Do you like immersing yourself with nature and have a ‘thing’ for national parks and state parks? We do, too…! While in Palm Springs, a must-do and must-experience is Mt. San Jacinto State Park. The air smells clean and piney, the breeze is cool and invigorating. If you are the kind of person who gets energized by the mountains and untouched piney landscapes that blanket your surroundings, this is the place for you. The exploring is excellent, AND, you can even camp here! But first, let’s start this blog post with HOW you get there…the Tram.
Palm Springs Aerial Tramway
First, I have to start by saying that the Palm Springs Aerial Tram is an engineering marvel. It is the largest rotating (yes, we rotated the entire way up and down….) in the world. If heights aren’t your thing, you may want to skip this one. I’m surprised I made up myself! It is tall…It takes you 8,516 feet up to Mountain Station. The tram ride one way is 2.5 miles long. The ride is a smooth one, except when you go over the tops of the towers you sway back and forth for a bit….yikes. The tram launched to the public in 1963 and has since, according to Wikipedia, taken 20 million people to the top of the mountain! It was quite the experience… and what an amazing grand entrance to Mt. San Jacinto State Park!
Your Destination…The Top of the Mountain
Mt. San Jacinto State Park is a wooded oasis at the top of the mountain. I actually read an article that called it “a pristine wilderness”…. absolutely. It is AMAZING when you get up there, and so much cooler than the desert! We went in May and the weather was perfect. There are hiking trails and camp sites for the truly adventuresome! (as Moira Rose would say…. 🙂 We did one of the hiking trails, unfortunately that’s all we had time for. Nate wanted to keep going and do the trail that led to the very top… but that would have taken another 4 hours. Next time Nate, next time… ❤️
These pictures really don’t do it justice…it’s just beautiful. It’s quiet…all you hear is the breeze and birds. And, when you breathe in the air, it just smells refreshingly clean and piney… we didn’t want to leave. Normally, there are two restaurants open at the top, but they were both closed. We took the tram back down to reality in search of a fabulous Palm Springs lunch!
The Beauty of It All…
This was a wonderful couple of hours and a great way to spend the entire morning. We will certainly be back again, our intention is to spend the entire day up there hiking around the mountainy landscape. Here’s what I love about spending some quiet time surrounded by natural forests…. it is time to clear your head and think. And, take in everything you are seeing and smelling…it FEELS good to be in a place like this! And the fact that it seemed to be smack dab in the middle of a desert with this magical tram taking up into the clouds to get there made it even more special 🙂
We hope you GO ADVENTURE to Mt. San Jacinto State Park… you won’t be disappointed!
Heather and Nate
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