Category — Rancho Mirage

Every great tourist destination has to have a zoo. That’s one of the best things to do with your kids on a vacation, right? After all, who doesn’t like to check out interesting animals? The problem, though, is that a lot of zoos are exactly the same. Why go on vacation to go to a zoo that has giraffes and elephants that look almost identical to the ones in the zoo back home? Well, if you’re visiting Rancho Mirage, there are some special things about its zoo, The Living Desert, that you absolutely won’t want to miss. Here are just a few of the reasons that you need to visit this zoo.

One of the best parts about this zoo is that it’s actually a conservation center. Sure, it has some exhibits that feature exotic animals like elephants and giraffes, but a large part of the conservation is actually dedicated to animals that live in the desert around Rancho Mirage, and some of the animals there have been rescued from the desert and were rehabilitated in the conservations center’s on-site rehabilitation and veterinary center.

Getting to see animals that really belong in the desert while you’re there is really cool, but it’s also neat what this conservation center does with its displays. Part of the point of this zoo is actually to educate people about desert conservation and being kinder and gentler on the planet in general, so the programs there are designed to help people think differently about how they interact with their environments. Obviously, this sort of education is great for kids, but it can also be beneficial for adults, as well.

There are lots of other cool things about The Living Desert, but we think these are two of the best reasons to take your family to this particular Rancho Mirage attraction when you’re visiting the city.

2010 is a busy year for musicians coming to Rancho Mirage, CA. There are tons of concerts scheduled throughout the year, taking place in various venues around the city. Whether you live in the city and are trying to plan your next fun night out or want to plan your vacation to be in the city when a concert is happening, we’ve got information just for you. Here are just a few of the concerts that are coming up during 2010 in Rancho Mirage.

On June 4^th, country legend Martina McBride will be making an appearance at The Show in Rancho Mirage, and tickets for that concert are already on sale! If you can’t make it to town then, Martina will be back in town at the end of July, as well, so you really should catch one of her concerts this year.

If you like country music but aren’t so into Rancho Mirage in the hot summer months, you can wait until early October to catch Leann Rimes in concert, also at The Show. Those tickets don’t go on sale for a while, but if you’re interested in catching this concert, start looking for them now!

Another fall show is Celtic Woman, coming to serenade Rancho Mirage in early September. Again, those tickets aren’t on sale quite yet, but you will be able to pick yours up soon. If you aren’t quite into all these female singers, why not hang around in mid-September to catch the Beach Boys in concert?

Besides lots of concerts, some great comedians, including Bill Cosby and Jay Leno, will be coming to perform in Rancho Mirage throughout 2010. With all of the shows going on, there is hardly a dull moment in town, and you will almost certainly be able to catch something interesting while you’re in town.

One of the many attractions of the Rancho Mirage area is its natural beauty, and there is no better way to enjoy the natural beauty of a mountainous area than from the sky. Luckily, you can do that with the Palm Springs Aerial Tramway in Palm Springs. The tramway goes up into the mountains surrounding Rancho Mirage, and you might even have the privilege of seeing snow on a day that has been sixty degrees down below!

The tram is a great way to get out into nature in the Rancho Mirage area, and it can take you up into the mountains in a park where you can camp, hike, or even ski in the winter time. In order to camp in the winter, you need to have a special permit, but you can experience snow camping, which is a unique way to start or end a vacation in sunny Rancho Mirage. You’ll be able to get both ends of the weather spectrum all in one trip!

At the tram start and end spot, there are restaurants where you can grab a bite to eat and enjoy your surroundings. You can actually buy tickets for the tram trip as well as a meal, which are quite affordable. For adults, the ride and dine tickets cost just over $30, so you can easily have a few hours of fun and a full stomach without paying very much at all.

This unique mountain ride has been called the eighth wonder of the world because it is truly an engineering marvel. The tram cabs rotate so that riders can get full views of the valley and the mountains, and they go over some very rough terrain. While it’s great to be able to take in all the nature around you when you’re riding in the trams, it’s also interesting to just watch how the engineering works.

Some people who come to Rancho Mirage have an ideal vacation in mind that involves relaxing by a pool and getting several massages in an open-air tent. Others like to shop on their vacations or see the local art museums and other cultural attractions. If you want something different from your Rancho Mirage vacation, though, particularly something that involves the natural world, then you have to check out Indian Canyons. This is one of the most beautiful pieces of desert and mountain that still exists today, and it’s a great place for hikers to unplug and get away from it all for a while.

Indian Canyons is actually made of three smaller canyons: Andreas Canyon, Palm Canyon, and Murray Canyon. They all have hiking trails running through them, and they are open for day hikes all week during October through July and only on the weekends during July through September.

Each of the canyons is unique in that it has different types of animals and plant life in it, but all of these canyons are historical and were once home to Native American tribes. The canyons are a marvel of rock and desert plant life, and there are also water pools and running water areas in some spots.

While you can’t stay overnight in the canyons, they are a great place to visit during your Rancho Mirage vacation. Even if the rest of your vacation involves laying by a pool and sipping a cool drink, you may want to spend at least one day out and about and looking at the natural area that surrounds this beautiful city full of manicured lawns and landscaping. It will give you at least some idea of what Rancho Mirage looked like before people were ever there at all!