Mitchell Sussman

Ride the Palm Springs Aerial Tram on Your Next Palm Springs Vacation

During my last Palm Springs vacation, I took my family up the Palm Springs Aerial Tramway. Located at the entrance to the city right off HWY 111, the Palm Springs Aerial Tram is the largest rotating tramway in the world.

Opened in September, 1963 as a way of getting from the floor of the Coachella Valley to the top of San Jacinto Peak it was constricted in rugged Chino Canyon. Before its construction, the only way to the top of Mt. San Jacinto was to hike for several hours from Idyllwild.

The twelve-and-a-half minute ride begins at the Valley Station at 2,643 ft. and passes up North America's sheerest mountain face through five climate zones on its way to the Mountain Station at 8,516 ft. above mean sea level.

We got to the Valley station at about 10:00 a.m. and climbed aboard the rotating cars, which make two complete revolutions throughout the duration of the journey so that the passengers can see in all directions without moving.

The tram cars are quite large about twenty- feet or so in diameter. With a maximum capacity of 80 passengers it is the largest of the three rotating aerial trams in the world. The other "Rotair" aerial trams are located in Cape Town, South Africa and Titlis, Switzerland.

We disembarked at the Mountain Station in the alpine wilderness of Long Valley and Mount San Jacinto State Park. The air can be as much as 40 (°F) or 22 (°C) degrees cooler at the top than in the desert. So it's a great way to escape the heat of the summer or play in the snow in winter.

We walked along some nature trails and for those a little more daring you can take a burro ride. Back-country hiking can be done, but you will need to get a permit from the U.S. Forest Service. There are two restaurants at the summit, one of which specializes in fine dining. Both have gift shops specializing in Aerial Tramway-related merchandise. A video presentation of the history of the attraction plays continuously in a theater at the Mountain Station.

The view at the top is spectacular stretching northward for more than 200 miles on a clear day, all the way to Mount Charleston north of Las Vegas, Nevada. Views to the east and west can stretch as far as 75 mi. California's Salton Sea is plainly visible to the southeast.

After a day at the top of Mt. San Jacinto, we traveled back down to the desert floor. All in all a great way to spend the day on your next Palm Springs vacation.

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