COVID ERA TOUR DETAILS
History and Architecture Bike Tours
Bike tours begin near Downtown Palm Springs and tend to last about 2 to 2 1/2 hours. The tour is designed to offer a satisfying experience in the first two hours; however, guests who want a deeper experience are welcome to continue on for more riding and more architecture (up to 4 hours). Bikes are not provided by PS Architecture Tours, but can be rented or obtained through hotels, vacation rental homes or local bike rental agencies. The route is mostly flat and designed to limit exposure to traffic, although some Downtown streets may be busy. While pace and tour length can be adjusted to most riders' comfort levels, the tour is recommended for those who are healthy and fit. All riders are responsible for their own personal safety and will be expected to sign a liability waiver.
The tour concentrates primarily on Downtown and neighborhoods to the north including Old Las Palmas, Vista Las Palmas, Little Tuscany, Chino Canyon, Racquet Club West, Racquet Club Estates, and Movie Colony. Featured architecture will include a variety of periods and styles with a focus on fine examples of modernist design by celebrated local architects and visiting American masters. Standouts include remains of Frank Lloyd Wrights Jr.'s Oasis Hotel (1923) Albert Frey's minimalist mountainside home (1963), commercial buildings by E. Stewart Williams (various dates), Donald Wexler's Dinah Shore/Leonardo DiCaprio House (1963), Alexander Company tract homes in Vista Las Palmas by William Krisel and Charles DuBois (1958/59) and Richard Neutra's masterpiece, the Kaufmann Desert House (1946). Covering a span of history from native Indian occupation through early white settlement, Hollywood's heyday, the lost years of the 70s and 80s, and the renaissance of the early 2000s, the tour tells the story of Palm Springs through its extraordinary homes and buildings.
The price for bicycle tours (not including bikes) is $75 per person. Bike rentals tend to run from $20 to $40 per person depending on the bike.
The tour concentrates primarily on Downtown and neighborhoods to the north including Old Las Palmas, Vista Las Palmas, Little Tuscany, Chino Canyon, Racquet Club West, Racquet Club Estates, and Movie Colony. Featured architecture will include a variety of periods and styles with a focus on fine examples of modernist design by celebrated local architects and visiting American masters. Standouts include remains of Frank Lloyd Wrights Jr.'s Oasis Hotel (1923) Albert Frey's minimalist mountainside home (1963), commercial buildings by E. Stewart Williams (various dates), Donald Wexler's Dinah Shore/Leonardo DiCaprio House (1963), Alexander Company tract homes in Vista Las Palmas by William Krisel and Charles DuBois (1958/59) and Richard Neutra's masterpiece, the Kaufmann Desert House (1946). Covering a span of history from native Indian occupation through early white settlement, Hollywood's heyday, the lost years of the 70s and 80s, and the renaissance of the early 2000s, the tour tells the story of Palm Springs through its extraordinary homes and buildings.
The price for bicycle tours (not including bikes) is $75 per person. Bike rentals tend to run from $20 to $40 per person depending on the bike.
Two-vehicle Intensive Tours
Two-vehicle intensives are a variation on my pre-covid driving tours which took place in a single 6-seat minivan. These are custom, three-hour tours designed for architects, historians, design professionals and those who have an unusually avid interest in modernist design. Palm Springs' famous architecture traces its roots to the emergence of modernist aesthetic ideas in late nineteenth century Europe, to the work of early Chicago architects such as Sullivan and Wright, to the Bauhaus movement of the 20s and 30s, and to modern masters such as Le Corbusier, Mies van der Rohe, Walter Gropius, Marcel Breuer, Oscar Niemeyer, etc. and their numerous peers and disciples. This tour assumes a basic familiarity with this history and these architects.
The tour begins with a 20-minute introduction at Albert Frey's iconic Tramway Gas Station (1965) and continues through the City of Palm Springs, pausing along the way to consider fine individual homes and buildings and neighborhoods of special interest. Some stops will include short neighborhood strolls or on-foot explorations of Downtown's historic core. The number of stops and the sites included in any given tour will depend on the tour length and specific interests of tour participants. Travel between stops is relatively brief, so there is no need for constant connectivity, but guests can speak to Trevor or ask questions while traveling using smartphones or integrated onboard audio.
All of the iconic modernist homes worth visiting inside are privately owned and not open to the public. While we have in the past offered exclusive access, private home interiors cannot be offered during the covid crisis.
The price for this tour starts at $150 per person.
The tour begins with a 20-minute introduction at Albert Frey's iconic Tramway Gas Station (1965) and continues through the City of Palm Springs, pausing along the way to consider fine individual homes and buildings and neighborhoods of special interest. Some stops will include short neighborhood strolls or on-foot explorations of Downtown's historic core. The number of stops and the sites included in any given tour will depend on the tour length and specific interests of tour participants. Travel between stops is relatively brief, so there is no need for constant connectivity, but guests can speak to Trevor or ask questions while traveling using smartphones or integrated onboard audio.
All of the iconic modernist homes worth visiting inside are privately owned and not open to the public. While we have in the past offered exclusive access, private home interiors cannot be offered during the covid crisis.
The price for this tour starts at $150 per person.
Hiking Tours
Palm Springs is surrounded by mountains, one of which rises directly up out of the city to an elevation of 10,800 feet (3,292 meters). Along the foothills of these mountains, visitors can traverse hiking trails that offer spectacular views across the Coachella Valley as well as opportunities to see and learn about the areas's natural history and human development. Some trails afford views of the San Andreas fault, which cuts a visible scar across the desert floor.
Hiking tours are designed to offer a broad perspective on the history of Palm Springs, which can be seen in its entirety from most nearby trails. The story begins with the springs that bubbled up out of the ground over the fault line, attracting native palm trees and forming dozens of oases across the desert valley. It includes the Cahuilla Indians who inhabited the area's mountain canyons and who traversed some of these mountain trails long before white settlers arrived. Next came early farmers and health-seekers, eastern business leaders and silent film era stars, then the military during World War II, and ultimately golden era Hollywood celebrities, wealthy snow birds and - to design their fabulous modern homes and buildings - a host of extraordinary modernist architects.
Hiking tours do not focus on specific works of modernist architecture per se, but hikers will learn about (and see from the trail) many places of architectural and historical interest they can visit during their stay.
The mountains are rocky and steep, and the trails can be rugged and uneven, so hiking is recommended only for physically fit individuals and experienced day hikers. All hikers are responsible for their own personal safety and will be expected to sign a liability waiver.
Hiking tours are offered for groups of 4 or more. Prices start at $55 per person.
Hiking tours are designed to offer a broad perspective on the history of Palm Springs, which can be seen in its entirety from most nearby trails. The story begins with the springs that bubbled up out of the ground over the fault line, attracting native palm trees and forming dozens of oases across the desert valley. It includes the Cahuilla Indians who inhabited the area's mountain canyons and who traversed some of these mountain trails long before white settlers arrived. Next came early farmers and health-seekers, eastern business leaders and silent film era stars, then the military during World War II, and ultimately golden era Hollywood celebrities, wealthy snow birds and - to design their fabulous modern homes and buildings - a host of extraordinary modernist architects.
Hiking tours do not focus on specific works of modernist architecture per se, but hikers will learn about (and see from the trail) many places of architectural and historical interest they can visit during their stay.
The mountains are rocky and steep, and the trails can be rugged and uneven, so hiking is recommended only for physically fit individuals and experienced day hikers. All hikers are responsible for their own personal safety and will be expected to sign a liability waiver.
Hiking tours are offered for groups of 4 or more. Prices start at $55 per person.
