Palm Desert

About Palm Desert

Palm Desert is a resort city in the Coachella Valley of Riverside County, set between Palm Springs and Indio at the foot of the Santa Rosa Mountains, about 120 miles east of Los Angeles. The area was once desert grazing land known as Old Mixed Wells; in the 1940s it was developed as a winter getaway, and the name Palm Desert was chosen to evoke its palm-dotted landscape. The city incorporated in 1973 and grew alongside the golf courses and resorts that made the valley a famous winter playground.

Today Palm Desert is a city of around 50,000 residents whose population swells each winter as snowbirds and visitors arrive for sunshine, golf and dry desert air. Its best-known street is El Paseo, a palm-lined boulevard of boutiques, galleries and restaurants often called the Rodeo Drive of the desert. The McCallum Theatre hosts touring Broadway shows and concerts, and public art dots the city's Civic Center Park.

The surrounding desert is just as much of a draw. The Living Desert Zoo and Gardens showcases desert animals from around the world along with botanical gardens and a large model railroad, while trails such as the Bump and Grind climb the foothills for sweeping views over the valley. The Santa Rosa and San Jacinto Mountains National Monument visitor center introduces the rugged mountains above town, and championship courses such as Desert Willow make Palm Desert a golfer's favorite.