Greater Palm Springs comprises nine cities, each offering unique wellness experiences. Photo / Visit Greater Palm Springs
Greater Palm Springs comprises nine cities, each offering unique wellness experiences. Photo / Visit Greater Palm Springs
While most of us might associate California’s Palm Springs with hedonistic pool parties and a raft of celebrities, the desert city has long been a destination for rest and recuperation, writes Julia D’Orazio
The desert dry heat smacks me in the face, tiny beads of sweat rapidly drip down my body.
I’m visiting Greater Palm Springs in an unusual autumn heatwave. And despite feeling like the region’s newest waterfall, my focus hasn’t shifted to what I came out there to do – the three R’s: retreat, reflect, and recharge.
The resort desert oasis two hours east of Los Angeles has long been a magnet for wellness worshippers and Hollywood royalty – from Elvis to Justin Bieber – for 300-plus sun-drenched days, pale gold mountains, canyons galore, skirted palms and springs.
The sprawling region – which encompasses nine cities – is peppered with wellbeing centres, nature trails, and ritual offerings to reach the much-desired Zen state. It was thankfully also untouched by the January Los Angeles fires, which occurred 150km away.
Here’s how to unwind like a celeb in Greater Palm Springs without needing an A-lister’s bank balance; just an open mind, hat/sunscreen/water, and most definitely a towel on standby.
1. Dip into history at Agua Caliente Cultural Plaza
The Agua Caliente Cultural Plaza is a one-of-a-kind cultural centre amid manicured desert gardens.
Open since November 2023, Downtown Palm Springs’s latest tourist attraction rests on the ancient site of Séc-he, the sacred hot springs of the native tribe, Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians.
The centre is split into two: A museum commemorating the region’s tribal ancestry and cultural connections to land and geography; the other is a world-class day spa.
I recommend revisiting history before enjoying a slew of restorative healings at the Spa at Séc-he.
Its beautifully mosaic, light-filled hallways offer a warren of treatments, including private mineral baths, gharieni quartz beds, magnesium-rich flotation suites, salt caves, a cryotherapy chamber and acoustic vibration lounge chairs.
For something very ‘Palm Springs’, upgrade your day of body bliss with a 90-minute desert prickly pear scrub and massage.
Nothing is done bare minimum in this state-of-the-art spa centre with eucalyptus-infused steam rooms, inhalation menthol dry saunas and a cold plunge pool on standby.
Outside, a touch of Palm Springs’ resort life awaits. Sun loungers shaded by palms and cabanas surround mineral pools fed by springs, with parched mountains looming large nearby. After my treatments and dips, I cap off the day with a fresh tuna poke bowl by the poolside. Who says you can’t have it all?
The Agua Caliente Cultural Plaza is built on a sacred hot spring site used by the Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians. Photo / Visit Greater Palm Springs
2. Strengthen your relationship with nature and oneself
Go beyond reading maps and signs at Joshua Tree National Park; instead, be guided physically and spiritually with Joshua Tree Connectivity.
Led by Conan Allen, the half-day outing aims to strengthen your connection to the land and oneself. The experience starts with an early morning hike exploring less-frequented corners of the Mojave Desert.
More than just a walk on desert sands, Allen guides guests to grasp the region’s ecological changes over time and cultural heritage through evocative storytelling.
Allen encourages you to look harder at landscapes; always on the lookout himself for remnants of the past. (Remarkably, a few weeks after the tour, Allen told me that a small ‘rock’ he found on our walk had been confirmed as a fragment of ancient pottery).
After the walk across desert plains, visit a secluded (thankfully, shaded) outdoor destination for an intimate sound bath, cacao ceremony and meditation guided by Allen. It’s peak harmony on hot sands.
Joshua Tree National Park spans two desert ecosystems, the Mojave and Colorado. Photo / Visit Greater Palm Springs
3. Follow the long, palm-fringed roads of Indian Canyons
Another way to recentre is to get moving. Be surrounded by towering greens and pale tangerine lands while hiking in Indian Canyons National Park.
The sacred park is the ancestral home of the Cahuilla Indians. It is famed for its palm oases, spectacular rock formations, waterfalls and streams. There is no other place like it on earth.
The nature reserve encompasses three canyons: Palm Canyon, Andreas Canyon and Murray Canyon. While there are nearly 100km of hiking trails, if strapped for time like I am (and not keen to stay in the sun for too long), start with Palm Canyon.
Living up to its literal name, the bottom of Palm Canyon is considered one of the world’s largest palm oases. A specular canyon of contrasts, over 2500 skirted Washingtonia filifera (California fan palms) carpet the canyon floor, its collective shaggy palms forming a green sea between rocky ravines. Just spectacular.
Indian Canyons is home to one of the world’s largest palm oases, with over 2500 California fan palms. Photo / Visit Greater Palm Springs
4. Unwind with wine
I’m a firm believer that wellness goes well with a glass of wine.
After a day of activities in the sun, re-entering civilisation never felt so good at Canopy Wine Lounge. Located in Downtown Palm Springs, the corner wine bar is the urbane lounge room you wish you had.
A rarity in the district, the bar is brimmed with ‘desert meets city chic’ décor: vibrant mid-century seating arrangements; beaming cacti chandeliers, eye-catching cacti forest wall-mural; floor-to-ceiling glass house wine cellar.
Thankfully, its food and beverage menu matches its sophisticated façade.
The lounge bar’s thoughtfully curated wine list features local and regional gems paired with seasonal share plates using locally sourced ingredients, some from Santa Monica’s farmers’ markets. Its late-night happy hours from 8pm – 9pm also entice you to stick around longer.
I leave here feeling the fourth and fifth ‘R’s: refreshed and rejuvenated.
