By J. B. Richard, Publishers

The Palm Springs Internet Travel and Fun Guide

For years nothing but open desert existed between Palm Springs and Indio. A few date, grape, and alfalfa ranches sprung up when a plentiful water supply was discovered in underground aquifers. Villages along Highway 111, like Cathedral City, Rancho Mirage, Palm Desert, and Indian Wells, expanded as locations for new golf courses and subdivisions were sought by developers. By 1982, all of these villages were large enough to incorporate.

Today, the Coachella Valley is composed of nine cities: Desert Hot Springs, Palm Springs, Cathedral City, Rancho Mirage, Palm Desert, Indian Wells, La Quinta, Indio, and Coachella. The total permanent population numbers 180,000, with a seasonal rise to approximately 240,000. Palm Springs can boast of eight of the valley's 69 golf courses. Her greatest attractions are the Aerial Tramway, Desert Museum, Oasis Water Resort, Moorten Botanical Gardens, and the spectacular Indian canyons.

The Palm Springs Municipal Airport, two miles from the center of town, has 8 major airlines offering direct service to all parts of the country. Several deluxe hotels have been added in the last four years to an already fine roster: Maxim's de Paris, Marquis, Shilo Inn, and Palm Springs Plaza. The Riviera Hotel is currently being remodeled, and the Canyon Hotel is adding over 200 rooms. The Wyndham Hotel and the Palm Springs Convention Center are scheduled to open in early 1988. At that time, Palm Springs will have approximately 7,000 hotel rooms.

Excellent shopping facilities make this "sport" one of the city's greatest assets, and one of the main delights for visitors. Shops in the new Desert Fashion Plaza equal those of Rodeo Drive in Beverly Hills. The Courtyard's many boutiques also provide a high-fashion image. Three other centers, with more moderately priced merchandise, appeal to local residents.

In addition, 21 excellent art galleries, 12 antique stores, and many specialty shops line Palm Canyon Drive. An abundant supply of gourmet restaurants and many quaint eateries around town offer choices of Chinese, Japanese, Mexican, Italian, and other types of cuisine.

Desert Hot Springs, six miles north of Palm Springs, has many spas, several small hotels, and a number of fine restaurants. The Cabot Yerxa Museum gives tourists a glimpse of life in early America, and the Mission Lakes Country Club offers an excellent golf course.

Cathedral City, bordering Palm Springs to the east, is the home of the Princess Hotel and golf course, Cathedral Canyon Country Club and adjoining Royce Hotel, and several smaller hotels and restaurants.

Next is Rancho Mirage, a city that got its start with two golf courses, Thunderbird and Tamarisk, and now has 11 courses and plenty of land available for more development. The city's two largest hotels are Mission Hills Resort and Rancho Las Palmas Marriott Resort. A beautiful new Ritz-Carlton hotel, under construction in the hills overlooking the city, will open in 1988. Many fine restaurants are located in Rancho Mirage on "Restaurant Row" along Highway 111.

The Eisenhower Medical Center, Betty Ford Center for Chemical Abuse, Barbara Sinatra Center for Abused Children, and Annenberg Center for Health Sciences are Rancho Mirage's most outstanding achievements. The city is also home to Frank Sinatra and Ambassador Walter Annenberg, whose estate includes a private golf course. The Big Horn Sheep Reserve lies in the hills south of town.

Palm Desert, to the east, is one of the valley's fastest-growing cities. Projects like College of the Desert, now offering four-year courses, were built in this location because the city is, geographically, in the center of the valley. The new and tremendously successful Town Center, built by Ernie Hahn, includes an ice skating rink and many fine shops. El Paseo, too, has become a fine street for shopping.

The Bob Hope Cultural Center, which will include the McCallum Theatre and several smaller theaters, opens in 1988. At that time, the valley will finally have proper facilities for staging operas, ballets, and other theatrical events.

A major tourist attraction, the Living Desert Reserve, was established by the first mayor of Palm Springs, Phillip Boyd.

Palm Desert has 19 golf courses, more than any other city in the valley. With so much undeveloped land still available, more spectacular courses are already on the drawing board for the near future. The city's largest hotel is the Marriott Desert Springs Resort, with 900 rooms, two complete 18-hole golf courses, and superb convention facilities. Several smaller hotels and many excellent dining spots round out the visitor attractions.

Indian Wells started with Eldorado Country Club and Indian Wells Country Club. There are now six golf courses. Among the major hotels are Erawan Garden Hotel, Ramada Inn, and the exclusive Grand Champions Resort. The latter resort also contains a 10,000-seat tennis stadium that is the site of the annual Pilot Pen Tennis Tournament. A new 192-room Stouffer Hotel will open in 1988. The Indian Wells Racquet Club is located on the site of the old Indian well that gave the town its name.

In a beautiful cove next to Indian Wells lies the city of La Quinta. A charming Spanish hotel, built here in 1921, was a famous resort for many years. Today, the area is popular for its eight golf courses, four of which make up P.G.A. West, with a fifth under construction. From La Quinta, fine riding and hiking trails lead into the nearby hills and a palm-lined canyon.

Indio, the valley's oldest city, was incorporated in 1930. Its main thrust was farming and industry. It is also the location of the county's Superior Court and Planning Department. Many date-picking sheds are found here as the area raises most of the valley's produce. The Coachella Valley's average yield of $5,000 per irrigated acre is the highest in the world.

Indio is now looking forward to becoming a tourist destination in its own right. Three golf courses have already been built and several new projects are in the planning stages.

The ninth city, at the southern end of the valley, is Coachella. Like Indio it has been an industrial and agricultural center, but is now actively seeking a future as a resort.

Large developers from other parts of the world, like Edward DeBartolo, Trammel Crow, and Pierre Cardin, tell us the valley is only in its infancy. Local developers, such as Ernie Hahn, Bill Bone, Jim Temple, and John Wessman, agree. It is predicted that by the year 2000 the valley will have a population of over 600,000. The 12,000-acre Nature Conservancy in Thousand Palms will look like Central Park surrounded by developments.

Several of the valley's golf courses and large developments, such as the Palm Desert Resort and Bermuda Dunes, are still part of the county, although most of them lie within the sphere of influence of future cities. Communities such as Thermal, Mecca, and Thousand Palms are destined for incorporation in the not too distant future. A need to maintain open space will certainly require the construction of additional golf courses.

One hundred years ago, John Gutherie McCallum and his partners held a land auction, selling lots for $45.00. Today, many of those same lots are valued at more than $700,000.00. McCallum spent a fortune building 19 miles of rock-lined ditches to bring water to Palm Springs, little dreaming that he was sitting on top of a basin with millions of gallons of water in underground aquifers. Many of the valley's over 3,000 wells could individually pump twice the amount of water his ditch could carry.

Then Nellie Coffman built the cement-reinforced lobby and dining room at The Desert Inn, she said, "This building will be here 100 years from now." Today, the Desert Fashion Plaza and six-story Maxim's hotel stand on the site.

Pearl McManus built the Oasis Hotel in 1925 to compete with Nellie Coffman's Desert Inn. Today, the hotel, built on the site of her father John McCallum's house, bears the name of Desert Inn and the Oasis Hotel no longer exists.

All the cities in the valley are studying their master plans in an attempt to control growth. Densities are being cut back; buildings are limited to six stories with proper set backs; hillside projects are extremely limited and open space ordinances are being put into effect. While it is inevitable that the valley will grow, it will certainly not lose its charm.

Plans are underway to solve the traffic problem. Many new bridges and cross streets leading to the freeway have been added. Financing for the new parkway on Dinah Shore Drive is in the mill and will become a reality within the next few years.

With the mutual efforts of all nine cities working together on proper planning, the Coachella Valley surely will retain its character as a unique resort destination.

We sincerely hope that you enjoy browsing through our desert communities travel and fun guide as you plan your next visit to the greater Palm Springs Area. We know you’ll find our information useful, please stay as long as you please.