Up Above Palm Springs

Sure, Palm Springs is known for its hot weather, golf and poolside vacations, but did you know that one of its major attractions is an aerial tramway that takes you to the top of the San Jacinto Mountains?  I can just imagine folks passing right by the entrance to the Palm Springs Aerial Tramway as they focus on getting into the downtown scene.  After reading about this place, we made sure to check it out during a recent visit to Palm Springs - and it certainly did not disappoint.

Visitor's Center Entrance

If you lookup the address to the Tramway, you'll likely find it at 1 Tram Way in Palm Springs.  However, note that this is actually the address to the Visitor's Center located at the corner of Tram Way and North Palm Canyon Drive.  The real Tramway station is located about 4 miles north from there (or I've been told at least an hour walk) up the curvy mountain road.  Seems like this road is a challenge that many locals like to jog or walk up, as we saw a few people doing so on the way up and back.

When you reach the base of the mountain, you'll come across Valley Station at an elevation of 2,643 feet.  You can buy your tickets here to take the Tramway up to the top, which cost $23.95 for an adult. Now, I've walked away from places like the Stratosphere in Las Vegas for not wanting to pay for a ticket, but I just felt this trip would be a unique experience - and I was right!

The Tramway leaves about every half hour, so we were able to crowd into one with several people ready to take the voyage up.  The tram itself was a rounded box that fits about 80 people with doors that open on both sides.  As we walked in, I was concerned I would have a bad view because I was on the door and facing only one side.  However, I was pleasantly surprised to discover that this tram was one of only three rotating aerial trams in the world (this is the largest).  This meant that the floor rotates passengers around 360 degrees, so everyone gets a chance to see the different views during the trip.  The tram makes about 2 full rotations on the 12-minute ride up or down.

Bottom left: Pylon Tower     Top Right: Palm Springs

For those who are afraid of heights, this may not be the easiest trip.  Not only is the floor rotating under your feet to expose you to open windows, the tram is hanging by steel arms on top which means that some swinging motion may occur.  In fact, there are four steel truss pylon towers that hold the Tramway's wires from the bottom to the top, and as you pass those towers, the tram will swing a little more - easily scaring some folks while losing your stomach in the process.

At the top, we reached Mountain Station with its surrounding alpine forest as the gateway into the Mount San Jacinto State Park.  We could certainly feel the 30 degree difference compared to the desert below where we had started.  The station itself had a cafe, bar, restaurant, and gift shop along with a film on how they built the Tramway.  There were also several places to view the valley and Palm Springs below at the front of the station as well as at cliffs just above it.  Unfortunately, this day was a bit cloudy, so we didn't have full visibility of the view - but I hear on clear days, you can see very far out into the desert and the view is spectacular at night with all the city lights.  This was just a breathtaking experience and well worth the cost to see something like this.

View from Mountain Station at the Top

Pin Stops Ranking: 5 Pins

The first 5 pin review I have written about on this blog.  While I thought I knew what to expect on this trip, it was even better than I thought.  The tramway with rotating floors was a unique experience while the views were amazing.  Pictures or stories just don't do it justice - they are definitely not the same as seeing this place in person.  This is easily a must-see when visiting Palm Springs!

For more on my Pinstop Rankings, check out this post.