Travel

Summer Splash in Palm Springs

Explore off-season in a desert oasis

By Brandon Matheson • July 18, 2013 5:07 pm EDT

Poolside at dusk. Credit: Palm Springs Visitor & Convention Bureau

  • The White Party. Credit: Palm Springs Visitor & Convention Bureau

  • Fine dining in the desert. Credit: Palm Springs Visitor & Convention Bureau

  • Explore the desert by jeep. Credit: Palm Springs Visitor & Convention Bureau

  • Joshua Tree. Credit: Palm Springs Desert Resort Communities Convention & Visitors Association

  • Lounging by the pool. Credit: Palm Springs Visitor & Convention Bureau

  • Downtown plaza in Palm Springs. Credit: Arthur Coleman Photography

  • Classic desert architecture. Credit: Arthur Coleman Photography

  • Poolside romance. Credit: Palm Springs Desert Resort Communities Convention & Visitors Association

  • Credit: Palm Springs Visitor & Convention Bureau

  • Spanish architecture and garden. Credit: Palm Springs Visitor & Convention Bureau

Palm Springs is renown as a winter get-away destination, but California’s gay oasis is also a prime summer locale for a desert vacation with experiences from adventure to pure relaxation.

If you’re looking for a big-city atmosphere with a booming club scene, you need to look elsewhere. Palm Springs is a quiet, relaxing resort town. Certainly there is a thriving nightlife, but that’s hardly the city’s main appeal.

Sunshine, swimming pools, world-class golf courses and tennis courts, great restaurants, and awe-inspiring mountain vistas are the reasons to visit.

And with an average of 332 days of annual sunshine and 360-degree mountain views, it’s easy to understand the appeal.

The summer temperatures might be hot, but Palm Springs doesn’t have the energy-draining humidity that plagues some Canadian and US cities.

One of the season’s big draws for Palm Springs is Summer Splash, which runs until September 15.

Hotels, restaurants, bars, retailers and entertainment venues band together to create a line-up of discount offers and special events. You’ll find great bargains on accommodations, dining out, car rentals and local attractions.

Sponsored by the Desert Gay Tourism Guild, 2013 marks the sixth year for Summer Splash.

For more information and DGTG’s event calendar visit palmspringsgayinfo.com

For more information on Summer Splash deals, visit palmspringssummersplash.com

More From This Contributor

On a new career adventure, I perform as a Stage Hypnotist (clubs, fundraisers, private shows, etc; www.BrandonTheHypnotist.com), as well as maintain a private practice in downtown Toronto as a Certified Consulting Hypnotist and Hypnotherapist (in short, I use hypnosis to help people overcome everyday problems.) Between August 1993 and January 2016, I worked with Pink Triangle Press (publisher of this website) as Publisher & Editor-in-chief and Director of Publishing. I joined PTP in August 1993 to establish the Ottawa operation and launch (then called) Capital Xtra, later rebranded to Xtra Ottawa. During my 22.5 year tenure with PTP, I lived and worked in Ottawa, Vancouver, and since 2001, Toronto. At some point, I served as Publisher & Editor-in-chief of every print product PTP published.

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