Mount San Jacinto State Park - Desert to Mountain Palm Springs

Mount San Jacinto Park is one of the things I love about Palm Springs. You can go from the desert to 8,516 ft (2,596 m) elevation in the mountains within a 10-minute tramway ride up to Mount San Jacinto State Park.

Visit the park for hiking, stunning views, a picnic lunch in the mountains, or dine in one of the restaurants.

And in the winter months it is possible to try snowshoeing or cross-country skiing but check for weather and snow conditions in advance.

View of Palm Springs from Mt San Jacinto State Park nature hike

Scenic view of Palm Springs from Mt San Jacinto State Park

I chose Palm Springs as my nomad home for the month of December and a trip to Mt San Jacinto State Park is something I recommend to anyone visiting the area.

Also if you have time I also recommend a day trip from Palm Springs to Joshua Tree National Park.

Even if you are only in Palm Springs for a weekend then I would suggest visiting Mt San Jacinto Park. The panoramic views of the Coachella Valley are gorgeous.

In addition, the San Andreas Fault is visible from Mt San Jacinto.

Explore all the best day trips from Palm Springs!

Mount San Jacinto State Park – Palm Springs

Note that the aerial tramway cars to Mt San Jacinto State Park are wheelchair accessible so people with limited mobility can also visit the park via the tramway.

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Drive to Mt San Jacinto State Park

If you prefer to skip the tramway experience and drive from Palm Springs to Mt San Jacinto State Park you can take Hwy CA-111 North to I-10 West to Hwy 243 South to the park.

Seems like it would take around an hour with normal traffic. Google maps seems to have some difficulty with providing driving instructions from Palm Springs. I received the error message: Sorry, we could not calculate directions from “Palm Springs, CA” to “Mount San Jacinto State Park, 25905 California 243, Idyllwild, CA 92549“. Well at least Google said sorry.

View of Palm Springs from the aerial tramway up Mt San Jacinto

Excellent view of Palm Springs from the aerial tramway to Mt San Jacinto

Tramway to Mt San Jacinto

The drive from downtown Palm Springs to the tramway parking lot was only around 15 minutes. Note that there is a $5 fee for parking in the Aerial Tramway parking lot (residents of Coachella Valley receive free parking – must show photo ID with resident address).

Scroll down to the bottom of this post for all the ticket prices, special rates, and hours of operation for the tram ride and more info about visiting Mount San Jacinto State Park. You do need to purchase tickets onsite

Cable car of the Palm Springs Aerial Tramway at Mt San Jacinto - Palm Springs California

Palm Springs Aerial Tramway with rotating floor – one of only 3 in the world

One thing about the Palm Springs Aerial Tramway that takes a little getting used to is the rotating floor of the tramcar. Evidently this is the largest rotating aerial tramway in the world.

According to a CNN article there are only three rotating aerial tramways in the world – the other two are located in South Africa and Switzerland.

At the station I noticed the cars of the Palm Springs Aerial Tram are from Switzerland.

When I chose Palm Springs as my nomad home for December I didn’t think I would get even the tiniest glimpse of snow.

On the tramway ride up the mountain I spotted a bit of snow here and there. A week later there was a decent snowfall in the mountains so you could actually go from shorts to snowshoes in Palm Springs!

A small patch of snow on Mt San Jacinto State Park in Palm Springs

Small patches of snow on the mountain – Palm Springs Aerial Tramway ride

I took in the panoramic views at Mt San Jacinto before sitting down to lunch at the Peaks Restaurant. The grilled salmon with salad and white beans was a tasty meal before heading out to the scenic hiking trail.

Signage for hiking trails at Mt San Jacinto State Park

Desert View Trail

1.5 mile (2 km) loop

I loved the Desert View Trail with 5 scenic view points marked along the trail.

A view of the Indian Canyons from Mt San Jacinto State Park hiking trail - Palm Springs California

View of Indian Canyons from Mt San Jacinto State Park

Jeffrey Pines are grand coniferous evergreen trees with a wrapping of thick bark giving the trees a striking texture. A sign along the trail invites visitors to get up close to sniff the scent of the Jeffrey Pine. Try it yourself and see if you smell butterscotch. This scent comes from the resin in the trees.