Palm Springs Aerial Tramway: Escaping the Heat by Cable Car

August in Palm Springs means one thing: heat. When the desert floor pushes past 105 degrees, most locals have a go-to move, head up the mountain. The Palm Springs Aerial Tramway is the fastest way to trade the valley's furnace-like afternoons for pine-scented mountain air, and it's one of the best reasons to build a mid-stay excursion into your Palm Springs trip.

From Desert Floor to Alpine Forest in Ten Minutes

The tramway's route begins at the Valley Station, elevation 2,643 feet, and ends at the Mountain Station, elevation 8,516 feet, a climb of nearly 6,000 feet in a single ride. The 2.5-mile journey takes about ten minutes, and the cars themselves are part of the experience: since 2000, passengers have ridden the world's largest rotating tramcars, which slowly turn during the ascent so everyone gets a full 360-degree view of Chino Canyon and the valley below.

The temperature swing is the real draw. Where the desert floor regularly tops 105°F in August, Mountain Station sits in Mt. San Jacinto State Park, where alpine pine forest keeps things dramatically cooler, often 30 to 40 degrees cooler than the valley floor.

What's Waiting at the Top

Once you arrive, there's more than just a view. The Mountain Station has a restaurant, an observation deck, and access to hiking trails that wind through the state park, everything from short loop walks to more serious backcountry routes for hikers who want to make a full day of it.

Planning Your Visit

Summer hours run from May 22 through September 7, 2026, with the first tram up at 10:00 am on weekdays and 8:00 am on weekends and holidays. On Fridays and Saturdays, the last tram runs until 9:00 pm, with the last tram down at 10:30 pm, a good option if you want to watch the sunset from the mountain and skip the worst of the midday heat entirely.

Current ticket prices are $36.95 for adults, $33.95 for seniors 65+, and $20.95 for children ages 3–10, and a Summer Pass is available starting May 1 if you're planning more than one trip up the mountain during your stay. One planning note if you're booking a longer visit: the tramway closes for its annual maintenance from September 8 through October 4, 2026, so an August trip is well-timed to catch it before the fall closure.

Basing Your Trip at Del Marcos

The Del Marcos Hotel sits right in downtown Palm Springs, about a ten-minute drive from the tramway's Valley Station, close enough that a tram morning doesn't eat your whole day. Head up early to beat the heat, then come back down to the heated saltwater pool for the rest of the afternoon.

It's a nice contrast, honestly: mountain pines in the morning, poolside umbrella in the afternoon. Rooms at Del Marcos with kitchenettes are worth considering if you want to pack a simple lunch for the mountain rather than relying on the Mountain Station café, and the hotel's complimentary bikes are a good way to explore downtown once you're back and cooled off. For dinner, Azúcar next door at sister property La Serena Villas has rooftop views of the very mountain range you climbed that morning.

If you're staying multiple days to fit in both a tram day and time to explore the rest of Palm Springs, check current specials and packages for multi-night rates.