Stuff to do in Palm Springs when it’s HAB
(source: catushugs.com)
Ah, Palm Springs…the playground of the rich and famous. Home to celebrity scandals, mid-century design classics, and caftans. It’s easy to imagine yourself lounging by the pool, sipping gorgeous pastel cocktails, and teasing your neighborhood tennis pro.
PreCorona, summers in PS were pretty sleepy. Only die-hard desert fans and year-round residents made a point of toughing it out until fall. But amazingly, in the new normal, with #staycations now in high demand, Palm Springs is finding itself reporting nearly 100% occupancy for STRs in June and July 2020 (source: Vacation Rental Owners & Neighbors of Palm Springs). VRON-PS reports that traditionally, June and July are Palm Springs’ 2nd and 3rd least busy months. In addition, the average length of stay per contract for this period has increased from 2.1 to 5.6 nights.
When you step outside of your lovely vacation rental (say, PS Limoncello, perhaps), you may find that the Palm Springs you know and love from March or October stays is nothing like what you experience smack dab in the height of summer.
It may be a dry heat, but it is seriously like living on the sun.
If you’re in town and are gasping at what 115F in the shade feels like, here are some ideas to keep you sane and loving life:
Get on siesta time: Set your internal clock to wake early and give yourself an afternoon nap. Some shops, like our pals at Peepas, even have summer “siesta hours.”
Enjoy breakfast out instead of dinner: There are some really wonderful breakfast/brunch spots in PS that have misters and COVID-centric precautions in place. Lulu California Bistro, IHOP, Elmer’s, Grand Central, and Farm all have covered patios and delicious menu items. This summer, it seems like many places are eschewing reservations in favor of “walk-up and wait.” Our family’s recent experience at Grand Central was terrific at 10:30 am — we had about a 5 minute wait. Lulu for Sunday brunch was about 45 minutes, and at IHOP on a weekday (9:30 am), there was no wait at all.
Visit the Coachella Valley Certified Farmer’s Market on Saturday morning in Palm Springs to pick up farm-fresh produce, citrus, specialty wild Alaskan salmon, and empanadas. It’s indoors during the summer, June through September.
Spend your late mornings and afternoons in the pool. Not by the pool. In the pool. PS Limoncello has a shade umbrella that mounts into the tanning shelf, and on a floaty, you can pass the hours in relative comfort. Bring your book, some bevs, and the high-octane sunscreen!
Visit the 6,000 square foot indoor antiques market and consignment stores. They are all air-conditioned and invite extended browsing. If you’re a lucky guest at PS Limoncello, you’re not a far drive from either option.
Plan ahead to eat well. With indoor comfort winning over outdoor, it’s a great opportunity to try out some new recipes or menus that take a little longer than usual to prepare. If you’re with friends, make designing and creating an epic menu part of the experience. Choose a theme, make some playlists, and dress up. Why not? It’s vacation! Even if you cater in, theming things up is always a blast. Amazing meats, fish, and organics at Jensen’s, lovely produce, a great bakery, and good prices on beer/wine/booze at Ralph’s at Smoke Tree, particularly good prices on wine, mexican staples, and chippy-type snacks at Grocery Outlet, and traditional grocery options at Albertsons. Our friend, Alan, swears their meat department has the best meatballs around!
Visit Temecula wine country or head up to Big Bear’s Snow Summit: both are between an hour and two hours drive away. We took our boys up to Snow Summit for a day of riding and the temps were easily 30 degrees cooler up there than they were in the valley. The seating areas were all socially distanced, and even on a Sunday, it wasn’t overly crowded. We had our books, some snacks, and there’s even decent public wifi. Bringing your own food/drinks isn’t prevented, and I was really surprised at how friendly they make it to just hang out.
Drive through Joshua Tree National Park. Approaching from the Palm Springs side, we had little to no traffic. The Cholla Cactus Garden stop and the giant boulders were fast places to hop out of the car quickly and take some photos. We experienced about 10 other people at each of the stops, and you do need to be watchful about distancing — we didn’t experience people (besides us) wearing masks. Bring water and snacks, as the usual spots to stop in 29 Palms and Joshua Tree (except the ranger station) aren’t necessarily open. We ended up at a WalMart for a bathroom break.
Back in town, just remember that any time you park your car, it will “basically kill you” when you get back in. When you park, put a towel on the seat and drape something over the steering wheel. Even the gear shift and the seatbelt buckles will feel like branding irons after 15 minutes. At PS Limoncello, feel free to park in the garage, crack your windows, and leave the garage door up about 3 inches during the day. It’s not high enough to encourage trespassers or animals, yet it keeps the garage and your car “a little cooler.” And of course, don’t ever leave pets (or humans) in the car.
Crack up at the novelty of a pool with water in the 90s. We have a friend who says that for a party he and his partner once threw, they actually brought in an ice truck to cool their pool down. Urban myth? Who knows, but it sure is funny to turn on the spa and have the water already hot enough just from the sun.
Cholla Cactus Garden at Joshua Tree National Park (source: nps.gov)
Palm Springs is absolutely awe-inspiring in all seasons — we hope these tips and ideas will help to make the most of your summertime visit to paradise!
Are you a summertime visitor? What did you find to do in PS? Please leave your experience in the comments below!
