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Palm Springs remains a haven for LGBTQ+ visitors
For the uninitiated, Palm Springs, California is the gayest city in the country, and maybe even the world. At least a third of the citys population of 45,000 identifies as gay or lesbian. The desert city is about a two-hour drive from Los Angeles in good traffic and a little over an hours flight from San Francisco.The city has long been a getaway for Hollywood elites as well as the LGBTQ+ community. For vacationers, Palm Springs boasts the most gay resorts of any place on the planet, with 11 in the city limits and one in the adjacent city to the south, Cathedral City.By the way, most of the gay nightlife used to be in Cathedral City, but starting in the 1990s, bars and nightclubs started springing up in Palm Springs. The first was Streetbar on E. Arenas Road in downtown Palm Springs, just east of Indian Canyon Drive. That block is now where the biggest concentration of gay businesses and nightclubs is situated.This years Palm Springs Pride is set for November 6-9. It includes a parade, festival, and other events, such as a block party.ResortsThe pool at the Santiago Resort in Palm Springs offers relaxation and fun for gay men. Photo: Courtesy Santiago ResortThe fabulously gay Santiago Resort is celebrating its 30th anniversary this year. The two-story, hacienda-style property has one of the largest pools and offers one of the most picturesque mountain views of any of the gay resorts. Like its sister properties, Twin Palms and Descanso resorts, Santiago offers a free breakfast, lunch, coffee, soft drinks, and snacks 24 hours a day. Santiago has a loyal following that keeps it busy even in the slower summer months.The biggest cluster of gay resorts is in the Warm Sands neighborhood, just under a mile from the Arenas Road gay strip. That is where you will find El Mirasol Villas, Casa Oliver, Hacienda Palm Springs, Desert Paradise Resort, and InnDulge. El Mirasol Villas is the most affordable, and Hacienda is the most luxurious, but all the resorts are first-rate.Casa Oliver is the newest gay hotel, opening in December 2024 in the space where All Worlds Annex used to be. The husband-and-wife owners are already putting a number of upgrades into the property, with newly remodeled rooms and plans for a restaurant on the property. It is one of three of Greater Palm Springs resorts that is open for day passes, starting at $25.Another gay resort offering day passes is Canyon Club Hotel on Palm Canyon Drive, on the north end of downtown. Canyon Club passes are just $15. Canyon Club is the most affordable of all the resorts, with rates that start at $119 with no resort fee. Cathedral City Boys Club (CCBC), that citys only gay resort, offers day passes for $35, with a Wednesday special of $22.The fabulous Triangle Inn in Palm Springs is owned by Michael Green and Stephen Boyd. The couple is well known for their work in the community and for their help to other LGBTQ+ businesses. Green is the president of the Palm Springs Cultural Association. The property is an architectural gem. It gets its name from the triangle-shaped front of the hotel as well as the LGBTQ+ pink triangle symbol. The front of the hotel is framed by a gorgeous garden.The aforementioned CCBC is the largest of the gay resorts, spread out on 3.5 acres. It includes the Runway Bar and Restaurant that is open to guests and non-guests alike. The resort hosts a number of special events that draw locals and tourists.Sadly, there are no longer any lesbian resorts since Casitas Laquita and Desert Hearts Inn closed years ago. All of the dozen gay resorts are male, clothing optional, and most serve a free continental breakfast. Some charge a resort fee but others dont, so if you are budget conscious and who isnt take that fee into consideration when comparing prices. Rates in general are cheapest over the summer and most expensive from mid-February through early May.NightlifeHunters Palm Springs. Photo: Hunters FacebookOn the E. Arenas gay strip, you will find Hunters. The spacious club includes a main bar area, dance space, and patio. Streetbar, which always seems to be packed, draws a loyal local crowd. Other bars on the block include Dicks on Arenas (formerly Eagle 501 and before that Score), the video bar Quadz, Blackbook, famous for its upscale bar food, and Chill. The Evening Citizen bar is purposely a little hard to find and is behind Streetbar. (That is because it is an old-fashioned speakeasy bar.)There are no longer any lesbian bars since Delilahs went out of business years ago, but Hunters, and, on the north end of Palm Springs, Toucans Tiki Lounge, are very women-friendly. The Dinah, which promotes itself as the worlds largest lesbian and queer womens event and music festival, runs this year from September 24-29.While lesbians may not have a dedicated bar, theres a thriving community of queer women in Palm Springs hosting events, lesbian nights, and activities in the city. For more information, go to lesbianpalmsprings.com. The Tool Shed is on the edge of the Warm Sands neighborhood and is famous for its Thursday underwear night. And since Barracks in Cathedral City was shut down last year, it also is taking up the mantle with a Wednesday underwear night like Barracks used to have.Besides CCBCs Runway Bar, Cathedral City is home to One Eleven Bar and the Roost Lounge. Both bars are known for karaoke and live entertainment, and draw a higher percentage of locals than the Palm Springs bars.SightsDrag and Fly Tours has become a popular attraction since launching last November. Photo: Ed WalshOne of the newest attractions in Palm Springs began last November and is already among the hottest tickets in town. Drag and Fly Tours are as entertaining as they are informative. The 90-minute tour is conducted in a bus with 13-seat stadium seating, so everyone has the same good view. The tour is hosted by a drag queen and includes archival videos of some of the attractions that you will see along the way. It makes a quick pit stop on E. Arenas Road, where you will hear more about the citys gayest block.A must-see attraction is the Palm Springs Aerial Tramway. It takes visitors through four seasons in 10 minutes. If you are visiting in the summer, it could be 120 degrees in Palm Springs but a comfortable 80 degrees at the summit. At the top, you can have a meal, hike, and watch a very informative video on construction of this engineering marvel. If you are visiting in the winter, you can bring, or rent, a sled or cross-country skis.Palm Springs closes its main drag, Palm Canyon Drive, in the heart of downtown, every Thursday night for the street fair known as Village Fest. It runs from 7 to 10 p.m. June-September and from 6 to 10 p.m. the rest of the year. By the way, Palm Springs has two sunsets. The first sunset is when the sun goes behind the mountains to the west, putting the city in shade. Then about an hour later is when the sun officially sets. So, the Village Fest is shaded for at least an hour before sunset.The Palm Springs Art Museum is free on Thursday nights from 5 to 8 p.m., so you can easily coordinate a trip to the museum with Village Fest. The museums focus is contemporary art and design. It currently has an exhibit on the first floor showcasing works by LGBTQ+ artists from the museums photography, painting, and design collections.The post Palm Springs remains a haven for LGBTQ+ visitors appeared first on News Is Out.
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