palm springs aerial tramway

This weekend we were in Palm Springs, California. Yes, it really was 120 degrees! We had visitors from England and wanted to include a trip to the desert in their California visit. Unfortunately, it happened to be one of the hottest days on Friday since 1953, one newspaper said. We went into the pool to cool off, but that was like a warm bath without bubbles!

So on Saturday, we decided to go on the Palm Springs Aerial Tramway as we had read it was 30-40 degrees cooler up the mountain, which sounded wonderful to us. The cable car which has been running since 1963, travels approximately 12,800 feet and the journey takes about 15 minutes.

You park your car at the base and take a bus to the cable car entrance where for $19 you can purchase your trip up the mountain. The views on the journey going up, and on arrival are spectacular, and the temperature at the top was between 75 and 80 degrees - heaven! There are trails marked out which take you through the forest and lead you to great vantage points over Palm Springs and the Coachella Valley. They are in a circle, so you eventually end up where you started and can then go to the cafe/restaurant for lunch.

Not sure what happened when we were there, because a helicopter landed right beside us, let some people out, then hurried off again. Definitely worth doing on a hot day in Palm Springs.