Things to Do in Palm Springs in May

May is the handover month. The season ends, the heat arrives, and a good part of the valley quietly starts closing for the summer.

It is also the last month of the year when you can do almost everything and still be comfortable, which makes it the most underrated month on the calendar.

The last of the good weather

Average high 95, average low 66, and 0.02 inches of rain for the whole month. Two hundredths of an inch.

Ninety-five sounds worse than it is. Mornings and evenings in May are genuinely pleasant, the humidity is nothing, and the difference between early May and late May is large — the first week still feels like spring and the last week does not.

The practical rule for May: everything outdoors happens before ten in the morning or after six at night, and the middle of the day is for something with air conditioning.

The pass locals buy on the first of the month

The Palm Springs Aerial Tramway sells a summer pass that goes on sale 1 May and runs through the end of August — unlimited rides, free parking, discounts in the restaurants. It exists because the Mountain Station sits at 8,516 feet and runs 30 to 40 degrees cooler than the valley floor, so from May onward the tram stops being a scenic ride and starts being a way to spend an afternoon at 75 degrees in June.

That is the single most local thing you can do in May: buy the pass before you need it.

More: the Aerial Tramway · tram discount tickets · bringing your own food up the tram

Restaurant Week sits in the gap

Greater Palm Springs Restaurant Week runs at the end of May into the first week of June, and the timing is not an accident. The festival crowds have gone, the summer closures have not started, and restaurants have a short window where they want people in the room.

It is the cheapest week of the year to eat somewhere you would not normally book.

More: Best happy hours in the valley · restaurants worth the drive

What starts closing

May is when the summer schedule starts landing, and the dates are worth writing down.

• The Living Desert drops to summer hours on 1 June — 7 a.m. to 1:30 p.m., last admission an hour before close. May is the last full month of 8 to 5.
• Sunnylands closes to the public in early June and does not reopen until the middle of September. If you want the gardens, May is the last chance.
• The farmers markets and art walks that run October to May finish their seasons this month.
• The canyons stay on their seven-day schedule until early July, so they are still fine.

More: Sunnylands tickets and tours · The Living Desert

Stagecoach started in May

The first Stagecoach was held in early May 2007 at the Empire Polo Field, with George Strait and Alan Jackson headlining. It has since moved to the weekend straight after Coachella in April, which is why a festival with a May birthday is now firmly an April event.

Up the hill, and out of the valley

May is when the mountain towns start earning their keep. Idyllwild is about an hour up the road and runs twenty or more degrees cooler. Big Bear is further but the same idea.

The date gardens are also busy — May and June are when the bunches get tied down, once a year, by hand.

More: Idyllwild as a day trip · Big Bear without the chaos

Why May is worth it

Rates have dropped off the spring peak, the tourists have gone home, restaurants take walk-ins again, and the weather has not yet become a safety consideration. For anyone who can be flexible, May and October are the two months where the valley is both pleasant and affordable.

More guides

• Things to do in Palm Springs this weekend
• June in Palm Springs
• April in Palm Springs
• Memorial Day weekend
• Cinco de Mayo
• The Kentucky Derby in Palm Springs

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