Visit Greater Palm Springs and participating hotel and charity partners are proud to partner with Kind Traveler to support the important work of both Friends of the Desert Mountains and LGBTQ Community Center of the Desert, advancing community & environmental impact in our destination. Through our partnership, we're empowering a new generation of responsible travelers to positively impact our local community through giving back.
Visit Greater Palm Springs
Live Impact Report
total funds raised
meals provided to individuals facing food insecurity at The LGBTQ Community Center of the Desert's Food Bank
individuals received the ability to enjoy a safe, guided desert walk with Friends of the Desert Mountains
donated to charity
EVERY STAY GIVES BACK
Support local Greater Palm Springs charities when you stay with participating lodging partners. A portion of every guest stay will benefit a Greater Palm Springs local charity, helping advance sustainable and regenerative tourism in the destination. Regardless of where or how you book, 100 percent of funds go to the local charity beneficiary. Learn more about the participating hotels, the impact created so far, and how you can get further involved:
Give + Get: Exclusive Offers
Explore exclusive offers from Kind Traveler with Kind Hotels in Greater Palm Springs when you donate $10 to support participating local charities or a charity of choice. 100% of donations go to charity.
Kind Factors
Discover Greater Palm Springs
It’s time to find your oasis in Greater Palm Springs. Nestled in the Coachella Valley surrounded by four picturesque mountain ranges, about 90 miles east of Los Angeles, Greater Palm Springs encompasses nine cities – Palm Springs, Desert Hot Springs, Cathedral City, Rancho Mirage, Palm Desert, Indian Wells, La Quinta, Indio, and Coachella, each with their own distinct personalities and histories. The area has long attracted visitors seeking serene desert vibes, statuesque palm trees, and endless blue skies. Adventurers love its 300+ days of sunshine each year and more than 1,000 miles of diverse hiking and biking trails, and artsy types are continually impressed with its colorful and vibrant art scene and rich architectural history. Most importantly, Greater Palm Springs is moving into the future with a focus on regional sustainability and green initiatives that will keep this lush oasis of natural wonders thriving.
Travel Kindly with Hotels Committed to Community & Environmental Impact
This one is always a no-brainer for kind travelers. Local and sustainable should become part of your vocabulary by now. That’s why we recommend hotels in the Coachella Valley that keep the environment & community in mind, using biodegradable cleaning and organic skincare products, composting food waste, championing the use of food ingredients sourced locally, advancing on-site wellness initiatives and empowering guests to give back to the local community. Explore the collection of participating Kind Hotels in Greater Palm Springs here.
Dine & Shop with the Environment in Mind
Vintage & thrift shopping galore
Not only is Greater Palm Springs a treasure trove for stylish vintage and thrift shopping from clothing and jewelry to home décor, the region is brimming with unique thrift stores and second-hand shops that offer a sustainable alternative to buying new items with harmful production methods that contribute to waste production and carbon emissions. Score sustainable finds at places like Gypsyland or Iconic Atomic in Palm Springs, not to mention antique malls and furniture and decor stores galore. Peruse the region’s excellent selection of stores where the sales benefit charitable causes and organizations, with most stores stocking a variety of items that include furniture, décor, art, home goods, books, vinyl records, clothing and accessories. A couple of these include Angel View (three locations) and Revivals (four locations) benefiting Desert AIDS Project.
Locally owned boutiques
For thoughtful & sustainable gifts hand-crafted by artisans, you won't want to miss Rancho Relaxo in Rancho Mirage and a brand new location on El Paseo in Palm Desert. Desert dwellers will also love the Mohave Flea Trading Post, a 10,000 square foot marketplace of merchants and makers from Joshua Tree, the Coachella Valley and beyond. Another stand out boutique is Thick as Thieves in Palm Springs, founded by a husband and wife team offering a curated shop offering handmade good, oddities and unique finds.
Plant-based cuisine
Studies suggest that eating plant-based or locally sourced food helps reduce an individual's carbon footprint, just as does buying items that are being reused or recycled. Greater Palm Springs is one of the nation’s top-producing agricultural centers with roughly 70,000 acres of bountiful crops that allow the area’s chefs to source their ingredients locally, providing an authentic farm-to-table experience. One of our favorite vegan restaurants in town is Chef Tanya’s Kitchen while Farm excels at locally-sourced cuisine. Here’s a full roundup of some of the best vegan and vegetarian restaurants.
Farmers’ markets
Seven Certified Farmers’ Markets can be found throughout Palm Springs, Palm Desert, Indian Wells, Rancho Mirage, Indio, Desert Hot Springs, La Quinta and Joshua Tree. While there is always a market to be found year-round, some of them are moved indoors during the summer months and some operate seasonally. These markets present a colorful opportunity to meet local growers and even shop alongside area chefs. You can check out the multitude of Farmers Markets’ and Street Fairs that offer the bounty of the region here.
Explore Attractions Advancing Sustainability & Cultural Tourism
Many Greater Palm Springs attractions are taking steps forward in conservation. Most notably, The Living Desert Zoo and Gardens collaborates with conservation organizations around the world, helping to preserve populations of desert animals and plants threatened with extinction. Some of its eco-efforts include drip irrigation throughout the grounds, a solar generating system, and the composting of all human and animal food waste on the property. Sunnylands Center & Gardens, a LEED certified building, reduces water use with a state-of-the-art irrigation system, plants adapted to arid climates and the use of retention basins below the gardens to capture water runoff.
Since time immemorial, the Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians have called Greater Palm Springs home. Hear their story like never before at the new Agua Caliente Cultural Plaza in downtown Palm Springs. Featuring a tribal museum, a state-of-the-art spa and an outdoor Oasis Trail, the Agua Caliente Cultural Plaza is the second largest of its kind in the United States and a long-awaited addition to cultural tourism in Greater Palm Springs.
Good Walkability & EV Access
Walking is always a surefire way to eliminate fuel consumption. Downtown Palm Springs, Palm Desert’s El Paseo dining and shopping district, and Old Town La Quinta score super high on the walkability scale. For those who visit the destination driving electric cars, there are plenty of vehicle charging stations to tap into while shopping, dining or enjoying a night out on the town. As the automobile landscape has shifted to embrace more eco-friendly vehicles, so has Greater Palm Springs. Drivers will now find several EV charging stations scattered throughout the region’s nine cities, from hotels and resorts to restaurants and attractions. Here’s the full list. You can also get around the entire destination on the area’s public transportation system, Sunline Transit Agency. Its buses are fueled by low-emission compressed natural gas or no-emission hydrogen fuel cell and electric engines, so you can feel good knowing you’re contributing to fewer carbon emissions.
Enjoy the Pristine Undeveloped Land
A striking element of Greater Palm Springs is its topography and the views in all directions, with the San Jacinto, Santa Rosa and San Bernardino mountains encircling a palm tree-filled oasis extending 45 miles long and about 15 miles wide. The beauty is arresting, and because much of the land is protected and undeveloped, it lends an uplifting, soothing and, some would say, healing quality to those who experience it. Throughout the destination, you’ll find alluring hikes that range from easy, short strolls through palm tree-canopied trails along mountain streams to all-day hikes for the experienced only traversing challenging terrain and high elevation gain.
Mindful Adventures
With the sunshine on your side most of the year in Greater Palm Springs, there is no way better to enjoy it than with outdoor experiences like no place else in the world. For starters, get a good look at it all from the Palm Springs Aerial Tramway. Take a ride on the world’s largest rotating tram car that travels over two-and-one-half miles along the breathtaking cliffs of Chino Canyon, transporting riders to the pristine wilderness of the 8,516 feet Mt. San Jacinto State Park. While you’re up there, enjoy over 50 miles of hiking trails and take in jaw-dropping views of the entire Coachella Valley. Should you prefer to go from the palms to the pines of your own volition, the Palms to Pines Scenic Byway, an officially designated scenic drive by the Bureau of Land Management is a scenic drive that offers high mountain wilderness and serpentine roads with some gorgeous stops along the way.
It’s been mentioned already that Greater Palm Springs is a hiker’s paradise with diverse beauty home to more than 1,000 miles of hiking trails. A couple of our favorites that also support indigenous communities are Indian Canyons and Tahquitz Canyon. Tahquitz Canyon is a culturally sensitive area of the Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians Reservation. This beautiful hike is home to a spectacular 60-foot waterfall, rock formations, native art, ancient irrigation systems and native wildlife and plants. The Indian Canyons are especially sacred to the Cahuilla people, who have thrived here for thousands of years, and significant to scientists and nature observers alike. Murray Canyon through the Indian Canyons offers a challenging hike ranging from two to six miles, the hike ascends higher into the wildlife surrounds of the San Jacintos and reaches the splendor of the Seven Sisters Waterfall.
Eco-travelers and outdoor enthusiasts can explore more than 880 acres of the Coachella Valley Preserve System designed to protect an endemic, threatened fringe-toed lizard found on sand dunes as well as the newly designated 154,000-acre Sand to Snow National Monument, a biological corridor linking the flora and fauna of the San Bernardino and San Jacinto mountains .
As if your hiking card wasn’t filling up fast enough, Downtown Palm Springs is a mere 37 miles from Joshua Tree National Park. Take a scenic drive through the breathtaking park, hit the hiking trails and journey through the vast desert landscape and gigantic boulders or spend the night camping beneath the bright stars.
Conscious Culture in the Desert
Definitely worth a visit is the Sunnylands Center & Gardens. Upon entering the 15-acre site, a winding driveway takes visitors through a desert art garden to the glass facade of Sunnylands Center. The spacious, contemporary building houses a rotating art exhibition, café, gift shop, and multimedia offerings that detail the history of Sunnylands and its founders, Walter and Leonore Annenberg. Notably, Sunnylands Center & Gardens reduces water use with a state-of-the-art irrigation system, plants adapted to arid climates, and retention basins that capture water runoff. In January 2021, its 17-acre employee campus (including administration, archives, and operations buildings) was awarded LEED® Platinum certification, the U.S. Green Business Council’s highest rating for sustainable design. It has used solar energy since 2012.
If you're feeling inspired by the destination's Hollywood history or simply want to cool off indoors during the summer, catch a flick at Mary Pickford is D’Place Theatre. The theater uses a roof-mounted solar system and accompanying on-site energy storage plant to power itself independently at night. It’s the first cinema in California—and the largest in the nation—to utilize a solar and battery storage system.
Visitors to Greater Palm Springs will find artistic expression and a vibrant and colorful culture. Art is literally everywhere. You can explore new and creative dimensions indoors in its many museums and outdoors as the streets come alive with countless murals and installations. The Palm Springs Art Museum, located in downtown Palm Springs, features three floors of painting, photography, sculpture and other media, as well as an on-site theater and bistro. The museum’s Architecture and Design Center, Edwards Harris Pavilion is a few blocks away and is equally inspiring. Other standouts, such as the Palm Springs Air Museum, the Coachella Valley History Museum and Cabot’s Pueblo Museum, showcase everything from vintage World War II aircraft and historical archives to Native American artifacts.
At certain times of the year, Palm Springs offers exceptional experiences that are not to be missed. Modernism Week in early Feb is the epicenter for mid-century architecture buffs. The 11-day festival boasts over 350 events, including the Palm Springs Modernism Show & Sale, tours of iconic homes in more than 30 neighborhoods, and the popular Signature Home Tour on both weekends. Also offered are architectural walking, biking and double-decker bus tours, tours of the historic Annenberg Estate at Sunnylands, a classic car show, garden tours, nightly parties, and a unique series of compelling and informative talks. All events are open to the public, and many events are free or low cost. Desert X, an outdoor exhibit comprising site-specific installations, has become one of the biggest anticipated art events in the world drawing thousands of visitors from around the globe to Greater Palm Springs. X marks the spot, as viewers search for art in the desert, and Palm Springs becomes a museum in itself. Surely by now, you’ve heard of the Coachella Valley Music & Arts Festival, held in Greater Palm Springs for over 20 years and one of the most renowned music festivals in the world. The festival brings a wide range of artists in two weekends in April. With it, larger-than-life art sculptures bloom at the center of the festival. Last but certainly not least, Palm Springs celebrates LBGTQ+ Pride year-round. Planned for early Nov when the weather is oh so right, the 2023 edition of Greater Palm Springs Pride will mark the festival's 37th anniversary as a free festival bringing a diverse community together. Known for celebrating the strength, equality and self-determination of the LGBTQ+ community, Greater Palm Springs Pride celebrates with a parade, festival and vendor marketplace.
Local Charities We Love
Kind Travelers are always encouraged to support attractions and nonprofits that actively work to preserve local habitats and restore plant and animal populations. One such attraction is The Living Desert Zoo & Gardens who champion a mission to provide desert conservation through preservation, education and appreciation. A top attraction for the last 50 years, The Living Desert Zoo and Gardens collaborates with conservation organizations around the world, helping to preserve populations of desert animals and plants threatened with extinction. Some of its eco-efforts include drip irrigation throughout the grounds, a solar generating system, and the composting of all human and animal food waste on the property. They also offer ranger-led hikes through Indian Canyon.
Hiking enthusiasts to the area have an ally in the Friends of the Desert Mountains. This nonprofit organization is dedicated to building a community of support to help preserve the unique wildlife and scenic beauty of the Coachella Valley and Desert Mountains. The Friends’ vision for the Coachella Valley is a thriving and productive community integrated with a healthy and sustainable natural environment. Be sure to take a hike with the Friends. They are experts in leading safe guided hikes and birdwatching walks. They also offer nighttime hikes during full moons, and host nighttime events and stargazing parties.
Pride runs high in Greater Palm Springs and we love how the LGBTQ Community Center of the Desert provides an open and welcoming environment for all members of the LGBTQ+ family in the Coachella Valley. Through the use of their individual lived experiences and collective power, they host community events, assistance programs, run a community food bank, offer behavioral health therapy, and various other forms of support in their efforts to create a loving, empowered community where everyone belongs. The Center offers community events and programming all year long, many of which accept walk-ins to be a part of the fun for the day, and a few requiring at least a day's registration notice in advance. Some of these events include game gatherings, LGBTQ+ youth hangouts, and wellbeing classes including yoga and fitness for those over 50.
Another unique experience that supports The Palm Springs Animal Shelter is Frisky Business Palm Springs Cat Cafe, working to find furever homes for the area's homeless felines. While not required to adopt, visitors will have a chance to play and spend time with the adoptable cats with an hourly entrance fee.
If you're up for a short road trip and find yourself on the Palms to Pines Scenic Byway, an officially designated scenic drive by the Bureau of Land Management, we suggest booking a tour with the renown Living Free Animal Sanctuary. As you head up Highway 74 in Mountain Center, about 20 minutes from the postcard, mountain town of Idyllwild, visitors can explore the rich history of the sanctuary and place where abused, neglected, or whose time is up at public shelters. They're now offering in-person tours of the Living Free property, available to groups of 5 or less. This behind-the-scenes tour gives visitors an insider’s look into Living Free Animal Sanctuary, including the cattery, dog kennel, and you’ll also get to meet the horses and donkeys which are part of our veteran program called War Horse Creek.
