Day Trips With Dogs Southern California – Palm Springs, California is located about 100 miles east of Los Angeles in the Coachella Valley area of the Sonoran Desert. A popular vacation spot for many years, Palm Springs is known for its natural hot springs, hotels, restaurants, golf courses, sunny weather and—of course—dog friendliness.
Downtown Palm Springs is always evolving, with new shops, restaurants, hotels and neighborhoods, such as the north end development like the Uptown Design District. The annual Coachella and Stagecoach festivals have drawn attention to desert cities, and January’s Palm Springs International Film Festival is attracting big names and growing numbers of visitors.
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“Greater Palm Springs” includes eight other cities besides Palm Springs: Desert Hot Springs, Cathedral City, Rancho Mirage, Palm Desert, Indian Wells, LaQuinta, Indio and Coachella. Tourism is the largest contributor to the local economy. I recommend staying in Palm Springs and exploring these other towns by car. Palm Desert has a nice outdoor center and Indio/Coachella can be great for photography or if you’re attending a festival (without your dog).
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We have visited many dog friendly places and when I say Palm Springs is the most dog friendly city we have visited – I mean it! It’s hard to explain, but there was just a sense of welcome no matter where we went with Ruby, and we hope to meet you in this comprehensive guide.
The weather in Palm Springs is probably beautiful all year round, but there is a certain time that is considered the best to visit – winter and early spring. Palm Springs is especially felt in the winter months, which last from November to January, because while the rest of the country is dealing with cold temperatures and snow, Palm Springs puts on a show of sunshine and temperatures of 65-75 degrees.
When traveling to Palm Springs with your dog, I do not recommend visiting anytime after March. As long as your only plan is to be by the pool at all times during your stay. Summer temperatures are typically around 100℉ and can reach up to 115℉, with less than 10% humidity.
Staying in Palm Springs and the surrounding desert areas is a whole atmosphere and one of my favorite things about visiting this city. I’m a huge fan of mid-century modern architecture and desert luxury, so I’d be in heaven just renting hotels and vacation homes around the area.
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If you want to stay in downtown Palm Springs, there are several dog-friendly hotel options in and around Palm Canyon Dr. and Indian Canyon Dr. which are optimal for walking to shops and restaurants. Check out ARRIV Palm Springs, Kimpton Rowan Palm Springs, The Colony Palms Hotel & Bungalows and Saguaro Palm Springs.
If lodging is your thing—we’re always fans of a kitchen and direct access to the outdoors—then head over to AirBnB or VRBO and turn on the pet feature. These are some of the rentals I have saved on my wish list. The following photos were taken when we stayed for the weekend in Mesa Tavira at Joshua Tree. You can find our full tour on Instagram.
Palm Springs has always been a dog-friendly city, and with 354 days of sunshine each year, there are plenty of things to do that will welcome your dog with open arms.
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Boozehounds Palm Springs was started by three friends for one simple reason…they loved dogs and dreamed of having a place where people could take their pups, enjoy a good cocktail or a great meal and socialize with style. It’s the most dog-friendly restaurant we’ve ever been to for two reasons: 1) the dog menu is elite and offers fresh food options that accommodate common protein allergies, and 2) dogs are allowed in the atrium for lunch, which is perfect when visit in the winter months. We loved eating here for brunch and you can get an inside look at our visit on Instagram.
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4 Pavs Coffee Co. is another dog-themed property in Palm Springs that you should check out. We are greeted with open arms as soon as we walk in the door and the cafe is decked out in dog-centric decorations and merchandise. We got to enjoy our pastries and coffee in the cafe with Rue while she cuddled up with a cuppa puppy. A purchase from the cafe helps support their efforts to donate money to local shelters and furthers their goal of bringing great coffee, food and connections to the Palm Springs community.
Moorten Botanical Garden is a privately owned arboretum designed to share the beauty and incredible varieties of desert plants with all who visit. Desert trees, plants and cacti were seen coming from all over the world and range in size from miniature to gigantic. They are home to the world’s first catarium – my favorite part of the garden – and allow dogs to roam the entire garden.
Garden parking is on the corner around the S Palm Canyon Dr entrance. Admission is $5 per person and dogs are free. This small garden can be explored within 30 minutes with a comfortable path around the property. We spent a little more time here because I was obsessed with the photos in the cactarium. If you visit during the week, you should be lucky with little to no crowds.
Something unique about Southern California is all the wind turbine fields. They actually have an official tour in Palm Springs for a closer look, but I’m not sure if they allow dogs. We decided to do some self-research.
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To see the background below, go to Indian Canyon Drive and Garnett from I-10. If you’re driving north on Indian Canyon, take a left on Garnett and go maybe 1/4 mile and you’ll see some places to park. There is very little traffic in this area so as long as you don’t block the main road you should be able to park wherever you want to shoot.
I recommend going at sunset. The desert stands out at sunset with the cottonwood sky, but the sun goes behind the mountains early, so be sure to arrive before sunset. There is a fence around the turbines, but it is not really noticeable against the background of the mountains and shady bushes in the area. You just have to accept it.
While there are restrictions when it comes to visiting Joshua Tree National Park with your furry friend, there are still some dog-friendly activities that allow you to experience the different landscapes of the park when visiting with your dog. We’ve visited Ruby several times and put together the best Joshua Tree itinerary for a half-day or full-day visit to the park.
This mid-century community is a gem for those interested in mid-century modern architecture. Almost all homes in Indian Canyon are built in the mid-century fashion with large glass windows, spacious porches and great access to pools. Because of this, it has a rich architectural history and an amazing and unobstructed view of the mountains.
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You’ve probably seen some of these homes on Instagram with their beautiful landscaping and colorful front doors. The best way to enjoy these houses is to park and walk the streets. I especially liked the houses in South Yosemite and South Camino Real.
The feeling of canine friendliness really comes through in downtown Palm Springs. It is a lively center filled with unique shops, restaurants and artwork. We had a lot of people come up to us and tell us how they thought Ruby was well behaved and every shop owner immediately looked at Ruby wanting to scare her, steal her and give her away. If you follow us on social media, then you know that Ruby has a more unknown risk, but she quickly accepted the pet offer.
There is plenty to do downtown, with the main thoroughfares being Palm Canyon Drive and Indian Canyon Drive. I just recommend making a loop and going to what looks interesting. South Palm Canyon is a bit more kitsch and the northern area is more upscale with its recent revival as the Uptown Design District.
Some stores that were on my checklist included: Ibis Women’s Boutique, Just Fabulous for Palm Springs souvenirs, Peepas, Out West Trading Co, Covet for durable jewelry, and Destination PSP. Destination PSP had the ultimate in mid-century home decor.
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Favorite restaurants downtown were Boozehounds, 1501 Uptown Gastropub, Ice Cream and Shop(pe), and Tac/Quila (get a churro ice cream sandwich).
In addition to shopping and dining downtown, you can also see some unique art exhibits scattered around the area, such as the PS ❤ You and Marilyn Monroe sculptures you see above. If you have time, you can use this guide to find them all.
As you can already tell, Palm Springs has a thriving art scene, and in addition to large and obscure sculptures, there are several murals around town. My favorite is Greetings from the Palm
