The Tram Reopens Monday, and This Fall Its Best Hours Fall on Weekends

How many times will you ride the tram between now and New Year's, and on which days? The second half of that question matters more than usual this fall. The Palm Springs Aerial Tramway reopens Monday, October 5, at 10:00 a.m. after its four-week maintenance closure. Under the winter schedule that starts the same day, the weekday and weekend versions of the mountain differ more than most people expect.

Trams run until the same time every evening. The difference sits entirely in the morning, and starting October 16 that is also when the road crews show up.

What Four Weeks of Maintenance Bought

The last ride before the closure was Monday, September 7, and the shutdown ran from September 8 through October 4. The Tramway's September 1 announcement set out a work list longer than a tune-up: repainting the tramcar cabin interiors, rebuilding the carriage that supports Cabin 2, annual testing for the state permit, and the yearly controls-system service by Switzerland-based technicians.

The schedule that comes with it, published as winter hours, runs from October 5, 2026, through May 27, 2027. Anything you set up around the weekend 8:00 a.m. car this month can keep working into late spring.

Two Extra Morning Hours, and No Crews on Weekends

Caltrans begins construction on a $3.2 million pavement preservation project on State Route 111 on Friday, October 16. The project runs from Interstate 10 to a point 0.4 miles west of Tramway Road, which covers the stretch that carries traffic from the interstate toward the Tramway Road turnoff. The work involves resurfacing with precoated aggregate, an asphalt rubber binder, and new stripe tape, paid for through Senate Bill 1.

Crews work Monday through Friday from 7:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Drivers should expect single-lane closures and reduced speeds, with one lane kept open in each direction at all times. The California Highway Patrol will be on site, and Caltrans expects to finish by the end of 2026, depending on weather and materials.

Put the weekday schedules side by side. On a weekday, tram parking opens at 9:00 a.m. and the first car leaves at 10:00, so any weekday ride that starts in the morning or early afternoon happens while crews are working. On weekends the crews are off, parking opens at 7:00 a.m., and the first car goes up at 8:00. A weekend visit that starts early can be back down before most weekday arrivals have parked.

Weekday evenings are still easy. Crews stop at 4:00 p.m. and the last tram goes up at 8:00 p.m., which leaves four hours of weekday riding with no construction on the approach. That window lines up with dinner at Peaks Restaurant, where the last seating is 7:45 p.m. Sunday through Thursday and 8:45 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays. Reservations are recommended. To sign up for Caltrans schedule updates, go to the City of Palm Springs road closure page.

The Fall Calendar Lands on Saturdays

The scheduled events at and around the tram this season fall almost entirely on weekends:

1. Modernism Week, October 15–18. The four-day fall festival includes Modernism Week's first tour of the Palm Springs Aerial Tramway that the organization has produced itself. It covers the work of Albert Frey, who designed the Valley Station, and E. Stewart Williams, who designed the Mountain Station. The Palm Springs Modernism Fall Show runs October 17–18 at the Palm Springs Convention Center, with a preview party on October 16.
2. Mt. San Jacinto summit hike, Saturday, October 24, 8:45 a.m. The Mt. San Jacinto Natural History Association lists a guided summit outing that goes up by trail and comes back on an adventure-hike route. Jack Pansegrau and Kathryn Burrows lead it.
3. AutumnFest, Saturday, November 7, 11:00 a.m.–3:00 p.m. The Tramway's second annual AutumnFest at Pines Café serves a three-course German meal, with music from the polka band Bavarian Stew. Admission includes tram fare and costs $46 for adults and $32.50 for children ages 3 to 10.

Modernism Week CEO Lisa Vossler Smith described the tram tour as part of a set of new fall offerings when the schedule came out, as reported by The Palm Springs Post:

"In addition, we are offering exciting new tours, including a first-ever Modernism Week produced tour of the famous Palm Springs Aerial Tramway."

Thursday, October 15, is the only festival day before construction begins. Friday, October 16, is both the first day of SR-111 work and the night of the Modernism Fall Show preview party. If your festival plans include a weekday drive in from the interstate, that Friday is when the lane closures and the event schedule overlap.

The Local Math: Parking Is Free, the Ticket Is Not

Palm Springs residents park free at the tram, which saves the standard $15 rate. The same applies to residents of a list of other Coachella Valley communities, including Cathedral City, Rancho Mirage, Palm Desert, Indian Wells, La Quinta and Indio. You have to show a valid photo ID with your resident address when you park. The resident offer on that page covers parking only; admission is priced separately.

For admission, as of the ticket page's October 2 update, there are two ways to pay less than the standard fare:

• Standard round trip. $36.95 adults, $33.95 seniors 65 and older, $20.95 children ages 3 to 10. Each price includes a $2 online processing fee.
• Annual pass. $167 for adults and seniors, $97 for children ages 3 to 10. At the adult round-trip price, an adult riding alone breaks even on the fifth trip.
• Mt. San Jacinto Natural History Association membership. $25 individual, $20 senior or student, $35 family. Members get 20% off tram tickets for themselves and up to four family members or friends, plus 10% off at the tram's restaurants, cafés and gift shops. On an adult round trip, 20% comes to about $7.39 per ticket, so one visit with two adults and two guests saves more than the cost of an individual membership. Ride 'n' Dine packages are not covered by the discount.

The two options suit different patterns. The annual pass pays off for one person making regular trips. The membership pays off for a household that brings visitors up the mountain a few times a season. On Ride 'n' Dine, the Tramway's dining page and ticket page list different prices: the dining page, last updated September 1, shows $41 for adults, while the October 2 ticket page shows $45 for adults and $31.50 for children. Check the current price before you book.

At the Top, Before You Pick a Trail

From the Mountain Station, a path leads down to Long Valley and the trailheads. The Tramway lists the Long Valley Discovery Trail as an easy ¾-mile loop and the Desert View Trail as a moderately strenuous 1.5-mile loop. Round Valley is a 2.5-mile route, mostly level with short climbs, that the Tramway rates moderately strenuous. Those descriptions date from the Tramway's April 2026 hiking page, so they describe the routes, not how the trails look right now.

The Tramway charges nothing for day-hiking permits, and California State Parks requires a permit to enter the wilderness. The Mount San Jacinto State Park page still shows a fire-restrictions notice dated June 17, 2026, with no end date listed. The park directs visitors to the Long Valley Ranger Station at (760) 327-0222 for current trail conditions. The station is open daily, though its hours can vary.

For a weekend start, Pines Café opens at 8:00 a.m. on Saturdays and Sundays, the same time the first tram goes up. It stays open until 9:30 p.m. on Saturday and 8:30 p.m. on Sunday. Peaks Restaurant serves lunch daily from 11:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.

One more fall tradition began before the tram reopened. The Tramway's Annual Snow Guessing Contest opened October 1 and stays open until the first measurable inch of snow falls at the Mountain Station. The first ten people who guess correctly each receive four regular admission tickets and a Tram gift.

Whether the mountain is part of your weekly routine or something you save for visiting guests, it affects how a Palm Springs home actually gets used. If you're thinking about a property where the tram, the trails and the drive up to Tramway Road matter to you, Fine Homes By Michelle can walk you through it in detail. Schedule a Private Consultation.