Vacation With Dogs California – Palm Springs, California is located in the Coachella Valley region of the Sonoran Desert, approximately 100 miles east of Los Angeles. As a popular resort town for 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, neighborhoods, and the north end developing into the Uptown Design District. The annual Coachella and Stagecoach festivals put the desert city in the spotlight, and January’s Palm Springs International Film Festival attracts big names and a growing number of visitors.
Vacation With Dogs California
“Greater Palm Springs” includes eight cities in addition to Palm Springs: Desert Hot Springs, Cathedral City, Rancho Mirage, Palm Desert, Indian Wells, La Quinta, Indio, and Coachella. Tourism is the region’s largest contributor to the local economy. I recommend staying in Palm Springs and exploring other cities by car. Palm Desert has a great outdoor mall, great for Indio/Coachella photo ops or if you’re attending a festival (without your dog).
Morro Bay Pet Friendly
We’ve visited so many dog-friendly places, and when I say Palm Springs is the most dog-friendly city we’ve ever been to, I mean it! It’s hard to explain, but there’s just a sense of welcome everywhere we go with Ruby, and hopefully that comes across in this comprehensive guide.
The weather in Palm Springs is beautiful all year round, but there is a particular time of the season when it is best to visit – winter and early spring. Palm Springs feels extra special during the winter months of November through January, as Palm Springs enjoys sunshine and temperatures of 65-75 degrees while the rest of the country experiences cold weather and snow.
When traveling to Palm Springs with your dog, I do not recommend visiting anytime after March. Unless your plan is to be poolside the entire time during your visit. Summer temperatures are typically 100 degrees Celsius, with humidity below 10%, and can reach as high as 115 degrees.
The general excitement of living in Palm Springs and the surrounding desert areas is one of my favorite things about visiting this city. I’m a huge fan of mid-century modern architecture and desert luxury, so I was in heaven with a hotel and house rental around the area.
Road Tripping With Dog
If you want to stay in downtown Palm Springs, there are plenty of dog-friendly hotel options in and around Palm Canyon. and Indian Canyon Dr. Convenient walking distance to shops and restaurants. Check out Arrive Palm Springs, Kimpton Rowan Palm Springs, Colony Palms Hotel & Bungalows, and Saguaro Palm Springs.
If you’re looking to rent a house — we’re always fans of a kitchen and direct access to the great outdoors — then head over to AirBnB or VRBO and turn on the pet. These are some of the rentals I have kept on my wish list. Below are photos taken during our weekend stay at Mesa Tavira in Joshua Tree. You can find our full home tour on Instagram.
Palm Springs has always been a dog-friendly city, and with 354 days of sun every year, there are plenty of things to do that will welcome your dog with open arms.
BoozeHounds Palm Springs was started by three friends for one simple reason … they love dogs and dreamed of a place where people could bring their pups, enjoy a delicious cocktail or great meal, and socialize in style. This is a dog-friendly restaurant that we visited for two reasons: 1) the dog menu is elite and offers fresh food that covers common protein allergens, and 2) dogs are allowed inside their atrium to eat, which is great. When you visit in winter. We loved eating here for brunch and you can see our visit on Instagram.
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4 Paws Coffee Company. Another dog theme in Palm Springs that you should check out. Greeted with open arms the moment we walked in the door, the cafe is decked out in dog-centric decorations and merchandise. We were able to enjoy our cake and coffee inside the cafe with Ryu while being pampered with a puppy cup. Purchases from the cafe help support their efforts to restore local shelters and further their mission of delivering great coffee, food and connection to the Palm Springs community.
Morton Botanical Garden is a privately owned arboretum created to share the beauty and rare diversity of desert plants with all visitors. Desert trees, plants and cacti are worldwide and range from small to gigantic. The first cacti in the world – my favorite part of the garden – they allow dogs throughout the garden.
S. Palm Canyon Dr. Parking for the garden is in the corner opposite the entrance. Entry fee is $5 per person and dogs are free. This small garden can be walked around the property in less than 30 minutes. We spent some time here because I really liked photographing the cactus. If you visit during the week, you should be lucky to have little or no crowds.
All wind farm fields are unique to Southern California. Took an official tour of Palm Springs to get a good look at them, but I’m not sure if they allow dogs. We chose to explore on our own.
Visiting National Parks With Your Dog
To see the background below, take I-10 to Indian Canyon Drive and Garnett. If you are driving north through Indian Canyon, take a left on Garnett and go 1/4 mile and you will find several places where you can park. The area is less crowded, so unless you’re blocking a major road, it’s fine to park where you want to shoot.
I recommend going at sunset. The desert really shows a cottonwood sky at sunset, but the sun sets behind the mountains, so make sure you arrive before true sunset. There is a fence around the turbines, but it is not really noticeable against the background of the mountain in the shade and bushes of the area. You just have to accept it.
Although there are restrictions on visiting Joshua Tree National Park with your furry loved one, there are still some dog-friendly activities that allow you to experience the different landscapes of the park while visiting with your dog. We have visited with Ruby several times and developed the perfect Joshua Tree itinerary for a half or full 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 a mid-century style with large glass windows, wide porches and wide access to pools. It has a rich architectural history and spectacular and uninterrupted views of the mountains.
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You may have seen some of these homes on Instagram with their manicured landscaping and colorful front doors. The best way to enjoy these houses is to park the vehicles and walk through the streets. I really liked the houses in South Yosemite and South Camino Real.
The dog-friendly vibe really comes alive around downtown Palm Springs. It is a vibrant city full of shops, restaurants and unique art installations. We had so many people come up to us and tell us how great they thought Ruby was, and every shop owner immediately came up to Ruby wanting to give her pets, water and treats. If you follow us on social media, you know that Ruby has a bit of stranger danger, but she’s quick to appreciate the pets on offer.
There’s plenty to do downtown, with the main strands on Palm Canyon Drive and Indian Canyon Drive. I recommend making a loop and popping anything that looks interesting. South Palm Canyon is a bit more kitschy, and the northern area is more modern in its recent revival as the Uptown Design District.
Some of the shops on my list to check out include: Ibis Women’s Boutique, Fabulous for Palm Springs souvenirs, PeePass, Out West Trading Co., Covet for permanent jewelry, and Destination PSP. Target PSP has great mid-century modern home decor.
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Restaurants we enjoyed downtown were Boozehounds, 1501 Uptown Gastropub, Ice Cream and Shop (pe), and Tac/Quila (get the churro ice cream sandwich).
In addition to shopping and dining around downtown, you’ll also find some unique art exhibits scattered around PS, like the larger-than-life sculptures of yourself and Marilyn Monroe pictured above. If you have time, you can use this guide to find them all.
You can tell that Palm Springs has a thriving art scene, and in addition to large and obscure sculptures, there are also many murals throughout the city. My favorite is palm tree greetings
