Palm Springs is a desert city in  California – approximately 110 miles (177 km) east of Los Angeles and 140 miles (225 km) northeast of San Diego. Palm Springs is the jewel among desert cities and rightly so. Its village atmosphere has been preserved and embellished over the years. The downtown area with its quaint lampposts, benches and Mexican tile-paved enclaves invites strolling among the shops, galleries, eateries and coffeehouses. Rich in history and blessed with glorious weather, it is a prime destination 
of travelers from all over the world.

Palm Springs offers over 20 top attractions , including Joshua Tree national park, the Living Desert, art galleries, casinos, and of course, endless golf! It’s a huge outdoor playground with consistently brilliant sunshine, great for sunning and all types of outdoor activities with the sweet, clean air.

Every Thursday night the main street in Palm Springs, Palm Canyon Drive, is closed to traffic and opened to a vibrant street festival. Food vendors, arts and crafts exhibits and loads of free entertainment by numerous artists. Strolling, munching, looking and sipping the length of Palm Canyon Drive from one end to the other in the heart of Palm Springs is a great way to ‘people and puppy watch’ for an hour or an entire evening.

The current gay and lesbian population in Palm Springs is estimated to be about seven times the national average.  This concentration is even greater than that of San Francisco, which has approximately five times the national average. Gay residents represent about 35 percent of those who are year-round residents.

The influx of gays and lesbians into the city began in the early 1990s, shortly after the mayor and city council approved ordinances which sought to discourage college students from visiting Palm Springs during spring break, and began making aggressive attempts to recruit gays and lesbians to come to the city as tourists and new residents.

In 1995, the city elected Ron Oden, a politically liberal African American, to the city council, who later acknowledged that he is gay. In 2003, Oden was elected Mayor. He was succeeded in 2007 by Steve Pougnet, another gay mayor.

There are over 35 openly-gay resort hotels in the city. The annual Gay Pride Parade and Festival is held the first weekend in November and in recent years has grown to attract an estimated 35,000 spectators. The largest gay events in the area, however, occur in March or April, with the “White Party ” attracting thousands of gay men for parties and concerts and Dinah Shore Weekend  (held on the same weekend as, but not officially affiliated with the Kraft Nabisco LPGA Championship held in nearby Rancho Mirage), one of the largest events in the country for lesbian women.

Palm Springs is a great get away city. Sun, relaxation, shopping, dining and golf. This site will be your one-stop information source for everything  gay and gay-firendly!

Welcome to the Best of Gay Palm Springs!!