It’s the time of year when the Coachella Valley gets reduced to a backdrop for most of the travelers who pass through it just for the big festivals. Now, don’t get me wrong, a visit to the festival grounds, pool days, a round of golf is a reasonable way to spend time in the desert. But those activities just scratch the surface. The valley also sits on top of one of the most significant geological features in North America, is home to the Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians since time immemorial, and plays host to a world-class athletic venue that’s open to the public year-round.
I came to Palm Springs for a spring visit and left with three experiences I hadn’t expected. None of them require a festival wristband. All three are worth building time around.
Things to Do in Palm Springs Besides Coachella: Start Underground
The San Andreas Fault runs directly through the Coachella Valley, close enough to Palm Springs that a guided tour into it takes less than an hour from the city center. Desert Adventures Red Jeep Tours has operated fault tours for more than three decades, using open-air Jeep Scramblers to take guests into the fault zone on Metate Ranch, a private 800-acre property in the Indio Hills that’s not accessible to outside visitors.
This was one of the most memorable experiences I’ve ever taken. The tour covers geology and seismology alongside the Cahuilla cultural history of the land — your naturalist guide handles both, and the combination matters. The route passes through slot canyons, a California fan palm oasis fed by a hidden spring, and a recreated Cahuilla village at the sacred site of Paltewet. Deep inside the vault. A place you’d never expect you could actually go. It definitely doesn’t look how I imagined. It’s not a deep cut in the earth. It feel more like a canyon. You’re not looking at a fault line from a distance. You’re moving through the landscape it created.
The geology holds up even if you’re not a science person. The visual drama does the work. Anyone who has driven through the valley without knowing what shaped it will leave with a different understanding of what they’re looking at.
Journalist Dayyvee Sutton stands in the middle of the San Andreas Fault
(Dream Network Media)
Play Where the Pros Play
Most people know the Indian Wells Tennis Garden as the home of the BNP Paribas Open — the largest combined men’s and women’s tennis tournament in the world. What’s less obvious is that playing there isn’t reserved for the professionals who compete on those courts every March. The facility is open to the public year-round, with 29 world-class courts and a 16,000-seat stadium as the backdrop. You can book a private lesson or drop into one of the adult clinics, at a venue where the standard of instruction matches the standard of the facility.
Programs range from private lessons to group clinics across multiple skill levels, for both juniors and adults. If you have a specific stroke you want to work on or you’re picking up the game for the first time, the format accommodates both ends of that range. The mountain views from the courts don’t hurt either.
Now keep in mind that the facility is open to the public outside of tournament season, which means the right time to come for a lesson or clinic is before or after March. But there are plenty of other resorts where you can get some court time; and not just for tennis — schedule a session for padel and pickleball. I took a padel lesson at Parker Palm Springs — a good way to spend the morning before heading out to watch the pro matches later.
Journalist Dayvee Sutton at a padel lesson at Parker Palm Springs
(Dream Network Media)
The Museum That Changes What You Know About Palm Springs
The Agua Caliente Cultural Museum opened in 2023 in downtown Palm Springs on the site of Séc-he — the sacred hot mineral springs that gave the Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians their name and the city its eventual one. The 48,000-square-foot facility includes dedicated galleries, an education garden, a Tribal Library, and outdoor interpretive areas including the Oasis Trail. It’s such a special experience to learn about the people, their culture, and their connection to the land.
The context is what makes the visit important and impactful. The Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians hold approximately 6,700 acres within Palm Springs city limits, making them the city’s largest collective landowner. That’s not historical footnote — it’s something that defines how the city land ownership is managed. The reservation’s unusual checkerboard land ownership pattern, created when the federal government split up the ancestral land of the Agua Caliente people while also granting land to the Southern California Railroad, still defines the structure of Palm Springs today.
The museum’s curved shape is drawn from traditional Cahuilla basketmaking — the building’s footprint represents a basket start, the first few coils of a new basket. That detail runs through the whole experience. The design is doing something intentional.
The attached Spa at Séc-he, part of the same cultural plaza, allows visitors to soak in the tribe’s ancient hot mineral spring water — making the site both a cultural institution and a functioning connection to the springs that have been central to Cahuilla life for thousands of years. If you’re going to the museum, the combination is worth planning for.
Journalist Dayvee Sutton walks outside of the Agua Caliente Cultural Museum
(Dream Network Media)
Planning Notes
Desert Adventures Red Jeep Tours operates out of the Palm Springs area; tours run most days and cover approximately three hours. Booking in advance is recommended, especially during peak spring season. Current pricing and availability on their website.
The Indian Wells Tennis Garden is located at 78-200 Miles Avenue in Indian Wells, approximately 15 miles southeast of Palm Springs. Lessons and clinics are available year-round; fees vary by program type. Current program details on their website.
Parker Palm Springs is located at 4200 E. Palm Canyon Drive in Palm Springs. Padel availability and booking through the property directly.
The Agua Caliente Cultural Museum is located at 401 N. Palm Canyon Drive in downtown Palm Springs. The Spa at Séc-he is adjacent within the same cultural plaza. Check their website for hours and admission prices.
