Labor Day Weekend in Palm Springs: What to Expect

Labor Day weekend is the bottom of the year in Greater Palm Springs. Not the start of the season — the last long weekend of a summer that still has a month to run.

Which is exactly why some people come. The valley is empty and the rooms are cheap.

What the weather does

Early September here averages a high around 102 with nights in the mid seventies. The record for the month is 122.

Labor Day weekend is a summer weekend. Plan it as one.

The season does not start now

This is the thing to get right, because a lot of travel writing implies otherwise.

Nothing about the valley’s schedule changes at Labor Day. Indian Canyons and Tahquitz Canyon stay Friday-to-Sunday only until the start of October. The Living Desert keeps its 7 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. summer hours all month. Sunnylands stays shut until mid-September. VillageFest keeps its 7 p.m. summer start. Riverside County’s cool centers stay open until 15 October.

The turn happens on 1 and 2 October, four weeks later. Labor Day is the last weekend of the quiet, not the first weekend of the busy.

What is actually open

• The Aerial Tramway, on summer hours, unless it is inside its annual maintenance closure — which lands in late summer or early autumn and moves year to year. Check before you drive out there.
• The canyons, Friday through Sunday, which conveniently covers the weekend.
• The Living Desert, mornings only.
• VillageFest on the Thursday, 7 to 10 p.m.
• The pools. Everything else is negotiable.

Crowds and cost

Rates are at or near their annual low and the hotels are not full. This is one of the few holiday weekends anywhere that is cheaper than the ordinary weekends around it, because the holiday falls in the middle of the off-season rather than at the front of a peak.

Restaurants are a different matter — a lot of them are still closed for their summer break, and the ones that are open have short hours. Check before you drive anywhere specific.

A workable plan

• Hike at first light on Friday, Saturday or Sunday, while the canyons are open. Be finished by nine.
• Take the tram up in the afternoon and stay up there. It is 30 to 40 degrees cooler at the top.
• Spend the middle of the day in water or air conditioning. This is not a suggestion.
• Eat late. Everything outdoors is better after dark this weekend.
• Book a room with a pool you would be happy to spend six hours beside, because you will.

More guides

• September in Palm Springs
• August in Palm Springs
• Things to do in Palm Springs this weekend
• The Palm Springs Aerial Tramway
• How to get through a heatwave here

Weather figures are NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals for Palm Springs International Airport. Hours and closures change; check the operator before you go.