Palm Springs California. With a population of 45,233, it is estimated that fully 50% of that population is now LGBTQIA+. How did this come to be?
A little background here. By the 1900s, Palm Springs was a popular vacation spot, largely due to the climate. During the 20s and 30s, it had become a “hiding spot” of sorts for some Hollywood greats who were gay, because if they had been discovered, they would be banned from film. It is said that both Marlene Dietrich and Greta Garbo made Palm Springs their home for this reason.
Palm Springs Evolves
Today Palm Springs has the largest percentage of LGBTQIA+ people in the entire US. Actually, the town was a bit slow in developing equal rights for the queer population, but the Desert Business Association was formed to promote businesses owned and operated by gay people.
Evolution of Palm Spring’s Gay Community
While Palm Springs was a haven for LGBT people keeping a low profile in the Hollywood Golden Era, the city was slower to adopt gay rights than some parts of America. This changed in 1979 when the Desert Business Association (DBA) was created to promote the businesses of gay people.
In 1986, the roots of Greater Palm Springs Pride started as a song and dance revue at the Riviera Hotel called “Sizzle.” And then the first gay bar opened on Areanas Road, called Streetbar.
One most recent hallmark? In 2018, Palm Springs elected a fully-LGBTQ+ city council.
And during this time, Palm Springs Pride continued to grow.
Speaking of Greater Palm Springs Pride
If locals are asked, they will say that Greater Palm Springs Pride is all year long. But there are specific events of Palm Springs Pride that are more well-known. The “official” Greater Palm Springs Pride in the first week in November, and there are other smaller Pride celebrations and events both in the fall and spring. Here’s a quick rundown:
Cathedral City LGBTQ Days
This is a state-wide Pride Festival held in early March every year for three days. In Palm Springs, it’s held at the Town Square Park, right in front of City Hall.
The main stage features live performances – singers, gay men choruses, dancing with top DJs, drag shows, and more. There are also information booths from local LGBTQ+ organizations, vendors, and plenty of food.
On the final day (a Sunday), there is the famous Bed Race and Parade. Teams decorate beds on wheels. More than just the local LGBTQ community participates (e.g., local police and firefighters), making the city’s LGBTQ days unique.
One note here: Gay men have the great CCBC Resort right in the city, one of the most popular gay resorts, with full amenities. Reservations at least a year in advance of Pride are a must.
East Coachella Valley Pride
The ECV Pride Day is held in October each year. This festival features an evening of activities, including live performances, drag shows, and lots of vendors with food and souvenir items.
The ECV also hosts a Transgender Day of Remembrance for all trans people who have died from various causes – mostly violence.
Greater Palm Springs Pride
This is the biggie – it’s the largest queer event in Palm Springs in early November. It draws participants from all over the state and country – as many as 100,000+ annually to the Arenas District. There is always a block party to kick things off on Arenas Road and a festival marketplace for two days. At the marketplace, there will be exhibitions, performances, food court, drink, shopping, and more.
Palm Springs Pride ends with the parade on the final day.
Arenas Road is lit during Palm Springs Pride, and there are bars and clubs all within walking distance, such as the Roost Lounge, Chill Bar, Runway, and the One Eleven Bar hunters, Blackbook, Bear Wear, and the queer shopping mecca, Gay Mart USA. And many more clubs line Palm Canyon Dr. A pub crawl would be a great idea to see and hear it all – multiple stages for dancing with DJs and live performances by local and nationally known queer celebrities.
Dinah Shore Weekend
This annual event is held for five days at the Riviera Resort and Spa in Palm Springs. It is billed as the world’s biggest lesbian and queer women’s music festival – live concerts, parties, and much more. It’s not unusual for some Hollywood stars to show up. It’s a raucous festival from which attendees will be recovering for a while. For full information, go to the Dinah Shore website.
Desert Hot Springs Pride Festival
This festival is hosted by Diversity DHS and is a one-day happening in mid-November that features community resources, local art, and other vendor items. There is entertainment, food, and a Kids Zone with face painting, arts and crafts, and other activities. It’s just a fun community gathering.
Obviously, Greater Palm Springs Pride has expanded to multiple communities and these festivals bring the LGBT community together with great LGBTQ events, parties, and more. But gay travelers to Palm Springs will find an inclusive atmosphere year-round – gay resorts, inclusive spaces, amazing food and art, and the best gay and lesbian in Palm Springs nightlife. What a place to celebrate who you are.
White Party in Palm Springs
White Party is an annual weekend blast in Palm Springs one of the largest and wildest LGBTQ events in Palm Springs. It’s a wild weekend happening of partying, poolside revelry, dancing, live music, performances, and special events. Typically, the event takes place over a long weekend in late April or early May, from Friday afternoon until the early morning hours of Monday. It is hosted by the Hilton Hotel Palm Springs, and for those who go, its a life experience not to be missed. Many of the nightlife parties are held at the Convention Center which is large enough to accommodate the large crowds this event attracts every year. While there are a majority of gay men, attendees cross the entire LGBTQ+ spectrum – lesbians, bisexuals, trans, non-binaries and everything in between, making it totally LGBTQ-friendly. Live performances run the gamut of the spectrum. People you probably won’t find in attendance? Gym bunnies. White Party is not about physical fitness at all.
There are themed days (and nights) where all white clothing may not be appropriate (but at least one white outfit is a must). And there are plenty of shopping options to buy outfits in Palm Springs – GayMart, Bear Wear, and plenty of other shops, all clustered on East Arenas Rd.
Go with friends or make new friends at the events. Everyone is ready to meet new people of any gender identity or sexual orientation. All attendees just want to celebrate their gayness and everyone else’s in a fun and casual environment.
Speaking of Nightlife
There is no better place in the county that offers a more exciting nightlife of clubs and bars than Palm Springs gay options. Let’s have a look at a bunch of these.
BlackBook
Blackbook is a laid-back bar on East Arenas Rd. famous for it craft cocktails. And their food is dubbed “American comfort.” This Palm Springs bar made it in the list of the top 15 local bars in America by Entrepreneur Magazine and named the best restaurant in Palm Springs.
The name Blackbook was chosen because Nevada’s Gaming Commission has a blackbook of people who are excluded from all of their casinos. And that’s how the LGBTQ community often feels in many places all over the country. But no one is excluded at this Palm Springs spot – It is a welcoming atmosphere of everyone – gay, straight, or whatever.
The kitchen is small, but it serves up some of the best food there is in the Arenas district and greater Palm Springs. Some specialties include burgers and Nashville hot chicken, along with Palm Springs Style nachos. Another plus? There are vegan options. A visitor to Palm Springs might want to check out their website for more details.
Hours are noon til 1 am six days a week and til 11 pm on Sundays. (Note: the kitchen closes one hour before closing time).
Alice B
Chefs Susan Feniger and Mary Sue Milliken founded this bar inside the lobby of Living Out – a luxury senior LGBTQ+ community living space. It is located near downtown Palm Springs in a building that sports the iconic architecture of traditional greater Palm Springs – an iconic gay bar for an iconic city.
The restaurant is named after Alice B. Tokias, long term lesbian partner of Gloria Steinman.
Entertainment is in the form of a piano bar with a variety of music.
Every day but Mondays, dining and bar guests are treated to an evolving menu based on what vieggies and fruits are in season, with a Mediterranean twist. There is also a bar menu of tasty offerings on a smaller scale and brunch on Saturday and Sunday. For details, visit Alice B’s website.
Here are the hours:
Wednesday, Thursday and Sunday: Bar Menu 4 – 9 pm; dinner 5 pm – 9 pm
Friday and Saturday: Bar menu 4 pm – 10 pm; Dinner 5 pm – 10 pm
Saturday & Sunday: Brunch 10 am – 2 pm
Chill Bar
This is really a misnomer because there is nothing “chill” about this bar. Among gay bars in Palm Springs, there is something going on seven days a week, from drag bingo, go-go dancers, and male statues for picture moments. When the LGBTQ community wants to let loose, dance on the weekends, or just be whoever they want to be on any night. Monday night happy hours are a bit legendary because they are the cheapest in greater Palm Springs and certainly in the Arenas district. For more event details, visit the bar’s website.
Dicks
While this bar bills itself as an inviting atmosphere for the entire LGBTQ community, it is clearly for gay men, given the events and the atmosphere of the place and once the website is accessed. But don’t let that hold you back if you want an evening of raucous fun. As the owner says, bars were a safe space for the gay community when other places were not.
At Dick’s there are no pretentions and no judgement. From DJs with names like Thuckboi, clearly off-color dance parties and shows, and no dress code. In the words of the owner, Dick’s offers you a dickstraction from your day.
Get more details on the website.
Hunters
Hunters is considered a fixture bar Palm Springs having been in the Arenas District of more than 20 years. There’s always a lot going on, including the longest happy around on Fridays. It is definitely not a chill vibe. It’s packed all the time with dance parties, DJs, drag shows, and karaoke. More recently, it has been the scene of bachelorette parties – mixed feelings or not, everyone is welcome. On wildly popular event is Sunday Funday – a retro dance party under a glittering disco ball.
For more details on events check out their Facebook page.
One Eleven Bar
Another lively spot this time on Palm Canyon Drive with a view of San Jacinto Mountains to boot. But what goes on inside is nothing like the calm vibe that the mountains project. Here is a loud and raucous place with live entertainment every night, drag shows every weekend, drag brunches on Sundays, karaoke on Tuesdays, and drag bingo every other Saturday. It is not unusual for celebrities from RuPaul Drag Race to show up at Sunday brunches.
One Eleven opens up at 2 pm every day. Happy hour is 2 – 7pm, and then the “party” is on until close. If you want to know more about the LGBTQ events at this gay bar, check out its website.
Street Bar (Streetbar)
Streetbar is a lively but cozy bar with lots of entertainment, also known for its bartenders who make reasonably-priced drinks to write home about. Patrons can sip cocktails during an extended happy hour while they wait for the main events of each night. It’s also a favorite spot for the older Palm Springs gay crowd. But it’s got plenty of attractions for the younger gay crowd too, since 1991.
Friendliest gay bar in Palm Springs CA. Great entertainment. The valley’s best bartenders and drinks. Arenas Road, Karaoke, Smoking Patio, Extended Happy Hour, Daily Top Shelf Specials, A Desert Tradition since 1991. The bar features live entertainment and karaoke. There are themed nights, and Streetbar is open 7 days. There’s an outdoor patio for smokers, but the ambiance there is great for non-smokers too.
So popular is Streetbar that is was named the Grand Marshal of the Palm Springs Pride Parade in 2021.
Try this website for more detailed info.
Quadz
Most people have been to a sports bar. If not, they know what they are. Sports fans gather and watch a variety of sporting events on multiple large-screen TVs. Now, think the equivalent of that for film and TV shows. You have Quadz. It’s primarily for gay men who love to sing along to popular show tunes and watch gay films and TV moments. There are film festivals that are announced – film festivals that should not be missed. Other than that, they also host karaoke nights and other weekly events. Follow them on Instagram to get all the latest.
Obviously, the world of Palm Springs nightlife offers a way for the entire LGBTQ population to celebrate .
When You Need a Break from the Gay Bars in Palm Springs
Sometimes, you may need a respite from the world of gay nightlife in Palm Springs – the drag shows, the go go dancers, the year-round events that celebrate the LGBTA+ community, a different club every night, performances, parties, drink, and all of the general revelry that goes along with the club lifestyle in the city of Palm Springs. The LGBTQ+ community in this city is amazing, as all visitors, their friends, and locals will confirm, but celebrating that community 365 days or during an entire gaycation, with revelry and drink, can just be too much. When it’s time for a break, here are some options that you should consider to get yourself out of that environment if only for a short while:
Downtown Palm Springs – Uptown Design District
While Palm Springs is full of LGBTQ-friendly venues, given the makeup of the population, there are many places that are not focused on their nightlife. One of these is the uptown design district. It’s on North Palm Canyon Drive – trendy galleries, restaurants, and small shops. It’s a great area to eat and browse – you could easily spend a whole day and evening there, if not a couple.
Joshua Tree National Park
It’s only about an hour’s drive from Palm Springs, and it is an amazing combination of desert ecosystems. Warm sands, sunny dunes and amazing views will just feed your soul as you recuperate from the partying. And if you need more of the peace and warm sands, there is a beautiful resort in the park.
Tahquitz Canyon
If you’re a person who needs to recuperate with some physical exercise, but not too rigorous, then a walk in nature just might be the perfect spot for you. Located at the base of the San Jacinto Mountains, it is on a section of the Agua Caliente Indian Reservation that is open to the public. There is a visitor center at the beginning of a looping two-mile walking trail that will take you to an amazing waterfall and back. Better than visiting the gym for sure.
Palm Springs – A Wonderful and Unique Place
The world of Palm Springs is like no other. Natives and visitors alike have reason to celebrate their identities and orientations in a welcoming environment of diversity, equality, and inclusion. And they celebrate each other too. What could be better?
Explore Palm Springs via Taimi
If you want an insider’s look at Palm Springs, then join Taimi, the largest LGBTQIA+ dating service in the world. Download the Taimi app from the website and look for social groups related to Palm Springs. You’ll find natives who can recommend hotels and night spots or who might be willing to be your personal guide (or more).
Want to celebrate Pride in Greater Palm Springs? Check out these events, bars, and nightlife options want to celebrate pride in greater palm springs? check out these events, bars, and nightlife optionshere!
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