Touring * Beginner *

Approaching Palm Springs from the north on Interstate 10, take the Highway 111 exit just past San Gorgonio Pass. Follow Highway 111 nearly 10 miles to Palm Springs, down Palm Canyon Drive, and through downtown to Ramon Road. Turn left and follow Ramon to Sunrise Way. Park in the lot at Sunrise Park on the left. Approaching from the south on Interstate 10, exit at Ramon Road in Thousand Palms and drive west for approximately 6.5 miles (passing through Cathedral City) to Sunrise Way. Turn right and park in the lot. Map: Palm Springs Bicycle Touring Guide, available from the Community Recreational Services, 401 South Pavilion Way, Palm Springs, CA 92262; or by calling (619) 323-8272.

Palm Springs is a great destination for in-line skaters, who can appreciate the fact that many of the major streets have eight- foot-wide landscaped sidewalks on one or both sides. Sometimes the trademark pink paths are flat and straight and devoid of landscaping. But in many cases, the shoulders of the roads they line have been built up with grassy humps or decorated with cactus or palms and other trees to make the landscaping more inviting. Here the sidewalks roll gently up, down, and around the terrain. Sunrise Park is a good central location from which to explore the most accessible sidewalks all at once. Follow the Ramon Road shoulders east and west from here, or skate north and south on Sunrise Way. Half a mile north up Sunrise, you will encounter Tahquitz Canyon Way, which runs parallel to Ramon Road. These sidewalks are generally contiguous, but at times you may need to cross to the other side of the street and skate a block or two between missing sections.