The area
Cathedral City sits in the middle of the Coachella Valley, between Palm Springs and Rancho Mirage. From Desert Princess, the airport and downtown Palm Springs are each about 10 minutes away, and most of what brings people to the desert is within half an hour.
Golf
Desert Princess has 27 holes of its own: three nines called Lagos, Vista and Cielo, designed by David Rainville, with the San Jacinto mountains as the backdrop. Our guests qualify for the club’s renter rate.
Greater Palm Springs has more than 100 golf courses. These are the public and resort courses closest to us, and the famous ones worth the drive.
| Course | Drive |
|---|---|
| Escena Golf Club, Palm SpringsNicklaus Design, par 72 | 5 min |
| Cimarron Golf Resort, Cathedral CityThe Boulder Course by John Fought, plus a par-55 short course | 5 min |
| Tahquitz Creek Golf Resort, Palm SpringsTwo 18s, the Resort and the Legend | 10 min |
| Indian Canyons Golf Resort, Palm Springs36 holes on Agua Caliente land, open since 1961 | 15 min |
| Classic Club, Palm DesertArnold Palmer design and a former PGA Tour host | 15 min |
| Desert Willow Golf Resort, Palm DesertFirecliff and Mountain View courses | 15 min |
| Indian Wells Golf ResortCelebrity and Players courses, both on Golfweek’s list of the best municipal courses in the country | 20 min |
| PGA WEST Pete Dye Mountain and Dunes, La QuintaThe Pete Dye courses at La Quinta Resort | 25 min |
| SilverRock Resort, La QuintaArnold Palmer Classic Course, a former American Express host | 30 min |
| PGA WEST, La QuintaThe Stadium Course, with the island green known as Alcatraz, and the Nicklaus Tournament course. Both host the PGA Tour’s American Express every January. | 30 min |
More at Desert Princess
The club’s Athletic Center has seven tennis courts and twelve pickleball courts, plus a fitness room, and there are community pools and spas around the neighborhood. When you’re done playing, the Mountain View Grille and the Lagos Cafe are at the clubhouse. Club amenities are subject to availability and guest fees.
Through the year
The desert’s season runs from fall to spring, and so does its calendar.
- January
- The Palm Springs International Film Festival (10 min), and the PGA Tour’s American Express at PGA WEST (30 min).
- February
- Modernism Week fills Palm Springs with home tours and talks on mid-century design (10 min; there’s a smaller fall edition in October). The Riverside County Fair and National Date Festival runs in Indio (25 min).
- March
- The BNP Paribas Open brings the world’s top tennis players to the Indian Wells Tennis Garden (20 min), from late February. Palm Desert Food & Wine takes over El Paseo (20 min).
- April
- Coachella runs over two weekends at the Empire Polo Club in Indio, and Stagecoach follows the next weekend (30 min, more on festival days).
- November
- Palm Springs Pride (10 min) and the Cathedral City Hot Air Balloon Festival (10 min).
- Every Thursday
- VillageFest closes Palm Canyon Drive for a street fair of more than 180 vendors (10 min).
Festival weekends, tournament weeks and Modernism Week can fill up quickly, so if your trip is built around one, send us your dates early.
Out and about
For the days you leave the pool:
| Place | Drive |
|---|---|
| Palm Springs Aerial TramwayA rotating tram car up Mount San Jacinto to 8,516 feet, about 10 minutes each way | 20 min |
| Indian Canyons and Tahquitz CanyonPalm oases and trails on Agua Caliente land; Tahquitz has a seasonal 60-foot waterfall | 15 min |
| Joshua Tree National ParkThe West Entrance, past the town of Joshua Tree | 1 hr |
| Downtown Palm SpringsPalm Canyon Drive, the Palm Springs Art Museum, and VillageFest on Thursdays | 10 min |
| El Paseo, Palm DesertShops, galleries and restaurants | 20 min |
| The Living Desert Zoo and GardensDesert animals and gardens | 20 min |
| Sunnylands Center and GardensThe Annenberg estate’s gardens, open mid-September to early June | 15 min |
| Palm Springs Air MuseumNext to the airport | 5 min |