Acrisure Arena.
PHOTO COURTESY COACHELLA VALLEY FIREBIRDS
Acrisure Arena
Home of the Coachella Valley Firebirds minor league hockey team, this 11,000-seat arena has become a major gathering place for hockey fans as well as anyone who’s interested in seeing a top-tier show. The arena has drawn some of the biggest names in entertainment to the Coachella Valley, from Chris Rock to Madonna (who performs March 13, 2024). And it set the scene for an epic first season for the Firebirds, who made it to the playoffs last season.
Berger Foundation Iceplex
Hit the ice where the Coachella Valley Firebirds train. The Berger Foundation Iceplex offers two public skating sessions daily — one for all ages and another for adults only. If you’re hoping to brush up on your skills, you’re in luck: Instructors offer beginner, figure-skating, and hockey lessons. Skate rentals are available. Remember your socks.
SPONSORED
Spa Desert Springs
This 38,000-square-foot luxury spa at the JW Marriott Desert Springs is equipped to smooth, soothe, and soak your worries away. With 47 treatment rooms, including several private suites, this is the place to go to relax, revive, and enrich your body and mind.
Services include everything from a 90-minute Desert Journey body treatment — inspired by the fragrant scents of the desert and using naturally exfoliating, locally grown medjool dates — to a kombucha wellness facial, with the bubbly drink and other natural ingredients working to support your skin’s natural microbiome. Enhance your service with optional extras like CBD or Moroccan oils or a collagen treatment.
Pool at Spa Desert Springs.
PHOTO COURTESY SPA DESERT SPRINGS
Spa Desert Springs.
PHOTO COURTESY SPA DESERT SPRINGS
In addition to their many treatment options, Spa Desert Springs offers a dry sauna, a hammam steam room, a fully equipped fitness center, and outdoor saltwater and whirlpool pools overlooking the golf course and surrounding mountains. Feeling hungry, but unwilling to move after all that rejuvenation? Their Spa Bistro offers nutritious and delicious cuisine with poolside dining.
Spa buyouts are also available for private events.
Pickled Bar
Get your swing on! This indoor pickleball facility boasts four professional courts, as well as a kitchen, a full bar, and a pro shop. Memberships are available for regulars, though nonmembers are also welcome. Locals looking to scope it out can score a “free” day pass (though you still pay $5/hour for court time).
Desert Willow Golf Resort
A long and winding driveway leads to two exceptionally designed courses. Firecliff and Mountain View cater to golfers of all levels. Designed by award-winning golf course architects Michael Hurdzan and Dana Fry, the challenging courses immerse players in the glorious desert surroundings with environmentally sensitive landscaping. Natural hazards and myriad water features add a sense of excitement along with great views.
Desert Willow Golf Resort.
PHOTO COURTESY VISIT GREATER PALM SPRINGS
McCallum Theatre
In 1988, the Dodgers won the World Series, Whitney Houston and Michael Jackson topped the pop charts, and a little show called Phantom of the Opera made its Broadway debut. Those in the Coachella Valley reveled in another milestone moment: the grand opening of the desert’s signature performance venue. Bob Hope hosted the McCallum Theatre’s televised debut concert on Jan. 2, 1988. Now celebrating its 35th year, the nonprofit theater continues to host top-caliber performers, from Kristin Chenoweth and Storm Large to Tina Fey, starring in Mean Girls. The McCallum also works to foster a passion for the arts for the up-and-coming generation through educational programming that impacts more than 40,000 students and teachers in Greater Palm Springs.
Classic Club.
PHOTO BY MIKE ZITEK
SPONSORED
Classic Club
From the 7,300-yard championship golf course to the 63,000-square-foot, Tuscan-inspired clubhouse, Classic Club delivers an elevated experience for guests on all fronts — as one would expect of a property envisioned by Arnold Palmer. The scenic grounds are a go-to for charity tournaments and players of all levels seeking a premier golfing experience.
Across rolling terrain with 30 acres of water, 14 bridges, and an abundance of shade trees, the songs of migratory birds create an idyllic soundtrack. Thirteen holes have water features ranging from plant-lined lakes to bubbling streams, demanding precision off the tee and into the greens. Notably, the property is a certified Audubon Cooperative Sanctuary, meaning the course demonstrates a high degree of wildlife habitat protection and management.
Bump and Grind
All ages enjoy this moderately challenging, 4-mile loop trail that begins behind the Desert Crossings shopping center in Palm Desert. Park along Painters Path and head up in either direction for a great workout and stellar views. Walkers, runners, and cyclists are welcome, but dogs are not permitted on the trail. In the spring, you’ll see wildflowers, and in the winter, a “holiday tree” (really a creosote bush) decorated by the Bump and Grind regulars. Keep your eyes peeled for painted stones, occasionally left along the route by fellow hikers to brighten someone’s day.
Bump and Grind hiking trail.
PHOTO COURTESY VISIT GREATER PALM SPRINGS
"Poly Parfait" by E. Tyler Burton.
PHOTO BY MOLLIE KIMBERLING
Civic Center Park
Palm Desert’s largest park spans 70 acres, with grassy berms, a rose garden, art installations, a miniature lake where locals like to lay out as their kids chase the ducks, and a variety of well-kept recreational amenities — four baseball fields, six tennis courts, two pickleball courts, four volleyball courts, three basketball courts, and a skate park.
SPONSORED
The Living Desert Zoo and Gardens
Adventure awaits at The Living Desert Zoo and Gardens, a conservation-focused zoo dedicated to the care and preservation of endangered species that are native to deserts around the world.
The Rhino Savanna habitat brings guests into the heart of the African savana to meet a pair of black rhinos named Jaali and Nia along with gazelles and birds from the region. At the nearby Australian Adventures habitat, visitors get to walk among bouncing wallabies while the kookaburras sing and emus play in the plains.
The Living Desert Zoo and Gardens.
PHOTO COURTESY THE LIVING DESERT ZOO AND GARDENS
Enjoy even more interactive experiences like feeding the giraffes, or set out on one of The Living Desert’s exclusive hiking trails. In addition to fauna, blooming botanical gardens represent a wide variety of arid plants.
See cheetahs and rhinos at The Living Desert Zoo and Gardens.
PHOTO COURTESY THE LIVING DESERT ZOO AND GARDENS
Named one of the “10 Best Zoos in America” by Condé Nast Traveler and USA Today, and a top family pick on TripAdvisor, The Living Desert is accredited by the Association of Zoos & Aquariums. Every visit supports the organization’s efforts to be a leader in animal care and conservation initiatives locally and around the world.