Half-Day Tours – Wednesday, June 12

 

Morning

(You will return to the hotel in between tours and pick up a box lunch.)

#H1AM Behind the Scenes at the Living Desert Zoo & Gardens

At the Living Desert Zoo and Gardens, indulge your curiosity with an exclusive, behind-the-scenes tour of select habitats, where you will meet and greet animals and hang out with devoted animal caregivers. The behind-the-scenes tour includes a two-hour safari by tram, stopping at every major habitat while your personal guide leads you throughout the park, weaving animal facts, park history and fun together. Visit the state-of-the-art animal hospital and learn how the Living Desert provides the highest-level care for all its animals. You’ll also explore the District Commissioner’s House, typically closed to the public, where you will get a private viewing of the majestic Amur leopard.

Activity Level: Moderate

#H2AM Swing into Wellness

With more than 100 renowned golf courses and more than 300 days of sunshine each year, Greater Palm Springs earns its reputation as a top destination for golf. The sport is also known for a number of health benefits for both body and mind, giving you a great workout while helping relieve stress and anxiety and build mental focus. Partake in a golf clinic good for any skill level, from beginner to experienced, at one of the area’s spectacular courses, many that are designed by legendary course designers like Arnold Palmer, Pete Dye, Jack Nicklaus or Greg Norman. Next, you’ll enjoy a mini spa treatment that uses golf balls to roll out stress and tension from the body. The excursion will end with a healthy juice demo and tasting.

Activity Level: Moderate

#H3AM BMW Performance Center Experience

Tour departs at 8 a.m.
The BMW Performance Center is an exciting and entertaining educational experience that is open to the public. During your BMW PC Drive, you’ll receive a short instruction session from a BMW Professional Driving Instructor. Then you’ll head out to the track, where you’ll drive several BMW vehicles around the professional driving course while the BMW Instructor provides you with driving tips via radio. You’ll then put your newly learned skills to the test as you race against the clock and try to improve your drive time with each lap. Finally, you’ll be the passenger as the BWW Professional Driver takes you for an exhilarating “Hot Lap” to show you how the “Ultimate Driving Machine” can truly perform beyond compare.

Activity Level: Active

#H4AM San Andreas Fault

Climb aboard a Big Red Jeep and wind your way through the labyrinth of geological cuts and canyons of the San Andreas Fault Zone. Your naturalist guide will entertain you with stories about the plants, animals, geology, and history of the California desert. Experience the twisted landscape of an active earthquake fault system and walk between the steep walls of deep canyons created by the powerful forces of plate tectonics, water, wind, and time. You’ll also explore a natural palm oasis where crystal clear water bubbles up from the underground aquifer. Learn about the culture and lifestyle of the Cahuilla Indians and how they made this desert landscape their home.

Activity Level: Moderate
Must wear closed toe shoes

#H5AM Cabot’s Pueblo Museum

Venture closer to this historic – and entirely hand-built – landmark, and you’ll soon discover that Cabot’s Pueblo Museum holds some of the greatest tales the Greater Palm Springs has to tell. The house itself is a menagerie, illustrating the many adventures of homesteader Cabot Yerxa, one of the original settlers of Desert Hot Springs. The entire 35-room structure is made of reclaimed and salvaged materials, and filled with photos, artifacts and historic items that take visitors on a wild journey through Yerxa’s storied life. Much of the Pueblo is made from adobe-style and sun-dried bricks Cabot made himself in the courtyard. Filled with Native American art and artifacts, souvenirs of Cabot’s travels around the world, displays on Native American rights, and Cabot’s own works of art, the Pueblo Museum officially opened to the public in 1949. The Pueblo has four stories, is 5,000 square feet, and includes 35 rooms, 150 windows, 30 rooflines, and 65 doors.

Activity Level: Moderate/no elevator — not ADA compliant

Afternoon

#H1PM The Palm Springs Aerial Tramway

The Palm Springs Aerial Tramway—the world’s largest rotating tram car—travels over two-and-a-half miles along the breathtaking cliffs of Chino Canyon, transporting riders to the pristine wilderness of the Mt. San Jacinto State Park. During your approximately 10-minute journey, tram cars rotate slowly, offering picturesque and spectacular vistas of the valley floor below. Once you reach the Mountain Station—elevation 8,516 feet—enjoy observation decks, natural history museum, two documentary theaters and over 50 miles of evergreen-filled hiking trails.

Activity Level: Moderate – Walking Shoes

#H2PM Live Like a Celebrity

Palm Springs began as a hideaway for the Hollywood elite. Since then, more than 500 stars and celebrities have called Palm Springs their desert oasis. Head out to see where the some of the biggest stars like Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Bob Hope, Marilyn Monroe, Elvis Presley, Liberace, Nat King Cole and so many more lived, wined and dined in the Golden Age to where hip, young Hollywood frolics today.

Activity Level: Easy

#H3PM Palm Springs Art Museum

The Palm Springs Art Museum features a sophisticated collection of art that rivals urban metropolitan museums and includes works from Marc Chagall, Pablo Picasso, Andy Warhol, Roy Lichtenstein, Antony Gormley, Ansel Adams and more. Spend the afternoon on a personalized tour with one of the museum’s knowledgeable docents and browse the collection of modern and contemporary art, glass, photography, architecture and Native American and art.

Activity Level: Easy

#H4PM Drum Circle Jam

Guided by a facilitator, drum circle participants will use drums, rattles and other percussion instruments to create a free-form rhythm in a no-judgment environment. It is a safe place for self-expression, where right and wrong doesn’t exist. Some people go within and use the drumming experience as a form of meditation, and others find enjoyment in just “playing” while feeling a deep sense of belonging in community. It allows participants to be creative and musical without needing to be a musician. Come and “play!”

Activity Level: Easy