Palm Springs with Kids

Palm Springs with Kids is pretty fun and I can’t wait to let you in on our adventures!

Just so everyone is on the same page, I was in Palm Springs, California once for one week so I am by no means an expert.  I’m writing this because I didn’t find a ton of resources out their for our trip and I think it’s worthwhile to share.  I was there early March and the weather was on average 20C – 30C each day.

At the time of our trip my boys were 3 and 5 so we general kept it simple with an outing in the morning and pool in the afternoon.

Our condo was located in La Quinta, CA which is a quieter neighbourhood mostly filled with gated communities.

Pros:

Our unit backed onto the mountains so you really felt like you were in the desert and we could do nature walks with the kids easily.

The community was stunning and clean with fountains, a children’s pool (pictured above), quiet roads and plenty of gorgeous vegetation.  It was beyond well manicured.

It was soooooo quiet.  From our condo it was dead silent.

Cons:

I don’t really know how I feel about gated communities.  I think I prefer to just be part of a community and not have to go through security every time I go home.  I don’t know – maybe it’s just because they are such a foreign concept to me.  Having said that, walking along perfect streets empty of traffic to a perfect pool is pretty nice.

La Quinta is a bit far Palm Springs, so if you are keen on looking at architecture, heading out to any of the trendy restaurants, or doing many of the activities you are looking at a 40-50 minute drive one way.  I chose a lot of our activities because they were closer to where we were located, so if you are looking at staying further down this end of the valley this may be ideal.  If you are further up in Palm Springs, you may choose to do other things.

Shields Date Garden

We chose this activity for proximity and the date garden which was an easy walking area for my young children.  So, the date garden itself is $5 per person unless you purchase dates in the large gift shop.  In the end, we purchased dates (which were delicious) but the gardens themselves were a bit meh and a quasi-religious experience with statues of biblical events everywhere. I did love the date shake though, and definitely recommend trying one either there or somewhere else.  If you want one there there’s a big counter area in the gift shop and I recommend sharing one between two adults.

La Quinta Cove Hike

We chose this hike because we felt it would be interesting yet easy for my son.  It was beautiful but we didn’t gain much elevation if that’s what you are after.  It’s a popular area though, and there were a lot of mountain bikes there as well.

The Living Desert

These photos probably give the worst example of what The Living Desert is about.  It’s actually a zoo and gardens featuring desert animals like giraffes, camels, cheetahs, ostriches, etc.  My kids loved it here and there was plenty to keep them occupied for a full three hours.  There’s even a model train area and I think my son’s celebrity sighting of Thomas the Train was the highlight of his trip.  I highly recommend stopping by for a day.

Part 2 is coming up!

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