La Quinta

Get in

By plane

By train

Amtrak serves nearby Palm Springs via the tri-weekly Sunset Limited and Texas Eagle service between Los Angeles and New Orleans, Chicago and many cities and towns in between. Amtrak also provides bus connections to and from the Gold Runner trains, which run up California's Central Valley to the Bay Area and Sacramento. The train station in Palm Springs is an open platform with no services, far from the city.

By car

From Los Angeles, take Interstate 10 East towards Phoenix, exit at Washington Street or Jefferson Street, and then head south about 5 miles. La Quinta is a two-hour drive from Los Angeles and San Diego if there is not much traffic.

By bus

Neighboring Indio's bus terminal, at 83100 Indio Boulevard, is served by Greyhound. The terminal has a staffed ticket counter, vending machines, and Baggage Express service. International service and connecting buses to Phoenix, Bakersfield, and Los Angeles are every 15 to 30 minutes. At least six direct buses serve Mexicali, BC from Indio's bus terminal daily with additional connecting services available to Ciudad Juarez and Tijuana.

Amtrak California's Thruway Bus Service Route 19b serves La Quinta twice daily, with direct connections to train stations in San Bernardino and Bakersfield. The bus stop is located at 78998 Highway 111 in La Quinta. Route 19B also stops at the Palm Springs Airport and originates from the Indio bus terminal.

Get around

La Quinta has a small but friendly downtown known as the Village. Many boutique shops, outdoor restaurants, and art galleries are located there. La Quinta's heart is the adjacent eclectic neighborhood known as The Cove. The commercial retail corridor is in the northern portion of the city along Highway 111.

By car

Highway 111 runs east-west along the north side of La Quinta and connects all the cities in the Coachella Valley. Highway 111 has many signals and lots of traffic, so if you are going far (e.g. Palm Springs), you should utilize Interstate 10. Washington Street and Jefferson Street are the major north-south arteries serving La Quinta.

By golf cart

The City of La Quinta permits the use of golf carts within the Village and Cove neighborhoods on designated golf cart paths and local streets with reduced speed limits. Visitors to the La Quinta Resort and SilverRock Resort can quickly and easily reach the La Quinta Village and Cove by golf cart.

By bus

By bike

La Quinta and the surrounding environs are mostly flat and dry and can make for good cycling during the cooler months. The City of La Quinta has an extensive bicycle route network that connects to most neighboring cities. Colorful local bicycle clubs can often be seen riding around in groups.

Go next

• Joshua Tree National Park. This desert park is a great day trip to take while at La Quinta. You can get there in less than an hour by taking Interstate 10 east to the Cottonwood Spring Road exit. Take a minimum of four hours to do the loop through the park. Camping is allowed as well as rock climbing.
• Idyllwild is a mountain resort approximately 45 minutes drive away on the beautiful Palms to Pines highway. It can also be reached by a challenging 10-mile hike from the top of the Palm Springs Tramway.
• The Salton Sea One of the world's largest inland seas and lowest spots on earth at -227 ft below sea level, the Salton Sea was re-created in 1905 when high spring flooding on the Colorado River crashed the canal gates leading into the developing Imperial Valley. Hundreds of years prior to that time, it was an ancient freshwater lake that had evaporated. Although the shoreline is receding again, the brackish sea is home to a variety of migratory birds. Increasing salinity in the Salton Sea basin has limited the number and types of fish that can be found there, and most fish caught are Tilapia. Consuming fish from the Salton Sea is not recommended. Kayaking, camping, birdwatching, photography, and hiking are the most popular recreation opportunities.

Other nearby desert resort cities include Cathedral City, Desert Hot Springs, Rancho Mirage, Palm Desert, Indian Wells, Palm Springs and Indio.