Whether you like to splash, slide, frolic, or dive, the desert offers great water play, with October temps often reaching into the 90s.
Serious water babies enjoy regular visits to Palm Springs Swim Center at Sunrise Park. This public facility features an outdoor Olympic-size pool perfect for swimming laps. The pool maintains a comfortable lap swim temperature of approximately 78 to 81 degrees. A shallow children’s pool offers cool recreational playtime for kids. Palm Spring Swim Center is open every day, closed most holidays.
Find fun and fitness at Palm Desert Aquatic Center (pictured). This resort-like public facility combines the excitement of a family-friendly water park and the discipline of a huge lap pool. Play among water slides and fountains. Practice your swan dive from one of four diving boards. Separate pools for kids and great lap lanes for dedicated swimming make this one of the desert’s most inclusive swim centers.
Expect regular pool-related festivities at Ace Hotel & Swim Club in Palm Springs, from impromptu games of water volleyball to hot sounds of DJs around the pool.
On the north end of town, Riviera Palm Springs welcomes non-guests (as long as they’re not filled to capacity) into the pool area for weekend parties guided by DJs from throughout Southern California.
Make a splash in Rancho Mirage at Splashtopia, an incredible water feature exclusive to Rancho Las Palmas Resort & Spa, which includes 100-foot water slides, a meandering lazy river, a sand beach, and more. There’s also an adults-only Tranquility Pool to help you get away from it all in teak chaises, lush landscaping and seductive seclusion. It truly is a resort where “refreshment comes in shades of cool.”
Knott’s Soak City Water Park in Palm Springs fits the bill when it comes to family fun. Featuring 21 acres of wet adventure, from seven-story slides to a wave pool, built around California’s retro surf culture, Soak City entices every age and inclination. But you’d better hurry. The first weekend of the month (Oct. 6-7) marks the end of Soak City’s season. The park opens again in March 2013, so mark your calendars!