Palm Desert is a beautiful city of over 50,000 permanent and over 32,000 seasonal residents. The city has grown from an unpopulated training area for General George Patton’s troops during WWII to a place of culture and learning.

Broadway in the Desert

The McCallum Theater hosts a world-class lineup of entertainment each year and is located in Palm Desert, not far from the College of the Desert.

College of the Desert Street Fair

The Coachella Valley’s only community college—College of the Desert—is in Palm Desert as well as an extension campus of San Bernardino State College. College of the Desert welcomed its first students in the fall of 1962 and now has a student body of over 12,000. It offers two year certificates in fields such as nursing and agribusiness and transfer programs for students planning to enter 4 year colleges or universities. The campus hosts the Street Fair every Saturday and Sunday from 7:00 a.m. to 2: 00 p.m.  with a noon ending time during the summer. The huge free event with 340 vendors offers merchandise, artwork and a Farmer’s Market.

Palm Desert Hotels and Accommodation

Take advantage of seasonal discounts and special offers from hotels and inns in the city of Palm Desert in southern California.

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Shopper’s Paradise in Palm Desert

When not shopping at the Valley’s largest mall-the Westfield Shopping Center–shoppers indulge at the Rodeo Drive of the Desert,  El Paseo Drive, which is a destination shopping area just off Highway 111 that has outstanding specialty stores with merchandise from the most prestigious lines of clothing, artwork and jewelry.

Fascinating City History

El Paseo also contains the home of the Palm Desert Historical Society with exhibits–some temporary–such as vintage fire trucks and equipment. The Howdy Doody puppet’s creator, Velma Dawson, lived in Palm Desert and the Historical Society has some of her early puppets. One unique exhibit is The Chamber Room: a collection of chamber pots that belong to Mrs. Robert Greene. The exhibit is about the pots that people used before the development of indoor plumbing. The wealthy required that everything they owned including their chamber pots display their wealth with artistic beauty and opulence.

The Living Desert

The Living Desert has grown from an exhibit in 1970 with 360 acres to a true zoological garden of 1,800 acres, 1,000 of which are preserved in their natural state. Originally created to help preserve and study the desert’s natural plants and wildlife, especially the endangered bighorn sheep, the Living Desert now exhibits animals from North America and Africa, participating in breeding programs for some such as the reticulated giraffe. One non-animal exhibit that is a big hit with kids is the G-train exhibit with over 3,000 feet of track running on redwood trestles through miniature landscaping, open October 1 through mid June each year.

Golfing in Style

Palm Desert is a golfer’s wonderland with 25 courses. Famous private ones include the Bighorn Golf Club and the original Palm Desert course, Shadow Mountain Resort. Outstanding public courses include the Desert Willow and the Marriott Desert Springs Resort & Spa, a 450 acre resort with 884 deluxe rooms and a lake in the lobby—guests are ferried to different restaurants and locations by Venetian style gondolas.