History of Palm Desert
It is the sublime setting that
first attracts. Towering mountains, blue skies, and a near perfect
climate set the stage. So it is little wonder why this magical place
has become a haven for those seeking resorts, golf courses and spas
that rank among the world's finest. There is so much to see, to
experience, to enjoy.
Palm Desert, California's
unforgettable landmark for the indelible combination of relaxation and
recreation. You'll see that with 350 days of sunshine and unbelievable
year-round weather conditions in Palm Desert, California's sun shines a
bit brighter here. A desert oasis with all the activities and
appurtenances visitors could ask for, Palm Desert, California
represents the shiny luster of the Golden State's tourism industry. So
set a course for Palm Desert, California, and see why it's not just a
destination but a state of mind.
Palm Desert California, located
only a scant 10 miles from Palm Springs, is home to many of the world's
finest Golf Coursesand Tournaments (Bob Hope Chrysler Classic, Frank
Sinatra Celebrity Invitational) and the "Rodeo Drive of the Desert" -
the fabulous El Paseo Shopping District. In Palm Desert, you will find
streets named after Frank Sinatra, Dinah Shore and Fred Waring. Palm
Desert was the first city in Riverside County to create a public art
program requiring developers to contribute to the artistic harmony
between buildings and open spaces, and is now the Coachella Valley's
retail, education and cultural epicenter. Palm Desert cultural
attractions include the Holocaust Memorial, the Living Desert Reserve
(1,200 acres of desert plants, warthogs, Arabian oryxes, desert
unicorns, mountain lions, cheetahs, Mexican wolves and bighorn sheep)
and The McCallum Theatre for the Performing Arts. Palm Desert is also
home to the College of the Desert and California State University, San
Bernardino, Palm Desert Campus.
FAST FACTS:
Palm Desert Population - 44,217. Coachella Valley Population - 352,154. Elevation - 243.
Area
- 26 square miles. Average Rainfall - 3.38 inches. Average Humidity -
27%. Yearly Mean Temperature - 73 degrees. Average Number of Sunny Days
- 350 a year!
TheMcCallum Theatre is a
state-of-the-art performing arts center located in the heart of Palm
Desert. Founded in 1988, it has earned a reputation for diversified,
high quality programs. The theater founders committed to a goal of
enriching the lives of desert residents by making the performing arts
affordable and accessible to as many people as possible. Today, the
McCallum annually enjoys the patronage of a quarter million
theatergoers. An astonishing variety of entertainment and cultural
experiences have been presented by the McCallum over the years,
award-winning plays, Broadway touring productions, international stars
of dance and opera, major concert artists from classical, pop, jazz,
country and rock music, and a rich variety of family and children's
programming. The valley is home to annual jazz festivals, fascinating
lecture series and several highly acclaimed art shows including the La
Quinta Arts Festival and Southwest Arts Festival. Special cultural
events abound. Watch for information in the local media.
The Palm Desert area is a work
of art itself, with a majestic mountain backdrop and prolific Art in
Public Places program that integrates works of art into medians, parks,
buildings and the latest Interstate freeway overpass bridge with
lizards carved into the cement entrance. The nationally recognized
program enhances the appearance of literally every portion the city.
More than 90 sculptures and public artworks greet you wherever you go -
in Civic Center Park, along El Paseo, and at the entrance to most
centers and resorts.
Abundant art galleries are
available for your pleasure. We invite you to stroll along El Paseo or
Corporate Way and visit some of the dozens of galleries that offer
every type and medium of art you could possibly desire. Visit one of
many artist demonstrations, exhibits or outdoor art shows. It is easy
to see why Palm Desert has become known for its innovation in promoting
public art throughout the city. Widely known and highly regarded, the
Living Desert Reserve is the pride of Palm Desert. Privately endowed,
the 1,200 acres are comprised of a superior collection of desert plants
and wildlife in a natural setting. In addition to the arthogs, Arabian
oryxes, desert unicorns, mountain lions, cheetahs, Mexican wolves,
bighorn sheep and more, there are magnificent botanical gardens, nature
trails, and the new Wa Tu Tu African Village.
The exotic desert flourishes in
the region, within a short drive in any direction, there are new vistas
for camping, hiking, rock hounding, and bird and wildlife watching. The
desert and mountain trails are perfect for exploring the natural beauty
of the region. And don't be surprised to see a bighorn sheep or two on
the hillsides.
Steeped in Native American
history, contemporary Palm Desert pulses with creative energy. The
world's finest resorts, spas, and golf courses are all right here
ensuring a great escape for locals and visitors alike.
Balloon Above The Desert - Greet the
sun or bid it farewell as you drift in beautiful desert skies in one of
the most peaceful experiences of a lifetime. While floating
effortlessly in one of our colorful hot air balloons, you will view
breathtaking vistas of some of the most picturesque landscapes in
California. Vineyards, polo fields, world famous golf courses, and
exotic orchards are just a few of the unbelievable sights you will
experience. Your flight direction is determined by the breeze.Greet the
sun or bid it farewell as you drift in beautiful desert skies in one of
the most peaceful experiences of a lifetime. While floating
effortlessly in one of our colorful hot air balloons, you will view
breathtaking vistas of some of the most picturesque landscapes in
California. Vineyards, polo fields, world famous golf courses, and
exotic orchards are just a few of the unbelievable sights you will
experience. Your flight direction is determined by the breeze.Balloon Above The Desert
The Center of the Coachella Valley is Palm Desert, California USA 92210, 92211, 92255, 92260, 92261
Country clubs and villas that double as second homes give Palm Desert the look of a city
at rest. In summer when withering heat forces cafe owners to switch on
their mist machines and even the rattlesnakes seek shade. Come winter,
mild weather brings the outdoors into play, and Palm Desert shows its active side. Just 2 hours from Los Angeles, Palm Desert serves as a weekend escape
for those seeking inland adventure. Cyclists and Hikers take to
well-marked trails that wind for miles through the surrounding desert.
Jeep tours make off-road excursions into the lonely, lunar landscape of
nearby Joshua Tree National Park. And then there is golf, of course, on
many of the same fairways where pros compete, and scores of available
tennis courts. Though sowhat confused with Palm Springs, its older
neighbor, Palm Desert has character of its own, with its swank El Paseo shopping district and a range of fine restaurants.
The best places draw crowds well into the evening, which is to say that
life goes on in Palm Desert, long after the last early-bird special is
served.
Friday
5 p.m.
1) Jeep Thrills
Never mind midnight at the oasis. Early evening will do just fine. Take a nighttime Jeep ride
into the desert with Desert Adventures (760-324-5337; $69 for two-hour
tours; $89 for three hours), the same company that offers daytime tours
of Joshua Tree National Park ($99 for four hours; $125 for five hours,
lunch included). Temperatures drop quickly when the sun goes down, so
wear a hat and jacket as you rumble through terrain where the San
Andreas Fault buckles upward and oases sprout like mirages in a Bugs
Bunny cartoon. Tour guides bring black lights to search for wildlife:
fox, coyotes, birds of prey. Scorpions, which glow phosphorescent when
illuminated, are hard to come by in winter, but Scorpio stands out in
the sky. Borrow a high-power telescope from your guide, who will teach
you how to track the constellations. It's a breathtaking vista, one
that's lost in the bright lights of city life.
8 p.m.
2) Time to Dine
Bland chain restaurants are as common as
cactuses around Palm Desert, but relief from them is never far away.
One refuge is Cuistot (72-595 El Paseo; 760-340-1000), a refined
French-Californian restaurant featuring the haute cuisine of the city's
best-known chef, Bernard Dervieux. Whet your appetite with wild
mushroom soup ($11.50) or house-made lobster ravioli ($14.75) before
moving on to short ribs braised in cabernet ($33.50). Another option is
Castelli's Ristorante (73-098 Highway 111; 760-773-3365), a local hot
spot with a Venice-meets-Vegas atmosphere. Rat Pack standards serve as
background music. Murals near the entrance depict the drift of
gondoliers. The "Godfather's Dinner" ($30), a three-way combo of beef
spiedini, shrimp scampi and veal piccata, captures the red sauce ethos
of the menu, and the chef, Brian Altman, embodies the spirit of the
place. He emerges periodically to greet regulars with a bear hug and
backslap.
Saturday
8:30 a.m.
3) Analyze This Swing
Every golfer
needs a guru, and a great place to find one is the Marriott's Shadow
Ridge resort, home of the Faldo Golf Institute (9002 Shadow Ridge Road;
760-674-2700). Named for the three-time Masters champ Nick Faldo, the
institute offers three-hour short-game and full-swing sessions ($225).
The sessions include a coupon for a free round of golf at the resort.
You'll also get a video of yourself, replete with frame-by-frame
analysis by your instructor, who compares your swing side-by-side with
Mr. Faldo's. Criticism is constructive only. Hang on to the tape as a
helpful reference — or comic relief.
Noon
4) Short-Order Nostalgia
Grab lunch at Keedy's Fountain &
Grill (73-633 Highway 111; 760-346-6492), a throwback soda fountain
recognized by the city as a local landmark. It's been in business since
1957 and has all the old-fashioned fixings: yellow Formica counters,
apron-clad waitresses who call customers "Hon" and straightforward
burgers ($4.29) that wash down well with a chocolate malted ($4.25) or
a thick date shake ($4.59). Keedy's bills itself as `'a blast from the
past," but it makes concessions to the present with the TV's mounted
behind the counter, tuned fittingly to the Golf Channel.
1:30 p.m.
5) A Hornbill, a Hyrax
Save time for a leisurely stroll through the Living Desert
Zoo & Gardens ($10.95 general admission; 47-900 Portola Avenue;
760-346-5694), a spectacular preserve that pays tribute to the world's
most arid landscapes and the plants and animals that make them home.
Winding footpaths lead you through 10 desert ecosystems, from East
Africa to Madagascar to the American Southwest. Wonderfully exotic
wildlife includes the Abyssinian ground hornbill, a prehistoric-looking
bird that flies only when disturbed, and the Cape rock hyrax, a woolly
cat-size mammal that lives on rocky outcrops but whose distant relative
is the elephant. You'll gain fresh appreciation for the adaptability of
the coyote at an exhibition devoted to its scat.
4 p.m.
6) Shop Talk
Many an hour and dollar has been spent on El Paseo,
often described as Palm Desert's version of Rodeo Drive. You can get it
all here: Coach bags, cashmere cardigans, cosmetic surgery. Tommy
Bahama's Tropical Café and Emporium (73-595 El Paseo; 760-836-0188), in
the Gardens shopping center, has a clothing store downstairs and a
restaurant upstairs with umbrella-drink décor. Not to worry. You're
here for the view. Grab a seat on the veranda, order a Caribbean Bloody
Mary ($7.25) and watch the daylight wane over the desert.
5:30 p.m.
7) Dinner . . .
Not much time to dine, but you won't
need it at Casuelas Café (73-703 Highway 111; 760-568-0011), a
family-run Mexican restaurant that serves good carnitas ($13.95) and
chicken enchiladas ($10.50) in substantial portions and flan that's
better if you ask for it without whipped cream ($3.95).
7 p.m.
8) . . . And a Show
Drive a few towns west on Highway 111 to
Palm Springs and watch the curtain open on the "Fabulous Palm Springs
Follies" at the Historic Plaza Theater (128 South Palm Canyon Drive;
760-327-0225), an acclaimed variety show with a chorus line of
"long-legged lovelies." Every member of the cast is over 55. The
oldest, Beverly Allen, 87, first performed at age 6 in a show with Mae
West. In this, its 14th season, the show pays homage to burlesque, and
its feathered female dancers perform a mock striptease. It all moves
smoothly in the hands of its impresario and M.C., Riff Markowitz, who's
both unabashedly patriotic and politically incorrect.
Sunday
7:30 a.m.
9) Hit the Links
Test your improved swing by cashing in your coupon for a free round of golf at Shadow Ridge
(9002 Shadow Ridge Road; 760-674-2700). A lot of desert courses are
long on yardage but short on character. Shadow Ridge has both. Mr.
Faldo's design has contoured fairways that call out for shaped tee
shots. The greens are smooth but deceptive, especially the 13th, which
requires a blind approach from the fairway. The 446-yard 18th hole,
with a creek flanking the fairway and a pond guarding the green, will
send even the best players back to the drawing board.
11:30 a.m.
10) Brunch for the Road
After golf, make your rounds of the
Champagne brunch buffet at Agua Caliente Casino ($20.95; 32-250 Bob
Hope Drive; 760-321-2000), where slot machines and blackjack tables
aren't the only temptation. The brunch, which includes all the
Champagne you can drink, is a meal of unapologetic indulgence. The
Atkins diet might well have approved of a made-to-order omelet with
smoked salmon, roast beef and bacon, but it's unclear where it would
stand on the Snickers cheesecake. On your first trip to the buffet,
conduct a wide sampling to find your favorites. Use subsequent visits
for more surgical strikes. Diet starts on Monday, if at all.
The Basics
Palm Desert is served by the Palm
Springs International Airport. Cabs to the downtown area, about 15
miles away, cost about $35, but you will probably do better with a
rental car. In light traffic, the drive from Los Angeles to Palm Desert
on Interstate 10 takes about two hours. Take the Cook Street or
Monterey Avenue exit.
Golfers come in droves to the Marriott Desert Springs Resort & Spa
(74855 Country Club Drive, 760-341-2211), which has two 18-hole Ted
Robinson courses. Both have water everywhere. The resort has a
full-service spa, swimming pool, health club and 844 rooms, $259 to
$425.
One of the city's newest boutique hotels, the Mojave Resort
(73721 Shadow Mountain Drive, 800-391-1104), is done up in the
retro-chic décor of the 1940's. It is built around a palm-shaded
courtyard and offers in-room spa services. Its 24 rooms, including a
luxury suite, are $139 to $209
http://www.palm-desert.org/
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