Our blog is all about budget-friendly family travel and whenever possible I try to find for you great attractions and activities that are either free or almost free – check out our Adventures Under $10. This time I put together a list of FREE things to do in Palm Springs, California that are both fun and educational – enough for 5-6 days’ vacation.
We already did a road trip to Palm Springs 5 years ago. That vacation was our first time in this beautiful desert city so we hit all the big attractions, regardless of the price. This year when we decided to come back I wanted us to explore new things in addition to old favorites bearing in mind that the itinerary that I will create must be budget friendly during these hard times of lost jobs and high inflation.
I also wanted to challenge myself – will I be able to find at least 10 FREE things to do in Palm Springs that the whole family will love?
So here is my round up of the best FREE things to do in Palm Springs, California:
Free Things to do in Palm Springs #1: Faye Sarkowsky Sculpture Garden
Faye Sarkowsky Sculpture Garden is a beautiful garden that belongs to Palm Springs Art Museum. If you like art and botanical features this is a great free thing to do in Palm Springs. The Garden has 14 outdoor sculptures and 60 unique desert plants. It also has some water features that is very unusual for a desert location and it makes this Garden even more unique and beautiful.
Pro Tip: If you want to have the whole Garden all to yourself come on a weekday when the museum is closed: Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday.
Free Things to do in Palm Springs #2: Thousands Palms Oasis
Thousands Palms oasis is a place to behold. It is located in the Coachella Valley Preserve and is best explored on McCallum Trail (address: Thousand Canyon Rd., Desert Hot Springs, CA 92241). It has beautiful, huge California fan palms adorning small natural water ponds.
The hike is 1.8 miles long (to and back), it is flat and not strenuous. Part of the hike will be on the boardwalk in the shade of the palms but part of it is in the desert under the blazing sun. Bring PLENTY of water because there is no concession stand here.
Kids will love McCallum trail because they will be able to see lots of different lizards here.
The hike is technically free and there is no one there collecting payments that’s why I put this attraction on my list of free things to do in Palm Springs. However, the Preserve is requesting $5 donation which you can slip into a payment box.
Free Things to do in Palm Springs #3: Date Farms
Palm Springs has a perfect climate for growing dates. In fact, there is no other place in California where dates would grow. There are two date farms in Palm Springs area that I suggest you visiting because the activities on each of these farms are different but equally interesting.
Shields Date Farm is a bigger commercial operation of the two. It has a biblical garden with beautiful sculptures depicting the life of Jesus placed among the date palms. You can do a self-guided walk of the garden free of charge. At the end of the walk stop at their store for a date shake – I bet you have never tried anything like this in your life. The shake is delicious and though it is not free of charge it is definitely worth a try. It is so sweet that you could not possibly drink the whole one by yourself so you can share it with family members and it will only cost a buck or two per person.
San Marcos Date Farm is more of a mom & pop operation but it offers a great guided tour during which you can learn everything about dates: how they grow, how they are picked, etc. It was really very interesting and educational. This tour used to be free but recently this small family owned farm started charging $10 per group. So if you are visiting as a family it will cost you a buck or two per person, which is almost nothing these days.
Pro Tip: It makes sense to visit San Marcos Date Farm together with the Thousands Palms Oasis because they are located in close proximity to each other
Free Things to do in Palm Springs #4: Pioneertown
If you like Hollywood movies, Westerns to be exact, visiting Pioneertown should be on the top of your list of free things to do in Palm Springs. Pioneertown was created in 1946 by the Hollywood film industry as a 1880s themed live-in Old West motion picture set. About 50 movies were filmed here and it is still an active movie and music set.
When you are walking along the Mane St. in Pioneertown you are basically time travelling 140 years ago or so. You can see old buildings that served as guest houses, saloons and even a prison. Nowadays you will find some cool gift shops and a couple of food joints in Pioneertown.
Kids will love feeding the chickens and there should be goats there according to the sign but the day we visited there weren’t any, may be because we visited during a weekday.
In addition to all of the above, on the 2nd and 4th Saturdays of the month at 1pm there is a free Wild West themed theatrical performance on Mane St. by Mane Street Stampede.
Free Things to do in Palm Springs #5: Art Queen
Art Queen is a quirky art gallery in Joshua Tree by a resident artists Shari Elf. Here you can see some cool outdoor sculptures made of discarded items (trash to treasure sort of thing) and the World Famous Crochet Museum (address: 61855 CA-62, Joshua Tree, CA 92252).
This area has a cluster of interesting crafts shops and galleries to check out in addition to Art Queen, such as Zannedelions Boutique and Gallery (this one has a super cool glass sculpture next to it) and Joshua Tree Blanket Company.
This artistic cluster is a great roadside attraction on your way to Joshua Tree National Park.
Free Things to do in Palm Springs #6: Joshua Tree National Park
The entrance into the U.S. National Parks is not typically free of charge so why did I put Joshua Tree National Park on my list of free things to do in Palm Springs? The reason is that under certain circumstances you CAN get into any National Park free of charge and here is how.
First of all, National Park Service designates several days per year when the entrance to all National Parks is free. These days are: January 17, April 16, August 4, September 24 and November 11.
Second of all, if you have a forth grader in your family you can get a free National Parks pass for the entire year they are in the 4th grade through Every Kid Outdoors program.
Now that we have established the opportunities to get into Joshua Tree National Park for free, it is imperative that you go. It is a very unique Park to explore. I am preparing a detailed video review for you – stay tuned!
Free Things to do in Palm Springs #7: Lake Fulmor
Lake Fulmor is a small but gorgeous lake in the mountains up above Palm Springs on your way to Idyllwild (see more information below). It has a paved path to walk along it, many picnic tables in the vicinity and it is great for fishing. It is a perfect spot to escape Palm Springs heat for a couple of hours and an excellent pitstop en route to Idyllwild.
Free Things to do in Palm Springs #8: Idyllwild
Idyllwild is an unexpected gem of a place. It is a small mountain town that sits at almost 6000 ft elevation on Mount St. Jacinto. It is totally opposite of Palm Springs in character: it is much cooler, it has tall pine trees growing all around it and it has that quintessential mountain/ski resort vibe. There are so many great free things to do in Indyllwild that I decided to dedicate an entire blog post to it which coming out in a week or so.
Many people miss this amazing place because they take areal tramway up Mt. San Jacinto. Don’t do it! First, it costs a significant amount of money and once you are up there you are confined to a certain area of the mountain since you will be on foot. Just the drive to Idyllwild is an attraction in itself. It is also known as Palms to Pines Byway and it is one of the most scenic drives in California.
Free Things to do in Palm Springs #9: Sunnylands
Sunnylands Center and Gardens calls itself a “place of history, hospitality and diplomacy”. It is basically a sprawling estate with beautiful desert gardens that used to be frequented by U.S. Presidents in winter months. Its inside areas are currently used as events center and its gardens are free to the public to visit. Sunnylands also has a rotating arts and cultural exhibits free to view too.
On top of all that Sunnylands organizes free recurring events such as: guided bird walks, yoga in the gardens, movies in the gardens and Family Days. Family Day is pretty much the whole day of arts and crafts, guided walks, games and other activities for kids. You can find more information about these events on Sunnylands’ website.
Conclusion
So I did not find exactly 10 free things to do in Palm Springs but 9 is still pretty good, don’t you think? 🙂 I tried to highlight attractions and activities that cover a variety of interests: hikes, art, botanical gardens, etc. I hope you have a wonderful vacation and at the same time save lots of money on all these free things to do in Palm Springs.
Can you stay in Palm Springs for FREE?
Yes, you can! In fact, our entire 5 nights stay in Palm Springs was free of charge, including $30 daily credit for breakfast. Wondering how we did it? I already mentioned it on the blog several times that we are Hilton Honors loyalty program members (it is free to join) and we use Hilton Honors credit card for most of our day to day purchases. It helps us collect points that we then translate into free nights at Hilton owned hotels.
I also suggest checking my other tips on how to save money on travel.
If you found this article about free things to do in Palm Springs useful, please, share it with others as it may help them in their travel plans too.
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