Taking the kids: Palm Springs a family vacation oasis

(Tribune Media Services) -- The question isn't whether to go swimming, but which pool to choose.

At the Desert Springs JW Marriott Resort and Spa in Palm Desert, California, www.desertspringsresort.com, there are five pools, as well as two golf courses, an 18-hole putting course, 20 tennis courts and a brand-new gigantic spa (Try the California Sun-Kissed Wrap, which incorporates cactus flower extract, or spring for your very own spa butler.) The resort also has seven restaurants and the kids will especially like the outdoor fire pit.

Of course, there are organized kids' activities here too, even etiquette classes. Who says kids aren't at home in deluxe resorts? Kids are everywhere -- in the lobby sushi bar, splashing in the pools, checking out the exotic birds, playing lawn croquet or racing around the property's 450 acres. You can even hail a gondola and get ferried around the resort's waterways. (The family package this fall starts at $259 per night and includes accommodations, in-room movie and pizza delivery.)

It's tough to drag the kids away from a resort like this, but there's so much for families to see and do in and around the seven towns that make up the Palm Springs Desert Resorts (www.palmspringsusa.com). This isn't your grandpa's Palm Springs anymore -- not after more than a billion dollars in renovation and new construction.

The streets may be named for a past generation's luminaries like Bob Hope and Frank Sinatra (the kids are bound to ask who they are) and the place may be a haven for golf-playing retirees -- there are 115 courses here -- but there is plenty here for 21st-century families whatever your budget and interest. Whether you're seeking a fall getaway with preschoolers or a Thanksgiving gathering where no one has to cook or do the dishes, you won't have to worry about rain: the sun shines most days of the year. How can you go wrong in a place that has 40,000 swimming pools?

"Family business is definitely growing here," says Mark Graves, the spokesman for Palm Springs Desert Resorts.

And it's easy to see why with these attractions:

The Living Desert, http://www.livingdesert.org, with more than 400 desert animals in their natural habitat. We especially loved the giraffes, camels and ostriches. There are also mountain lions, bobcats and more, as well as a model train garden that careens through ghost towns and frontier towns of the Old West and a wildlife hospital where kids can watch through glass windows as vets give the animals checkups. The kids will especially like the petting corral and everyone will appreciate the strategically placed misters that help keep everyone cool. It's a great place for kids to learn how these creatures survive in the desert.

In just 10 minutes, the Palm Springs Aerial Tramway, www.pstramway.com, took us from 2,643 feet elevation to 8,516 feet. As you head to the top of the mountain, the tram slowly revolves so that the view changes constantly. What an engineering feat! Once on top, we had our pick of hiking trails -- more than 54 miles worth at Mount San Jacinto State Park and Wilderness Area. It's nearly 40 degrees cooler up here than in the desert below; so cool that we wished we'd brought our sweatshirts. If you're up for it, hike a little more than 5 miles to the peak of San Jacinto, or take a mile-long nature walk. There's backcountry camping too -- just remember you'll need a permit. During the winter, there's also snowshoeing or cross-country skiing.

Joshua Tree National Park, www.nps.gov/jotr/. The kids will love climbing the huge boulders piled one atop the other and watching the serious climbers that have come here from all over the world. Two distinctly different deserts come together here, the Colorado Desert in the eastern half of the park (Watch out for that jumping cholla cactus. The bristles literally "jump" into your skin, pricking you like a needle) and the Mojave Desert, home to the weird-looking Joshua trees, which are like condos for many desert animals. This is a great place to hike, horseback ride or mountain bike.

You can shop till you drop too. We stopped at the Cabazon Outlets, www.cabazonoutlets.com, about 35 minutes from the Palm Springs area. This outlet mall has everything, including J. Crew, Polo, Crate & Barrel and lots of high-end stores. If you're here on a weekend, check out the College of the Desert Alumni Association Street Fair, www.codstreetfair.com.

Like water slides? There are 15 of them at Knott's Soak City Waterpark, www.knotts.com, (open weekends until the end of September), or visit the Children's Discovery Museum of the Desert in Rancho Mirage, www.cdmod.org/ or the Palm Springs Air Museum, www.palmspringsairmuseum.org, home to one of the largest collections of World War II aircraft.

But that's if you can motivate yourselves to leave wherever you're staying. I'd chosen Palm Springs for a quick mom-daughter getaway before my older daughter Reggie left for a summer job and it proved the perfect respite. I was grateful for a few days just to focus on her, without anyone or anything competing for my attention. I think she was too. We happily hung out at one of the Marriott pools late in the afternoon, and then watched the sun go down as we ate at the resort's Sea Grille that overlooked the mountains.

Whatever your family's vacation style, you'll find it here, along with plenty of hotels happy to welcome your kids. There's everything from the new Embassy Suites La Quinta, www.embassysuites.com, and Homewood Suites, www.homewoodsuites.com, to the 32-room Inn at Deep Canyon in Palm Desert, www.inn-adc.com, with its well-priced family package, or the Hyatt Grand Champions Resort and Spa, www.hyattgrandchampions.com, with its playground, dive-in movies and waterslide (get a third night free this fall). For other hotel and vacation condo deals, visit www.palmspringsusa.com.

Good luck getting them out of the pool. E-mail to a friend

(For more Taking the Kids, visit www.takingthekids.com, where Eileen Ogintz welcomes your questions and comments.)

Copyright 2007 EILEEN OGINTZ, DISTRIBUTED BY TRIBUNE MEDIA SERVICES, INC.

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