A Handful of Excellent Reasons to Visit Palm Springs

Located in the Southern California’s Coachella Valley, Palm Springs offers nature lovers access to a wide range of exciting opportunities, from the celebrated Joshua Tree National Park to Indian Canyons, which contains miles of hiking trails with breathtaking vistas and a 60-foot waterfall. People can also hire off-road tour companies to explore the San Andreas Fault or ride the Palm Springs Aerial Tramway, which boasts the largest rotating tramcar in the world.

Film lovers also have several reasons to visit Palm Springs, which has hosted the Palm Springs International Film Festival every January since 1989. Additionally, several smaller festivals occur over the course of the year, including the Arthur Lyons Film Noir Festival, ShortFest, and the Festival of Native Film & Culture.

Attracting several artists and art appreciators, the Backstreet Art District features local galleries that do an open house complete with wine and snacks once monthly. People may also want to see the Annenberg Retreat at Sunnylands, which displays an impressive art collection with pieces by Rodin and Giacometti.

Finally, shoppers will find countless opportunities for excellent thrift store shopping, as well as several major outlet malls.

Some of the United States’ Most Underrated National Monuments

The United States National Park System maintains more than 50 national monuments throughout the country. These monuments often go ignored as crowds flock instead to national parks, but many of these protected areas offer incredible sights.

The Colorado National Monument near Grand Junction, Colorado, for example, offers an amazing look at deep canyons and towering sandstone formations. Visitors can follow the trails of explorer John Otto and see golden eagles and coyotes in addition to the beautiful landscape.

Another underrated attraction is White Sands National Monument in Alamogordo, New Mexico. Here, visitors can walk on sand that is so white that it resembles snow. Exploring the dunes is an experience unlike any other in the U.S.

The John Day Fossil Beds National Monument in eastern Oregon will delight visitors who are interested in paleontology. The area contains fossils of both plants and animals that date back between 7 and 44 million years.

Cedar Breaks National Monument in southern Utah includes a three-mile natural amphitheater with unbelievable vistas dotted by ancient bristlecone pines -- some over 1,000 years old. Visitors can also enjoy challenging day hikes. The best time to visit is during the summer, since snow can largely cover the monument between October and May.