We’d Be Just Fine With One of Palm Springs’ 40,000 Pools

A writer dips her toes in the Palm Springs pool scene.

If Mammoth and Tahoe relish winter for the fresh powder it brings to their ski resorts, Palm Springs can’t wait to thaw out for another high season in the desert. From Modernism Week in February all the way until Coachella and Stagecoach in April, P.S. and those “Other Desert Cities” welcome snowbirds and sun worshipers for an extended period of blue skies and balmy temps. At centerpiece of this revelry is the Palm Springs pool.

“The pool is both entertainment and escape,” shares Bonnie Tsui in her story for the New York Times. “Under the palm trees in a desert town built over an aquifer, the symbolism of the pool as oasis is particularly resonant. It is refuge and relief—from the heat, from daily difficulties, from the 24-hour glare of nearby Los Angeles.”

Bonnie packed her swimwear and sunscreen to survey several of Palm Springs’ best pools, from the packed parties of The Riviera, to the sun-drenched serenity of the Sparrow Lodge. Along her adventure, she observes her fellow loungers, contemplates a chlorinated culture and takes a few laps through poolside history. What was her preferred oasis?

Escape your winter blues and dive in here.