Driving to Palm Springs in an Exotic Car: The Route, the Cars, and the Miles

Orange County to Palm Springs is about 100 miles and 2 hours on the 91 to the 60 to the 10. The round trip is 200 miles, which is 2 days of the standard 100 mile allowance, so tell us it's a Palm Springs trip when you book and we'll price the miles in. Convertibles are the right call for the desert. If you take the mountain route through Idyllwild, take a car that handles instead.

The fast route

91 east, 60 east, 10 east, then south on the 111 into town. The first hour is freeway through Riverside County and there's nothing to say about it. The trip starts at the San Gorgonio Pass. The hills go brown, the wind turbines show up on both sides, and the road drops into the Coachella Valley with the San Jacinto mountains on your right. The temperature jumps 10 degrees. If the top goes down, this is where it goes down.

Palm Canyon Drive is the main street through town. Restaurants, small hotels, and mid-century buildings that make every car look like it's in a magazine.

The mountain route through Idyllwild

If you want to drive instead of just get there, take the 74 east from Hemet up through the San Jacinto mountains and the town of Idyllwild, then down the other side into Palm Desert. It adds about 45 minutes and replaces the freeway with switchbacks through pine forest up over 5,000 feet, then a long descent to the desert floor.

This is a handling road, not a convertible road. The Porsche 911 GT3 RS, the McLaren 720S, or the BMW M3 Competition are the right cars here. Stop in Idyllwild for coffee at the top. Watch for gravel on the shoulders in the tighter corners.

Which car

For the fast route, a convertible. The Lamborghini Huracan Evo Spyder at $1,295, the McLaren 720S Spider at $1,195, the Ferrari F8 Spider, the Audi R8 V10 Spyder at $795, or the Rolls Royce Dawn at $1,195 if you'd rather glide than go. Wide boulevards and dry heat are what these cars were built for.

For a group with luggage, the Rolls Royce Cullinan, the Cadillac Escalade, or a Mercedes G63. All have real trunks and seats for 5 to 7, and all look right pulling up to a resort valet.

Mileage

Every car in our fleet comes with 100 miles a day. Palm Springs is 200 miles round trip before you drive anywhere in the valley. On a 1 day rental you'll go over. On a 2 day rental you'll be close. Say Palm Springs when you inquire and we'll build the miles into the price instead of billing $3 to $10 a mile after the fact. Nobody likes that invoice, us included.

When to go

October through May. Summer runs over 110 degrees, which is miserable with the top down and hard on the car if you're idling. The best windows are February through April and October through November, when it's in the 80s and the light is gold.

Skip Coachella and Stagecoach weekends in April unless you're going to the festival. Hotel prices triple, the 10 is a parking lot, and there's nowhere to put a car. If you are going, book the car and the room months out.

Where to stay

The Parker on South Palm Canyon is the most photographed hotel in the valley. The Ritz-Carlton in Rancho Mirage sits on a bluff over the whole valley. La Quinta Resort is the old Hollywood version with private casitas. All three have valets that know what to do with a Ferrari.