The year-round sun and warmth of Southern California makes it an ideal destination any time of year, and especially during the fall months when much of the country’s weather is turning cooler. Make plans to take a break and soak up the warmth and sun this fall for a Palm Springs Halloween vacation. There are plenty of Halloween and year-round activities to enjoy with the whole family.
Escape Room Palm Springs
The escape room craze of the last several years has made its way to Palm Springs. The largest escape room games in Southern California are located right in Palm Springs! You have your choice of six rooms with varying degrees of difficulty and number of players to solve. Solve the clues and break out of the room within 60 minutes to win. There are themes like Bank Heist, a spooky Vampire’s Lair, Merlin’s Magic School, and others. Ask about age requirements or other accommodations and requirements before booking.
Palm Springs Walk of Stars
There’s not much spooky about it, but it’s definitely a Palm Springs must-see this Halloween. It rivals the other Southern California must-see, the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Both are places you can seek out the stars of your favorite movie and TV personalities. Save the two-hour trip to Hollywood and admire the stars in Palm Springs.
The walk spans Palm Canyon Drive, Tahquitz Canyon Way, and Museum Drive in downtown Palm Springs. See the stars of well-known celebrities including Clark Gable, Bob Hope, Shirley Temple, and Elizabeth Taylor. Even presidents like Ronald Reagan and Gerald Ford have been honored with stars. Everyone will love looking for the star of a favorite celebrity, TV show, or movie. The first stars were installed in 1992. Ron Nyswaner, known for the 1993 movie Philadelphia and many other projects, was the most recent honoree in 2024.
Moorten Botanical Gardens and Cactarium
Named for its founders, Patricia and Chester “Cactus Slim” Moorten, this Palm Springs garden has over 3,000 examples of desert cacti and other desert plants, all grouped by geographic regions like California, nearby Arizona, Colorado, the Mojave and Sonora deserts, and Texas.
See species from other parts of the globe, too, like South Africa and South America. Patricia and Slim have also designed and installed landscapes for legends like Frank Sinatra and have consulted with Disney on their design for the western-themed Frontierland and the park that eventually became Disneyland.
Palm Springs Aerial Tramway
Palm Springs is home to the world’s largest rotating tram cars. The 80-passenger cars make their way along an aerial path through the breathtaking cliffs of Chino Canyon from the Valley Station to the Mountain Station – at an elevation change of nearly 6,000 feet in just ten minutes one way. At the top there are more beautiful views, as well as attractions like a restaurant and cafe, gift shop, nature exhibits, educational documentary theaters, and over 50 miles of hiking trails in the Mt. San Jacinto State Park Wilderness area.
Hiking
The mountains and trails surrounding Palm Springs make for a refreshing hike full of picturesque views this Halloween. Lace up your hiking boots, grab your camera and sun protection, and head out. There are trails for beginners and kids as well as more challenging paths for seasoned adventurers. Suggested hikes include Indian Canyons, Palm Springs Museum Trail, and the Palm Canyon Trail, but make sure the difficulty level is something everyone can handle before setting out. If you’re not used to thinner air higher in the mountains, save the hikes for a few days into your trip.
Joshua Tree National Park
There are a number of national parks to explore, and Palm Springs has one of them. Two distinct ecosystems came together to form one breathtaking location. The Mojave and Colorado deserts meet and host a variety of plants and animals in a landscape sculpted by strong winds and torrents of rain. Visitors love to explore the 790,000-acre park, which was originally declared a national monument in 1936 and became a national park in 1994.
Head there on your own and wander as you will or take the self-directed audio tour on the National Park app and hit must-see locations like Quail Mountain, the highest mountain in the park and the highest point in the Little San Bernardino Mountains, the Desert Queen Mine in the Colorado Desert – a long-lived but now abandoned gold mine, and many other trails and loops.
Halloween Accommodations That Aren’t So Spooky
When planning a Halloween vacation to Palm Springs and the surrounding area, make sure to book a home that’s close to all the Halloween fun provided by Ryson Vacations. We offer homes as large as five bedrooms, so you can share the fun of Halloween in Southern California with all your loved ones.
Prepare a delicious home-cooked meal and delicious and fun Halloween treats in the fully equipped kitchen. Lounge indoors in beautiful living spaces, enjoy the view from a balcony or patio, or spend some time relaxing near the pool at select Palm Springs vacation condos.
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