When acquaintances hear that our family regularly ventures to the Palm Springs area, I inevitably get a barrage of questions that go something like this:

• What’s there to do in Palm Springs?
• Do you have recommendations about places to stay and things to do?
• Is a condo/house better than staying at a hotel (because we need a separate room for the kids to sleep)?
• Is this is a good destination for a 4 or 5 day getaway with kids?

Maybe it’s the lore about Frank Sinatra and the rest of the Hollywood gang hanging out in Palm Springs that has given the place a different reputation than what we’ve experienced in the nearly 10 years since we’ve been going there. In our experience, it’s a really wonderful getaway destination for the whole family—even our dog!

Palm Springs and the growing desert communities just south of it, including Rancho Mirage, Palm Desert and Indian Wells offer something for everyone from premium shopping to relaxing golf to scenic outdoor experiences.

Our family’s annual getaway always includes visiting:

• The Living Desert Zoo and Gardens, which is part zoo and endangered species conservation center, part botanical gardens, part natural history museum, part wilderness park and nature preserve, and part education center. It was here that I saw my first ‘real’ roadrunner up close.
  
• The Aeriel Tramway where cars depart every 30 minutes or so rising 8,500 feet above the desert floor to hiking in the famous San Jacinto state park. In the winter and spring, there is still plenty of snow at the top, which can be fun for everyone.
• Boomers! where you can challenge the whole family to 18-holes of mini-golf, before riding the bumper boats and go karts, and climbing the rock wall. It’s a fun place for all ages or somewhere to take the kids if others in your group want to check out casino gaming.
  
• El Paseo Shopping District where you will find a wide range of wonderful up-scale shops and restaurants. It’s an ideal place to take a relaxing stroll with the whole family, and even pups are welcome at “My Best Friend.”

For our family, a Palm Springs vacation rental home or a Palm Desert vacation rental home is much preferred to a hotel room because we get more space and more privacy. Plus, most rentals have a private pool with safety gates. The cost of a vacation rental is considerably less than a hotel room and we don’t disturb anyone else. Plus the whole bedtime thing is nicer—we can stay up long after the kids go down.

The Palm Springs area is fantastic for a long weekend getaway, but if you can sneak in a whole week of vacation, you won’t be disappointed there!