- Our group of six traveled from Australia to the US for a family vacation in California.
- We let the kids pick Disneyland or Palm Springs. We were pleasantly surprised they chose the latter.
- We had so much fun in the desert destination, which proved more exciting than any theme park.
While planning our California family vacation from Australia, we asked our 18-year-old twins and their two friends one question: After visiting Los Angeles, should we go to Disneyland or Palm Springs?
Given their love of Marvel movies and thrill rides, we assumed the theme park would win instantly. However, they unanimously voted to visit Palm Springs.
We were speechless, and my wife was very excited. She’d always wanted to explore this desert oasis but had never imagined our teens would be the ones to make it happen.
After just two days, the whole family agreed Palm Springs was an excellent choice.
The desert vibes won us over immediately
Ash Jurberg
After spending some time in bustling Los Angeles, we headed to the quiet streets of Palm Springs.
The teens were fascinated by the area’s mid-century architecture, and the laid-back atmosphere was a welcome change from the busy city.
They loved tracking the town’s famous statues of notable people when walking down Palm Canyon Drive. Although they knew who Marilyn Monroe was, they needed some history lessons about Lucille Ball and Sonny Bono.
Date shakes became part of our daily ritual
Ash Jurberg
While there, we tried date shakes — one of Palm Springs’ signature drinks — at Great Shakes.
The local dates create a rich, caramel-like sweetness that elevated each flavor combination we tried. Topped with its trademark mini doughnut, my peanut-butter date shake disappeared quicker than it should have.
Even my kid who usually avoids dates admitted his shake was surprisingly good.
The Aerial Tramway transformed our teenagers into mountain guides
One of the trip’s highlights was riding the Palm Springs Aerial Tramway, the world’s largest rotating tram car.
The ride took us over 2 ½ miles to Mount San Jacinto State Park, where we enjoyed panoramic views of the desert below.
Around this time is when we saw a different side of our children. Instead of dragging their feet or complaining about long walks, they eagerly led us on several trails.
We loved breathing in the sweet, vanilla-like scent of the Jeffrey pine trees and marveled at the vistas below. For once, their phones stayed mostly forgotten — the mountain views proved more compelling than their screens.
We had an unexpected bonding session at Joshua Tree National Park
Ash Jurberg
Just an hour’s drive from Palm Springs, Joshua Tree National Park offered a striking contrast to the desert we’d just explored.
We spent a whole day hiking short trails no longer than an hour, weaving through twisted Joshua trees and scrambling over massive rock formations.
The lack of cell service in Joshua Tree meant we got to experience a rarity: prolonged, genuine conversation with our teenagers.
The highlight came when someone joked about the rocks making the perfect backdrop for album covers. Within minutes, our teens were directing their own photo shoot, striking dramatic poses worthy of ’90s boy bands on sun-baked boulders.
These shots later made it to their social-media feeds — a clear sign the park had won them over.
We also got to maximize our downtime at the hotel
Even in December’s cooler temperatures, our hotel’s amenities kept everyone entertained.
Nightly pickleball matches turned increasingly competitive, with the teens trash-talking us between serves, while the heated pools provided perfect evening relaxation.
The teens, who typically retreat to their rooms after dinner, stayed out with us to plan the next day’s adventures until the desert stars appeared.
We had a blast, and our teens have already asked to go back
Two days barely scratched the surface of what Palm Springs offers.
As we left, the teens were already listing what they wanted to do on a return visit: visit additional hiking trails, go rock climbing in Joshua Tree, and drink even more date shakes.
Although we never expected our kids to pick Palm Springs over Disneyland, we’re so glad they did — and we all had a wonderful time.
