Palm Springs Aerial Tramway
Mountain cable car · Palm Springs
1 Tramway Rd, Palm Springs, CA 92262
Highlights
Rotating tram cars ascend to Mt. San Jacinto for hiking, dining, museum
Rotating tram cars ascend to Mt. San Jacinto for hiking, dining, museum
"Take a two-and-a-half-mile ride up to Mount San Jacinto's 8,516-foot peak and emerge in an alpine forest — once there you can access nearly 50 miles of hiking trails, observation decks, and two restaurants before returning to the base. As Liz Ostoich puts it, “Palm Springs is home to the largest rotating tram in the world, taking you up to an alpine forest in minutes.”" - Stacey Leasca Stacey Leasca Stacey Leasca is an award-winning journalist and co-founder of Be a Travel Writer, an online course for the next generation of travel journalists. Her photos, videos, and words have appeared in print or online for Travel + Leisure, Time, Los Angeles Times, Glamour, and many more. You'll usually find her in an airport. If you do see her there, please say hello. Travel + Leisure Editorial Guidelines
"A dramatic cable-car ride that ascends to the summit of Mt. San Jacinto, providing panoramic desert-and-mountain views and access to high-elevation hiking and cooler air." - Patricia Doherty Patricia Doherty Patricia Doherty is a writer who specializes in covering destinations, resorts, and cruises for Travel + Leisure and other publications. Travel + Leisure Editorial Guidelines
"A Palm Springs visit seems incomplete without a tram ride up the slope of Mount San Jacinto. Opened in 1963 and modernized in the year 2000, Palm Springs Aerial Tramway ascends about 2.5 miles in 10 minutes, from the valley to the cliffside Mountain Station. Up at 8,516 feet, you can soak in the views from observation decks, Peaks Restaurant, Pines Café, the Lookout Lounge (with full bar), picnic areas, or along more than 50 miles of hiking trails accessed from the lofty station. From Memorial Day to Labor Day, you can join weekend guided nature walks along two easy trails (led by volunteers twice daily); and there are a limited number of campgrounds within the Mt. San Jacinto State Park and Wilderness Area. In winter, come for snowshoeing and cross-country skiing, with equipment rentals at the Winter Adventure Center; or you can bring your own sled." - Kelsy Chauvin
"The concept for the tramway was born in 1935, but the project didn’t come to fruition until 1963: It was really ambitious. After boarding at the Valley Station, the ride up the mountain (elevation 8,516 ft) takes no longer than ten minutes and the views of Chino Canyon from the rotating tramcar are nothing short of breathtaking. At the top you’ll find Peaks restaurant (the food isn’t too memorable but the setting is extraordinary), the ultra laid back Pines Café, and The Lookout Lounge cocktail bar. There are hikes and the like available (you'll probably share your tram with a troop of eager campers). Because temperatures in the valley and the top of the mountain vary drastically, riding the tramway offers a much-needed reprieve from the desert’s sweltering heat in the summer—off-season, pack a sweater."
"Escape the heat for a day and enjoy spectacular views of the Coachella Valley via the Palm Springs Aerial Tramway ascending two and a half miles to Mt. San Jacinto State Park." - Travel + Leisure Editors
