A Journey to the top of Mt. San Jacinto

The ride to the top of the Mt. San Jacinto state park is so majestic, it quickly makes you forget where in the world you are. Located in the midst of Palm Springs California heat, this national park, reached by Palm Springs Aerial Tramway, is an oasis of cool. The temperature in Palm Springs may be a soaring 120 F, while at the top of Mount San Jacinto, it’s a cool 55 (or less in winter months especially). This is why you should really bring a jacket and gloves, and wear comfortable closed-toe shoes when going up, as you would for hiking. Everyone that doesn’t will find themselves shivering and avoiding rocks on the ground.

The trip starts at the bottom visitor’s center. You can’t buy your tickets here, but you can find some tourist items. Save some time for a stop here at the end. Next, you’ll continue up in your car – you’ll take about a 5-minute winding drive up to the visitor’s center where you can buy tickets to board the largest rotating tram car in the world. The earlier you go, the smaller the crowds will be, since mornings are colder. In winter months, despite the typical desert heat in the heart of Palm Springs, you can see snow at the top of San Jacinto. Many locals and tourists alike come here to sled and ski – I love that you can go swimming and sunbathing at the bottom and ski and sled at the top. As much as I love winter fun, we were visiting Palm Springs to get away from the freezing Chicago winter, so on this trip we just enjoyed the amazing mountain top views and hiking around the park trails. The views from the San Jacinto state park are some of the most beautiful vistas I’ve ever witnessed. But let’s start at the visitor’s center.

Once you drive up to the Valley station, you’ll be already at an elevation of 2643 feet above sea level, so be prepared for the change in pressure (your kids will definitely notice the ear popping) and your phones not working.

So, as you can imagine, this park may be a little hard for babies – I think you should wait until your kids are over 4 years old to go up. I have seen parents with strollers on the trails, but I think the ride up will be too hard.

The tram car is a unique experience. It has windows all around and it slowly rotates as you go up, so you catch every angle of the view. Get a spot near the windows (the tram gets crowded quickly), and hold on to the bars, since you are in for a somewhat bumpy ride. The trip up to the Mountain station (which stands at 8,516 feet) takes about 10 minutes. As the car revolves, you’ll catch unbelievably beautiful views of mountain edges, rock formations, tall California trees and glimpses of the desert below. There is glass all around and a few windows are often cracked open, so you will quickly feel both the mountain air and how close you are to natural beauty. Every few hundred feet the tram car will lightly bounce up as you pass the next support pillar. Interesting, as the guide told us, there has to be a tram car going up soon after one going down on the other side, for balance, so the aerial tramway operates like clockwork with tram cars leaving each station every half an hour.

Once you are at the top, at the Mountain station, take your time to explore the views. There is a different panorama at each angle.

You will find a small history museum and gift shop at the Mountain station, so take a look at some interesting memorabilia. If you have a moment, watch the documentary film on the making of the tramway.

At the top of the Mountain station, there is a restaurant – Peaks Restaurant – with spectacular views, perfect for a special occasion. For a small trip, if you’d like to have your lunch with a view, stop at the Pines Cafe. Or, try one of the picnic benches by the hiking trails – this is what we did – the easiest option with little kids, and everyone enjoyed being outside, the amazing nature around us and quick access to the hiking trails.

There are many aerial tram cars in the world – quite a few in Europe on all the major mountains, one of the older ones in South Africa, many in Japan and some of the highest ones in South America. However, going up to the top of San Jacinto Mountain was my first experience in a rotating aerial tram car, and I’m happy I tried it, it was unforgettable.