Nonstop into Palm Springs, CA

Parker Palm Springs

South Palm Springs

A 1959 property reworked by Jonathan Adler, with hedges, croquet and a deliberately eccentric interior. People drive in from Los Angeles for the all-day breakfast.

Ace Hotel & Swim Club

South Palm Springs

A converted motel and Denny's, which sounds worse than it is. Younger, louder, and the pool is the entire point.

L'Horizon Resort

South Palm Springs

Twenty-odd bungalows built by William F. Cody in 1952. Adults only, and about as quiet as the desert gets.

The Aerial Tramway

Rotating cars up to eight and a half thousand feet in about ten minutes. Take a jacket. It is another climate up there and almost everybody underdresses.

The mid-century architecture

Do it by bike, with a map from the Visitor Center, which is itself a converted Frey gas station. Twin Palms, the Kaufmann House, the tramway station.

Joshua Tree National Park

Forty-five minutes to the west entrance and a completely different desert: granite piles, Joshua trees, and the best stargazing within reach of Los Angeles.

Indian Canyons

Palm oases on the Agua Caliente reservation, with actual running water and shade. The rare desert hike that is not an ordeal.

Cheeky's

Breakfast on Palm Canyon, with a bacon flight that changes week to week. No reservations, so put your name down and go find a coffee.

Sandfish Sushi & Whiskey

Uptown, open since 2018, and the best dinner in town that is not attached to a hotel.

Peaks, at the top of the tramway

Eight and a half thousand feet up, and the view does most of the work. Book it together with the tram ticket.