climate-controlled hangars totaling 86,000 square feet inside, with more outside on the tarmac, at the Aviation Museum, which CNN Travel named one of the top 14 aviation museums in the world in 2014.
Many of the museum docents have experience flying these aircraft and working aboard ships. The four hangars are arranged according to themes, and the walls are lined with relevant displays. Computer flight simulators are available in the Library’s outside room to amuse visitors of all ages and instruct them in the fundamentals of flight.
Family Friendly Hotels
Omni Rancho Las Palmas Resort & Spa
In Rancho Mirage, California, the Omni Rancho Las Palmas Resort & Spa is a tranquil haven with mountains and palm trees as a backdrop. Enjoy the enduring comforts, time-tested amenities, and cutting-edge technology that have made the luxury resort a sought-after location for a sunny escape. The resort provides a perfect getaway in the Coachella Valley, just a few miles from Palm Springs.
The new Splashtopia on-site water park is entertaining for both grown-ups and kids. It is surrounded by a 425-foot lazy river and has two 100-foot waterslides. The water park also features a cliff-side hot tub, a sandy beach, and fun water play areas with sprinklers and fountains for little ones. Even better, getting a bite to eat doesn’t require leaving the fun. Splash Grill is close by and offers delectable burgers and refreshing tropical cocktails. At Splashtopia, everyone can escape the heat and enjoy themselves.
Westin Mission Hills Resort & Spa
In the remote desert of Rancho Mirage, California, you’ll find the Westin Mission Hills Resort Villas, Palm Springs.
Take the kids to the adjacent Children’s Discovery Museum on the weekends, or relax at the luxurious resort and cool down in one of the two pools. The glistening Paradise Pool offers entertainment for the whole family. Take part in poolside activities, splash in the kiddie pool with the small ones, or slide down the 155-foot-long slide. To get some peace and quiet, go to the Villa East Pool. It’s the ideal location to unwind, read a book, or take in the scenery.
Return from a day of sunbathing to your vacation rental, which has a fully furnished kitchen or kitchenette, and even a washer and dryer. The resort offers all the necessities for a perfect stay in Palm Springs without resort fees, including on-site dining options and a fitness facility.
With breathtaking vistas of the San Jacinto Mountains, retreat to peace and quiet. In Cathedral City, California, just outside the Palm Springs area, there is a five-star resort hotel called Desert Oasis.
It’s the ideal destination for a vacation where you can relax in the sun as the kids splash in the pool. If you’d rather get moving, play some tennis or a round of golf at the nearby Cathedral Canyon Golf and Tennis Club.
For more Kids Travel Guides or Road Trips in Southern California, check out:
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