Dog-friendly Vacations In Southern California – Palm Springs, California is located about 100 miles east of Los Angeles in the Coachella Valley region of the Sonoran Desert. A popular tourist town for years, Palm Springs is known for its natural hot springs, hotels, restaurants, golf courses, sunny weather and—of course—dog friendliness.
Downtown Palm Springs is constantly growing, with new shops, restaurants, hotels and neighborhoods, such as the North End development of the Uptown Design District. The annual Coachella and Stagecoach festivals draw attention to desert cities, and the Palm Springs International Film Festival in January attracts big names and growing numbers of visitors.
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“Greater Palm Springs” includes eight cities outside of Palm Springs: Desert Hot Springs, Cathedral City, Rancho Mirage, Palm Desert, Indian Wells, LaQuinta, Indio and Coachella. Tourism is the biggest contributor to the local economy. I would recommend staying in Palm Springs and exploring these other towns by car. Palm Desert has a nice outdoor mall and Indio/Coachella can be great for photography or if you’re attending a festival (without your dog).
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We’ve been to a lot of dog friendly places and when I say Palm Springs is the most dog friendly city we’ve ever been to – I mean it! It’s hard to explain, but there’s just a sense of welcome no matter where we go with Ruby, and we hope you’ll find that in this comprehensive guide.
It can be said that the weather in Palm Springs is good all year round, but there are certain times that are considered the best to visit in the winter and early spring. Palm Springs is especially special in the winter months, which are November – January, because while the rest of the country is dealing with freezing temperatures and snow, Palm Springs puts on a show with sunshine and temperatures of 65-75 degrees.
When traveling to Palm Springs with your dog, I wouldn’t recommend visiting any time after March. Unless your only plan is to be poolside the entire time of your visit. Summer temperatures are usually around 100℉ and can reach up to 115℉, with less than 10% humidity.
Staying in Palm Springs and the surrounding desert area is full of atmosphere and one of my favorite things about visiting the city. I’m a big fan of mid-century modern architecture and desert luxury, so I’d be in heaven just renting hotels and houses hopping around this area.
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If you want to stay in downtown Palm Springs, there are several dog-friendly hotel options around Palm Canyon Dr. and Indian Canyon Dr. which is optimal for walking to shops and restaurants. Visit ARRIVE Palm Springs, Kimpton Rowan Palm Springs, The Colony Palms Hotel & Bungalows and Saguaro Palm Springs.
If renting a house is your preferred accommodation — we’re always fans of kitchens and direct access to the outdoors — then head over to AirBnB or VRBO and turn on the pet feature. This is one of the rental houses I have saved on my wish list. The photos below were taken when we stayed at Mesa Tavira in Joshua Tree for the weekend. You can find our full house tour on Instagram.
Palm Springs has always been a dog-friendly town and with 354 days of sunshine each year, there are plenty of things to do to welcome you with open arms.
Boozehounds Palm Springs was founded by three friends for one simple reason… they love dogs and dreamed of having a place where people could bring their pups, enjoy amazing cocktails or great food, and hang out in style. It’s the most dog-friendly restaurant we’ve been to for two reasons: 1) the dog menu is elite and offers fresh food options that accommodate common protein allergies, and 2) dogs are allowed to dine in their atrium, which is perfect. when visiting in the winter months. We love eating here for lunch and you can check out our visit on Instagram.
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4 Pavs Coffee Co. is another dog-themed establishment in Palm Springs that you should check out. We were greeted with open arms as soon as we walked through the door, and the cafe was decked out in dog-centric decor and merchandise. We got to enjoy our cakes and coffee in the cafe with Roo while she treated herself to a doggie cup. Purchases from the cafe help support their efforts to give money to local shelters and also further their goal of bringing great coffee, food and community connections to Palm Springs.
Moorten Botanical Garden is a privately owned arboretum created to share the beauty and incredible diversity of desert plants with all who visit. Featured desert trees, plants and cacti come from all over the world and range in size from small to gigantic. They are home to the world’s first cactarium – my favorite part of the garden – and allow dogs to roam the garden.
Parking for the park is on the corner across from the S Palm Canyon Dr entrance. Admission is $5 per person and dogs are free. This small park can be explored in 30 minutes with a leisurely walk around the property. We spend less time here because I am obsessed with taking photos in cacti. If you visit during the week, you should be lucky with little to no crowds.
Something unique to Southern California is all the fields of wind turbines. They actually have an official tour in Palm Springs to see them up close, but I’m not sure if they allow dogs. We choose to explore ourselves.
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To see the background below, take Indian Canyon Drive and Garnett from I-10. If you are driving north on Indian Canyon, turn left on Garnett and go 1/4 mile and you will see several places where you can park. There is little to no traffic in this area, so as long as you don’t block the main road, you should be able to park wherever you want to shoot.
I would recommend going at sunset. The desert really stands out at sunset with the cottonwood sky, but the sun sneaks behind the mountains early, so make sure you arrive before the actual sunset. There is a fence around the turbine, but it is not noticeable against the background of shady mountains and bushes in the area. You just have to accept it.
While there are restrictions on visiting Joshua Tree National Park with your furry friend, there are some dog-friendly activities that allow you to experience the park’s diverse landscape when you visit with your dog. We’ve visited several times with Ruby and put together the best Joshua Tree itineraries for a half-day or full-day tour of the park.
This mid-century community is a gem for those interested in mid-century modern architecture. Almost all of the homes in Indian Canyon are built in the mid-century fashion with large glass windows, spacious porches and lots of pool access. Because of this, it has a rich architectural history and an incredible and unobstructed view of the mountains.
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You’ve probably seen some of these homes on Instagram with gorgeous landscaping and colorful front doors. The best way to enjoy this home is to park and walk the streets. I really like the houses in South Yosemite and South Camino Real.
Canine kindness really comes true in downtown Palm Springs. It’s a vibrant downtown filled with unique shops, restaurants, and art galleries. We have had so many people come up to us and share how good they think Ruby is, and every shop owner is immediately drawn to Ruby wanting to pet her, water her and offer her food. If you follow us on social media, then you know that Ruby has a case of unknown danger, but she is quick to please the pets offered.
There is so much to do downtown, with Palm Canyon Drive and Indian Canyon Drive being the main attractions. I would recommend just making a loop and throwing in what looks interesting. South Palm Canyon is a bit prettier and the northern area is more hip with a recent revival as the Uptown Design District.
Some of the stores on my list to visit include: Ibis Women’s Boutique, Just Fabulous for Palm Springs Souvenirs, Peepas, Out West Trading Co, Covet for Timeless Jewelry, and Destination PSP. Destination PSP has the best mid-century home decor.
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Restaurants we enjoyed downtown were Boozehounds, 1501 Uptown Gastropub, Ice Cream and Shop (pe), and Tac/Quila (get a churro ice cream sandwich).
In addition to shopping and dining downtown, you can also check out some unique art exhibits scattered around the area, such as the larger-than-life PS ❤ sculpture of you and Marilyn Monroe in the photo above. If you have time, you can use this guide to find them all.
As you already know, Palm Springs has a thriving art scene, and in addition to large, obscure sculptures, there are also a number of murals throughout the city. My favorite is Greeting from the palm of your hand
