Palm Springs Aerial Tramway

The Palm Springs Aerial Tramway is the largest rotating tramcar in the world, ascending 5,783 vertical feet from the desert floor at the base of the San Jacinto Mountains to Mountain Station at 8,516 feet. The ride takes approximately 10 minutes. The car rotates slowly during the ascent, providing a 360-degree view of the Coachella Valley floor below and the mountain terrain above. At the top, the temperature is typically 30 to 40 degrees Fahrenheit cooler than the valley, and the landscape shifts from Sonoran Desert to subalpine forest with ponderosa pine and white fir.

Mountain Station includes a restaurant, observation deck, a natural history museum, and access to hiking trails within Mt. San Jacinto State Park. The trails range from short nature walks to multi-hour backcountry routes. The observation deck provides views across the entire Coachella Valley, and on clear days the Salton Sea is visible to the southeast.

The contrast between ecosystems is the tramway's central attraction. Standing at the top in a pine forest, looking down at the desert where you played golf that morning, produces a geographic dissonance that is difficult to replicate at any other golf destination. The tramway has operated since 1963 and carries over 4,000 passengers daily during peak season.

Know before you go

Hours vary by day: Monday through Friday, first tram at 10 a.m. with last tram up at 8 p.m.; Saturday and Sunday, first tram at 8 a.m. The last tram down departs Mountain Station at 9:45 p.m. on most days. Bring a jacket regardless of the valley temperature. The restaurant at Mountain Station requires reservations for dinner service. The base station is located at 1 Tram Way in Palm Springs, approximately 15 minutes from downtown.

What stands out

The 5,783-foot vertical ascent in 10 minutes and the temperature drop from desert heat to mountain cool. No other golf destination in America offers an experience that moves between two ecosystems this dramatically in this little time.