Planning a Trip

Getting There

Airlines that service the Palm Springs International Airport, 3400 E. Tahquitz Canyon Way (tel. 760/323-8161), include Air Canada (tel. 888/247-2262; www.aircanada.com), Alaska Airlines (tel. 800/426-0333; www.alaskaair.com), Allegiant Air (tel. 702/505-8888; www.allegiantair.com), American and American Eagle (tel. 800/433-7300; www.aa.com), Continental Express (tel. 800/525-0280; www.continental.com), Delta and Delta Connection (tel. 800/221-1212; www.delta.com), Harmony Airways (tel. 866/868-6789; www.harmonyairways.com), Horizon Air (tel. 800/547-9308; www.horizonair.com), Northwest (tel. 800/225-2525; www.nwa.com), United Airlines and United Express (tel. 800/241-6522; www.united.com), and US Airways (tel. 800/428-4322; www.usairways.com). Flights from Los Angeles take about 40 minutes.

If you're driving from Los Angeles, take I-10 east to the Highway 111 turnoff to Palm Springs. You'll breeze into town on North Palm Canyon Drive, the main thoroughfare. The trip from downtown L.A. takes 2 hours if traffic is light. If you're driving from San Diego, take I-15 north to I-10 east; it takes a bit more than 2 hours.

Visitor Information

Be sure to pick up Palm Springs Life magazine's free monthly, Desert Guide. It contains copious visitor information, including a comprehensive calendar of events. Copies are distributed in hotels and newsstands and by the Palm Springs Desert Resorts Convention & Visitors Authority, 70-100 Hwy. 111, Rancho Mirage, CA 92270 (tel. 800/967-3767 or 760/770-9000). The bureau's office staff can help with maps, brochures, and advice Monday through Friday from 8:30am to 5pm. They also operate a website (www.palmspringsusa.com).

The Palm Springs Visitors Information Center, 2901 N. Palm Canyon Dr., Palm Springs, CA 92262 (tel. 800/34-SPRINGS; www.palm-springs.org), offers maps, brochures, advice, souvenirs, and a free hotel reservation service. The office is open Monday through Saturday from 9am to 5pm, and Sunday from 8am to 4pm.

Another site worth browsing is www.thedesertsun.com, an offshoot of the local newspaper the Desert Sun, with information for locals and visitors.

Orientation

The commercial downtown area of Palm Springs stretches about half a mile along North Palm Canyon Drive between Alejo and Ramon streets. The street is one-way southbound through the heart of town, but its northbound counterpart is Indian Canyon Drive, 1 block east. The mountains lie west and south, while the rest of Palm Springs is laid out in a grid to the southeast. Palm Canyon forks into South Palm Canyon (leading to the Indian Canyons) and East Palm Canyon (the continuation of Hwy. 111) traversing the towns of Cathedral City, Rancho Mirage, Palm Desert, Indian Wells, and La Quinta, before looping up to rejoin I-10 at Indio. Desert Hot Springs is north of Palm Springs, straight up Gene Autry Trail. Tahquitz Canyon Way creates North Palm Canyon's primary intersection, tracking a straight line between the airport and the heart of town.

Gay & Lesbian Life in Palm Springs

Palm Springs area is among America's top destinations for gay and lesbian travelers. Real-estate agents cater to gay shoppers for vacation properties, and year-round condo communities are also marketed toward gay residents. Advertisements for these and scores of other gay-owned businesses can be found in the Bottom Line (www.psbottomline.com), the desert's free biweekly magazine of articles, events, and community guides for the gay reader, which is available at hotels, at newsstands, and from select merchants. The Palm Springs Visitor and Hotel Information Center publishes an Official Gay Visitors Guide. Obtain it and additional information at their office at 2781 N. Palm Canyon Dr. (tel. 888/866-2744; www.palm-springs.org).

In March, the Desert AIDS Walk benefits the Desert AIDS Project, while one of the world's largest organized gathering of lesbians -- the Dinah Shore Weekend (www.clubskirts.com) -- coincides with the LPGA's Kraft Nabisco Championship in mid-March. The predominantly male White Party (www.jeffreysanker.com), the area's largest circuit party event, takes place Easter weekend. Greater Palm Spring Pride occurs the first weekend in November, with a parade and 2-day cultural fair (tel. 760/416-8711; www.pspride.org).

Palm Springs has more than two dozen gay hotels, many concentrated on Warm Sands Drive south of Ramon. Known simply as "Warm Sands," this area is home to many of the private resorts -- mostly discreet, gated inns, many of them clothing-optional. Try the East Canyon Hotel & Spa, 288 E. Camino Monte Vista, a 15-unit luxurious hotel with a pool and in-house spa that caters to the male guest. Clothing is not optional. Rates are $119 to $359 including breakfast buffet (tel. 877/324-6835 or 760/320-1928; www.eastcanyonps.com). Casitas Laquita, 450 E. Palm Canyon Dr. (tel. 760/416-9999; www.casitaslaquita.com), is one of two all-women resorts in town.