Golf & tennis
With world-class golf courses set against dramatic desert landscapes and top-quality tennis courts beneath towering palms, two sports get classy treatment in the Palm Springs region—great if you’re a spectator or if you like to play.
"Coachella Valley boasts more golf courses per capita than any place on earth."
Long considered one of America’s golf capitals, Coachella Valley boasts more golf courses per capita than any place on earth. And we are talking seriously beautiful courses. The Pete Dye-designed TPC Stadium at PGA West in La Quinta earned honors from Golf Digest as one the top 100 public courses in the world. PGA West also features the La Quinta Resort Mountain Course, which is famous for its innovative design and spectacular combination of lush landscaping and eroded, pink-hued stones of the Santa Rosa range that frames the vista to the west.
Tennis holds its own place of honor in the desert, with outstanding public courts throughout the valley. Area resorts offer both premium facilities and lessons with skilled pros, including at the JW Marriott Desert Springs Resort & Spa, where you can live out your Wimbledon fantasies on two grass courts. And if you want to play where the pros play, the spectacular Indian Wells Tennis Garden (home to springtime’s BNP Paribas Open, a top-tier event drawing Federer, Sharipova, Nadal, and other tennis mega-stars) offers nearly 30 open-to-all courts (many of them lit at night).
Southern California
Discover the Deserts
The thwack of a golf club, the hum of the wind buffeting towering sand dunes, the splash of a dive into a perfect pool—the desert region is a sensory feast.
Following winter rains, springtime wildflowers paint the desert with colour.
Death Valley National Park holds the record for hottest temperature ever recorded (129°F/54°C in 1913), while the deserts of Joshua Tree National Park have giant boulders and alien-like yucca plants. At Anza-Borrego, California’s largest state park, discover amazing springtime wildflowers. The oasis-like Palm Springs region (2 hours east of L.A. and 3 hours northeast of San Diego) has golf resorts, midcentury modern architecture, and every spring, the epic Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival.
California Questionnaire: Vera Mulyani
5 Private Tours of Palm Springs and the Desert
The upscale resort city of Palm Springs sits 160 kilometres east of Los...
Spotlight: Death Valley National Park
The largest national park outside of Alaska, Death Valley is an almost unfathomable place. The park’s 3.3 million acres /1.34 million hectares...
Spotlight: Greater Palm Springs
Fed by underground springs, the desert comes alive here, not only with signature palms, but also with a string of resort communities—Palm Desert,...
Luxury Resorts in the Desert
Pampering just comes with the territory in the California desert. Maybe in the old days, desert visitors had to pack in supplies and sleep on the...
Start your trip in this idyllic oceanfront city, bounded by a 3.5-mi/5.6-km-long beach, and feeling more like a weekend getaway spot than a city just a few minutes west of downtown Los Angeles. Car-free options, including a shuttle to Los Angeles International Airport (8 miles/13 km south) make...
On your way to this park, you’ll pass through the little community of Borrego Springs. Stop in at the town’s visitor centre to get driving maps to an astounding collection of enormous prehistoric animals—metal sculptures made by artist Ricardo Breceda—that dot the surrounding desert landscape....
Spotlight: Joshua Tree National Park
Boulders and buttresses, rugged mountains, gold mining ruins, desert plains dotted with the oddball trees—this is one weird place. Joshua Tree,...
Desert Shopping
In-the-know visitors make sure to come to the Palm Springs area with room in their suitcases. Bargain hunters beeline for the town of Cabazon,...
Shopping is an art form in California. Whether you're in search of the perfect cocktail dress or an authentic Mexican piñata, you'll find it here. Want to sample fresh produce? Try our farmers...
Saaddle up for Stagecoach, the country cousin held in the same venue—the Indio Polo Grounds south of Palm Springs—as the ...
Mid-Century Modern Design
Filled with distinctive post-World War II buildings designed by leading architects of the time, Palm Springs is America’s Mid-century Modern mecca...
For all of the desert’s natural splendor and outdoor destinations, creativity comes with the territory, too. Throughout the year, the region finds ways to celebrate art, design, music, and film...
Spotlight: Anza-Borrego Desert State Park
This park’s combo name, pairing the name of famed Spanish explorer Juan Bautista de Anza, who crossed this desert in 1774, and the Spanish word...
Want a date? You're guaranteed to get one at the Riverside County Fair & Date Festival, the Indio extravaganza honoring the sweet, sticky fruits of local...
LGBT Travel in the Deserts
Fabulous pool parties. Stylish bars and impeccably designed hotels. Pampering spas and energetic nightclubs. Lavish events. There’s no question...
Both vast and intimate, the California desert is a region that ranges from arid, barren expanses to oasis-like canyons with hidden waterfalls. Towering sand dunes rise above the desert floor,...
Amboy Crater
Hike into a 6,000-year-old volcanic remnant
Designated a National Natural Landmark in 1973 and located just off historic Route 66, Amboy...
Fossil Falls
The truth is that the name Fossil Falls is a bit of a misnomer. After all, there are neither fossils nor a waterfall here. But a walk through...
