Pics from Palm Springs https://flic.kr/s/aHsjSSGs8U

Many of our friend from LA make a beeline to Palm Springs whenever they need a weekend away from the city. I always thought of Palm Springs as a sleepy, desert town where a lot of people go to retire. Boy was I wrong. We had a blast there.

It’s a great weekend getaway from LA and, for those in SF like us, it’s a great weekend getaway if you can snag cheap airfare. We were able to plan in advance and track flight costs and snagged $118 roundtrip tickets between SF and LA. We just rented a car for the weekend and drove out to Palm Springs. Without traffic the drive is about 2.5 hours from LAX. I would highly recommend having a car while you are out there.

The highlights of our trip were just laying around the pool at our hotel and hiking around the Palm Canyons. Or more accurately, we hiked and then lounged around the pool. Most of the pics are of Palm Canyons, which are a short drive from the heart of Palm Springs and very accessible and easy. There are a bunch of trails at Palm Canyons and a variety of trail lengths so you can go for a short, easy 1-hour stroll to spending the day on hard terrain. If you do go to Palm Canyons, the best pictures and most interesting parts of the trails are where there is water. It’s remarkable how a little water can transform a desert landscape into lush vegetation.

On a scale of 1 to 10, I give Palm Spring a 6. Definitely a great weekend getaway spot for those in LA, San Diego, or San Francisco. Though I don’t know how many times I would want to visit and I don’t know if I would not get bored if I spent more than a 2-day or 3-day weekend there.