Family fun on the San Andreas Fault: Palm Springs’ Desert Adventures offers more than golf
Family-friendly Palm Springs offers so much more than a few rounds of golf
Jim Newall made a living for over 30 years walking the sizzling hot sidewalks around Greater Palm Springs delivering mail for U.S. Postal Service.
Now he’s enjoying his retirement years by walking through the sizzling hot desert, introducing outof-towners to the idiosyncrasies of the San Andreas Fault.
Newall is a guide with Desert Adventures, a 28-year-old company that provides educational jeep tours around the Palm Desert area. Desert Adventures is one of many local companies endeavouring to get the word out that a visit to Palm Springs means more than golf.
While the company offers a wide variety of tours, ranging from celebrity homes to Joshua Tree National Park, it’s the tour through the company’s private 800-acre ranch on the San Andreas Fault that proves to be its most popular.
‘This was lakefront property millions of years ago,” Newall’s voice echoes through a speaker in his open-air red jeep as we make our way into the heart of the Sonoran Desert.
The San Andreas Fault is where the Pacific Plate and the North American Plate come together, and every year these plates move about three to five centimetres.
“They figure that we’re about 125 years past due for a major quake in the Southern California area,” Newall warns. “But don’t worry, if it happens today, you’re in one of the safest places — there’s nothing to fall on us out here.”
The reality is that this part of the world is hit with hundreds of earthquakes a week, but the large majority of Southern Californians never even feel these minor tremors. But as you wind your way through the San Andreas Fault zone you can see for yourself what the quakes have done to the topography — creating geological cuts and canyons that are unseen anywhere else.
The earth has literally been pushed and pulled in a multitude of different ways over the years. Mountains have been created. And these changes have formed oases in the heart of the fault zone, where palm trees, plant life and trickles of water appear in the middle of the dessert.
When we took our family to Palm Springs in April, we expected the kids would speak endlessly of their time in the pool, the trip to the zoo, or the water slide park. Instead, we couldn’t get them to stop talking about the San Andreas Fault.
KIDS’ ACTIVITIES
There are a number of other activities for kids in Palm Springs.
The Wet ’n’ Wild Waterpark (visit www.wetnwildpalmsprings.com or call 760-327-0499) in the heart of the city, is a massive outdoor complex, with a wide variety of slides for children and families to choose from. The centre of the park features a gigantic wave pool, and throughout there are inner tubes of various shapes and sizes readily available for use for free.
Food on-site is expensive, so eat before you go. And the plastic loungers around the wave pool fill up fast and remain “reserved” through the strategic placement of beach towels, so get your spot early. Shade throughout the park is at a premium.
Lastly, if you have a young family, pay the extra $10 for the preferred parking area at the front entrance. It’s worth it when you consider the quarter-mile walk that a bunch of tired and waterlogged kids might face at the end of the day.
The Living Desert (visit www. livingdesert.org or call 760-3465694) is the zoo in the Palm Desert area, about a 30-minute drive from downtown Palm Springs. This is a surprisingly compact combination of zoo and gardens, with a combination of indoor and outdoor exhibits. During our visit in April, a group of baby warthogs were without question the most popular attraction.
The zoo is divided into two zones: the North American and the African, with the animals and exhibits divided by their respective continents. Many of the animals you would see at any big city North American zoo are on display here.
One of the most interesting parts of the zoo is the working animal hospital, which sits in the middle of the site. Through the strategic use of stuffed animals in a variety of operating room displays, kids can learn a lot about animal care through this under- promoted venue.
While the zoo is compact and relatively flat, most of the trails are gravel, so open toed shoes and sandals aren’t recommended for getting around — bring your walking shoes on this visit.
Being from Calgary, the last thing our family wanted to do on our “spring break vacation” was take a tram up a mountain, but there are some unique aspects to the Palm Springs Aerial Tramway experience (visit www.pstramway.com or phone 760-325-1449), even for jaded families that live close to the Rocky Mountains.
The first of which is the fact the tram actually rotates on the 10-minute ride up the cliffs of Chino Canyon. It isn’t a quick turning tram so even those with weak stomachs will find it a pleasant ride.
The views of the Coachella Valley at the top are magnificent, from Palm Springs down to Palm Desert, but be forewarned, the temperature can drop 15-20 C from the valley floor to the top of the mountain so dress appropriately.
WHERE TO STAY
When travelling with a family of five like we do, the only way to enjoy Palm Springs to the fullest is to rent a vacation home.
One of the most popular property managers in the areas is Oranj Palm Vacation Homes (visit www. oranjpalm.com or call 877-369- 8720), the vacation division of Palm Springs Rental Agency, which has been renting out properties in the area for over 40 years.
During our visit, we stayed at “the Aqua House,” a property located about five minutes from the Palm Springs airport. We dubbed it the “Mad Men House,” because of its mid-century modern architecture and its massive outdoor pool area.
Another vacation home rental option is Vacation Palm Springs (visit www.vacationpalmsprings.com or phone 760-333-3222), which not only rents properties, but its website also serves as a local guide for things to see and do.
WHERE TO EAT
There are a surprising number of dining options in Palm Springs, and an equally surprising number that will accommodate families with small children. Most days we grabbed a quick breakfast at our vacation home, but for lunch we settled on two great options.
The first is King’s Highway at the Ace Hotel & Swim Club (visit www.acehotel.com). A renovated Denny’s restaurant, this old-school diner accommodated every whim of the picky children in our family. No peanut butter sandwich on the menu for our daughter? No worries, our waitress made one herself. This is quintessential diner food with a local twist. Highly recommended.
The second is Tyler’s Burgers ( www.tylersburgers.com) — a relatively small outdoor burger joint with a modern vibe. Burgers, hotdogs and fries are really your only options here, and bring cash, because they don’t accept debit or credit. But the prices are reasonable, the service is quick, and the food is delicious.
If you’re looking to take the kids for a “grown up meal,” an early reservation at Lulu California Bistro (www.lulupalmsprings.com) is a must. Located on the main drag in downtown Palm Springs, this open and spacious venue not only has a children’s menu, but also ensures that meals for the little ones are delivered in a timely manner. Lulu’s also has a rotating prix-fixe three-course menu special before 6 p.m., for hungrier parents.
And for a Mexican food experience, Las Casuelas Mexican Restaurant (www.lascasuelas.com) sits right next store to Lulu’s. It’s part of a chain of Mexican restaurants in the Valley and the menu is extensive. Even the pickiest of eaters in your family will find something to eat here.
For dessert, you must stop at Sherman’s Deli (www.shermansdeli.com) and bring home one of their amazing pies made fresh each morning. From lemon meringue to chocolate cream, words do not do these desserts justice.
We’re about 125 years past due for a major quake in the Southern California area. But don’t worry, if it happens today, you’re in one of the safest places — there’s nothing to fall on us out here.