Climbing 6,000 feet from the Sonoran Desert floor up into the San Jacinto Mountains, the Palm Springs Aerial Tram traverses five climatic zones in 12 minutes. Most important, this means that in summer it can be nearly 30 degrees cooler at the top; electrical engineer Francis Crocker designed the tram because he dreamt of “going up there where it’s nice and cool.”

The ride up in the glass-walled cars is great fun; the floor of the car slowly revolves on the 12-minute ride, providing a fantastic view of the incredible scenery, whether it be the craggy mountain ridge front and center, or the distant spread of valley and rumpled mountains.

At the top, you can just relax and enjoy the panorama of mountain and desert from the upscale Peaks Restaurant (California cuisine), the Pines Café (cafeteria style), or a lounge with appetizers and full cocktail bar. Or, you can explore the 50-plus miles of hiking trails. For easy starters there’s the 0.75-mile Discovery Trail loop and the 1.5-mile Desert View Trail (offering a great view of the Coachella Valley way below).