Over my much needed college Spring Break 2010, I spent a few days down in Palm Desert with my Gramma and her husband Dick! After a few glorious days of first class pampering, sun, golfing, and an unforgettable tour of Joshua Tree, we were headed to the mountains? Yes, the mountains that encase the high desert of Palm Springs.

Assuming that we were going for a nice hike in the hills of Mt. Jacinto State Park, I was instantly informed that we would not be hiking, but instead we would be riding the world’s largest rotating Tram car. The Valley Station/ starting location for the Tram is at 2,643 feet elevation and the Tram would be taking us to 8,516ft in a matter of just 10 minutes. We quickly bought our tickets and headed to the front of the line so we could get a window spot on our way up.
With a little shaking here and there we were off, storming up the mountain as trees zipped by the Tram left and right. For the first few minutes we could barely see beyond the parking lot, but within what seemed seconds, we were experiencing views like no other. Gazing the land beyond, we were graced by a voice over the speakers informing us of the history of the Tram, the area around, and the tid bits that a tour guides adds, resulting in an informative Tram session.

I snapped as many pictures as I could all the way to the top. We arrived to the top of the mountain in 10 minutes and were released from the Tram to the viewing area and the many hiking trails down the backside of the mountain. This tram is perfect for people who want to go to the top of a mountain and not exhaust the time and energy getting there. Simply pay a pretty penny, board the biggest rotating tram and boom, you are there.

The view was impeccable and I lost all reality, I couldn’t believe I was in Palm Springs, it felt as though I was in the Swiss Alps. Palm Springs has a lot of golfing, shopping, and sun tanning areas to lay out, but get away from the usual stuff and experience something that goes unrecognized in the high desert; visit Mt. San Jacinto State Park and take the tram to the top!