36 Hours in Palm Springs, Calif.: Things to Do and See

Pick up an e-bike at Bike Palm Springs (half-day rentals from $25; maps available) to cruise midcentury-modern neighborhoods on a self-guided tour. Along your route, stop into Peninsula Pastries, a few blocks south, where glass cases display softball-size chouchous (chantilly-cream-filled choux pastries, $9.50) and pear almondine tarts ($8.50). Then ride east — dipping into neighborhoods like Deepwell Estates and Twin Palms Estates — to Nature’s Health Food & Cafe for an unconventional take on the date shake, a century-old Coachella Valley tradition that originated at Shields Date Garden in nearby Indio. Thick, deeply flavorful and less cloying than the original, this vegan rendition ($9) uses Shields’s date crystals, chewy pieces of fresh date, soy ice cream and banana. Take your treats to go or eat at the cafe patio’s tile mosaic tables.

Ride to the Smithsonian-affiliated Agua Caliente Cultural Museum (admission $10) to learn about the region’s Indigenous and geological history. The museum, opened in 2023 by the Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians, shares a cultural plaza with the tribe’s new 73,000-square-foot Spa at Séc-he — the area’s largest and most elaborate hot spring spa and the only one in downtown Palm Springs. (Because of its size and $155 day pass, it’s an all-day experience.) The museum starts with an immersive animation of the Cahuilla creation story in a 360-degree theater, where the benches shake when the earth moves. The museum’s exhibits span from time immemorial to recent history, including scale replicas of the Indian Canyons, Cahuilla basketry and black-and-white photography from the early years of Euro-American settlement.

From the street, the family-owned Mexican seafood restaurant Crudo Cervicheria doesn’t look like much. But out back, tables are set in a large flower-and-sculpture-filled courtyard. Stick to the excellent ceviches and tacos on the wide-ranging menu, like the fiery scallops negros, sliced thin in a sauce of charred chiles and topped with pickled onions ($22), and fried cod tacos on tender housemade corn tortillas ($18). For a midday indulgence, add a pomegranate-jalapeño margarita ($11). Then drive 20 minutes north to Desert Hot Springs, a dusty desert town where hot mineral springs are hidden in walled sanctuaries like the Good House, a cactus-and-palm-filled compound with canary yellow cushioned lounge chairs, a yoga lawn, a dry sauna and steaming water bubbling from the property’s spring. Two-hour passes ($40) offer a restorative break.

Palm Springs is the gateway to Joshua Tree National Park. To glimpse the Seussian wonder of the trees that give the park its name, drive a half-hour north to the Hi-View Trailhead for a one-hour (round-trip) hike from the outer edge of the park, where you’ll find cinematic views of the park’s surreal landscape (no fee for trail). Then take a gorgeous, winding drive 15 minutes into the boulder-strewn hills to Pappy + Harriet’s, a soulful, old-school roadhouse in one of Southern California’s stranger enclaves: Pioneertown, a living movie set and planned community built in the 1940s with an Old West (circa 1880s) theme. Bands don’t play until the evening (Paul McCartney is among the big-name acts to have performed there), but the bar-restaurant is worth a stop to soak up the atmosphere with Harriet’s tri-tip chili ($11) and a cold beer.

Opened in October, Lola Rose Grand Mezze at the long-anticipated Thompson Palm Springs serves a Persian-accented Middle Eastern menu in a choose-your-own-adventure spread. The $90 Petite Mezze is more than enough for two. It includes a choice of tahdig (the crisp-shelled Iranian rice dish); baby beets in a pistachio vinaigrette with harissa goat cheese, green beans and a texturally thrilling quinoa “granola”; and a not-to-be-missed slick-skinned “celebration bread.” For a transportive post-dinner cocktail, head to the airline-themed PS Air Bar, where the narrow bar has fuselage-shaped walls, a silver ceiling with cotton ball clouds, and faux windows. The servers sashay down the aisle in captains’ uniforms and the serving-cart-like bar pours aviation-inspired cocktails like the “Jet Lag” (featuring espresso vodka, $16).