Palm Springs Aerial Tramway and Jacinto State Park: not to be missed!

Palm Springs Aerial Tramway

If you get a chance to get to Palm Springs, a sightly bizarre but very compelling holiday spot 100 miles from Los Angeles, then make sure you do go on the Palm Springs Aerial Tramway. We did not on our fist visit, but made a point on the next one. And it was clearly something that we should have done first time round.

At the end of this blog post is a video I made of the stunning ride up, a bit of what the park at the top looks like, and the ride down. Do watch it, as the engineering feat as well as the natural beauty is so remarkable.

The Aerial Tramway is the longest in the world, around 2,5 miles, and transports you from the floor of the massive mountain right way up onto the top, where is a beautiful, restful and lush State Park that is very popular with hikers and campers.

The temperature at the top is usually around 20 degrees Fahrenheit lower than the often stifling hot Palm Springs. And you are transported from a world of dryness, beige desert and rocks into an almost magical forest.

I am not great with heights, but this cable car is large, and feels safe and secure. It has a rotating floor so everyone gets to see the full vista. The only slightly scary bit is actually when the cars pass over the various torrents on the way when the car swings a bit, but settles down. The cars carry a lot of people, I think around 80.

The trick is to get there when it opens, as then people who have stayed up overnight hiking are still up, and tourists are still lazing about. We bought tickets, and were on within about 10 or 15 minutes. The ride takes about 15 minutes and so that is roughly the time between the trips.

At the top of the mountain is a large and fairly sprawling complex with a restaurant that attracts a lot of events and people for dinner, a deli/ cafe type place, a small museum and State Park shop and a rather eclectic gift shop.

It was glorious sitting outside looking across the valley having a cold drink. It is so peaceful and calm up there.

A real must do!