Top of the Tram

Awesome.
A trip up the San Jancinto peak in a rotating cable car… it’s as much fun as it sounds.
I liked everything about this, from the friendly staff, funny running spontaneous commentary on the way up, the rotating of the huge cable car (a bit disconcerting at first)
Once at the top… well, 7″ of fresh snow had fallen and the only disappointment I had is I hadn’t brought any hiking boots or clothes or I would have been off on one of those trails… simply stunning and a must if you’re in Palm Springs.

I am happy to report that my most recent trip to the top of the tram was a vast departure from my previous visits. My wife and I hiked to Wellman’s Divide (if you haven’t been there, go – the view is the best on the mountain, in my opinion), then stopped by the bar after our hike. On this visit, Frank the bartender showed that he recognized, me, and even remembered that I drink gin. He even referred to me as a regular on a couple of occasions! Now that’s what I’m talking about!
I didn’t really have any conversations with the other bartender, Vanessa, but she was smiling, and seemed pleasant.
If this level of customer service continues, the Top of the Tram might find themselves with a 5-​star rating. We’re looking forward to returning, hopefully this weekend.

I’m such a sucker for romance.
I swear, a sunset and a bottle (yes, I said BOTTLE, darn it… not a glass, …stop judging my fantasy!!!) of Cab– or Pinot are the perfect combination for me. So… if you’re traveling from out of town (let alone, out of the state or the country) upon driving ALLLLL the way out to Palm Springs, I’d without a doubt make this place your first… if not last stop off.
«Tramway Road» is located just within the town’s city limits and sits just across from a fairly new neighborhood of nice track homes that I believe are called «Mountain Gate» — don’t quote me on that however.
This in mind, the drive up to board the tram altogether is breathtaking as you ascend at about a 6% incline while traveling parallel to the city. There are biking trails that traverse up this way and SEVERAL places to pull over, park and just …“be”.
Referencing the tram ride itself however, as I’ve mentioned before, having resided out this way previously for a number of years, I’m by no means a stranger to Palm Springs. The town, as a whole serves as a definite getaway to the hustle and bustle of any larger metropolis, yet the «top of the tram» is seemingly… a getaway from, well… «your getaway», lol.
As someone else referenced, the cool thing about Southern Cali’ is its topography, aesthetics and overall climate. Where else can you spend a winter day… at the beach followed by sand duning through the desert that very same night?
The tram, which I concur, could definitely benefit from a bit of a facelift, ideally serves as an absolute way to knock down that bucket list just a bit. While I’m uncertain of the tram’s age let alone capacity, I’ve personally beared witness to it encompassing a good 15 – 25 decently sized adults and children, from top to bottom and well, considering there are no documented fatalities, that as I see it, speaks favorably.
The ride from bottom to top (and vice versa) takes no longer than 15 minutes total and the tram oscillates the entire duration of your ride enabling everyone to undergo a 360 degree panoramic view ensuring exceptional photos. For the faint at heart, take a note that every thousand feet or so, the tram must realign; the result is a 2 – 3 second unanticipated drop that’s guaranteed to serve as a conversation starter.
I do however suggest the tram, itself as a multi-​season attraction simply because of its multifunctionality. In the dead heat of summer, temperatures can soar far above and beyond 110+ degrees, …yet it’s not uncommon for temps to be 75 – 80 degrees (with snow) at the top of the mountain (s) upon ascending the few thousand feet from start to finish.
Additionally would be the fact that as the tram rotates, you’re not only able to see breathtaking views but you’re able to undergo an actual change of seasons. From cacti and palm trees at 1,000 feet to pine trees and evergreens at 6,000, the mighty mountains are enough to keep you talking for days at a time. Yet, and I simply MUST INTERJECT, once you’ve completed your climb and made it to the top…
THE TOP, WHILE GOREGEOUS,…REALLY DOESNT PACK ALL THAT MUCH TO DO!
What they don’t tell you is that the «Peak» located at tram’s end, up top is a definite second home to a number of jazz artists (Anita Baker, Brian Culbertson…) and at $ 25/​ticket for the tram ride, less the price of admission for either of their performances, this place totally won a few brownie points with me and incontestably gets my seal of approval.
#datespot
Sure, there’s a restaurant serving relatively bland food (the bar, more than makes up for it), a few trails for hiking and a store selling knick knacks at absurdly marked up prices… yet I seriously can’t fathom myself, as a tourist spending longer than 2 – 3 hours up top. Loosely translated,…you come here for the experience.

[This review is for the Peaks — not the tram ride.] Your Valentine’s Day special offered a shared appetizer, choice of entrée, and dessert for $ 59.99. Sounded fine, until the bill came. Your menu did not say it was $ 59.99 *EACH* — nor did your waitstaff inform me. Since your regular entreés are priced in the twenties, and the special appetizer was «shared,» and since it was the Valentine’s Day special (which implies two people) $ 59.99 obviously appeared to be a price for two. But I didn’t ask and you didn’t tell. So you won and I lost — but is that really the lasting impression you want your ex-​customers to carry with them?

Holy cow! We’ve rode many trams/​gondolas and this one is quite spectacular! It is certainly in the running for our favorite. The tram itself is great as it is fairly large and it also rotates as it ascends/​descends so there isn’t a bad view in the place. Once up top there are breath taking views and great food options. There are several points where you can get different perspectives of the surrounding views. Amazing stop! This along with a trip to the Palm Springs Living Desert Zoo/​gardens makes for an awesome day in the desert!
As an update I noticed that people didn’t like the food. Our experience was much different. We had expectations for average food at the Peak but the food we got was world class. Not sure if we just came in the right day or what but eat a lot of places and we both thought the food was really good. I can’t speak to the Pines which is the cafeteria style food.

love the top. the best part of the whole tram experience. Its beautiful. And I saw squirrels, and a raven, and they were hanging out with each other. soooo cute.

One of the great things about California is that you can be in the sand and snow during the very same day. The tram was impressive, great views of the desert, palm spings, and magestic mountains. Our tram oporators were sarcastic and full of random facts… Nothing’s better than a little dry humor while being pulled two miles up in a rotating gandala.
$ 25 per ticket
Great views, gets you out and above the Palm Springs heat. There’s even a chance you’ll see snow sine the temperature is about 30 degrees cooler.

Oh, my, where shall I begin? We’ve been coming to Palm Springs for a while now, either for the tram or just to visit the town. When my sister came to visit us all the way from Romania, I thought it would be nice to take her to Palm Springs, as well, take the tram, have a nice lunch up in the restaurant (which we never did before) and just enjoy the whole experience! Well, big mistake when it came to the restaurant part!
First, I called to make reservations before we left LA! Because you never know how traffic in LA will be at any giving day, we got at the tram area by the time we were supposed to be in the restaurant. So, I immediately started to call the restaurant in order to apologize for being late and letting them know we were on our way up. I called over the course of 20 minutes and nobody answered the phone.
Finally, we got to the restaurant (my sister and my 2 little kids), we rushed towards the girl at the front desk and apologized for being late, explaining what had happened and actually telling her that I had been trying to call and let them know about the delay but nobody had answered the phone. She replied bluntly «I don’t even know where the phone is». «Ok» I told to my self, this is a bit weird but let’s just proceed. She showed us where we should sit, she didn’t even walk us towards the table nor did she handed us any menus.
The table was very inconveniently set by a door which was frequently open and closed by tourists, letting all the chilling air to revive our senses so I tried and asked her very, very nicely if she could change our table with one more in the middle of the restaurant which by the way it was not very crowded. She again answered me bluntly that they were preparing to close down part of the restaurant, more specifically the exact area I was pointing to. I didn’t insist anymore and respected her decision.
To my big surprise, a couple of minutes after this conversation she was giving people tables right in the area that was supposed to be closed.
Again, I didn’t want to make a big deal about it, I just wanted to eat, and leave.
But what to order when nobody gave us any menus? So, I went to the front desk and picked some by myself.
The lunch menu to begin with is not very abundant and full of choices so we’ve decided pretty quick but now there was no waiter in sight. All the waiters were passing by us almost as if we were invisible. And believe me, you can not get unnoticed when you have two little toddlers with you.:)
So, a good ten minutes have passed by by now at which point my empty stomach could not take it anymore so I asked one of the waiters if she had any intention in waiting our table or not. At which point she seemed confused and told me she had to check!!! I told her that while she was checking she should look for the manager, as well, as I already have had enough of this BS!!!
It seemed like «the manager» was the magic word ’cause she took our order in a second and then went to look for the manager.
The manager and some other person came and I was able to tell them all the stuff that had been happening upon our arrival. They were very nice and accommodated every single request of ours including the table issue.
The food came pretty quickly accompanied by lots of apologies and two ice creams for the kids.
All in all the food was ok but not as fancy or tasty as the website tries to imply.
Would I come back again and eat here in the near future? Less likely. Maybe when the kids will be older and the bad memories will be all erased. :)

They really need to remodel this place. This review is only for the restaurant.
I was open to the idea of eating at this restaurant after taking the tram up there, but I could not do it. As soon as I saw the dirty stained carpet with awfully outdated furnishings, I had a bad feeling. No wonder there’s no photo of the restaurant anywhere on their website. Don’t get fooled by the exterior shot that they have up because the photo doesn’t justify what’s really up there.

If it wasn’t for the view, I don’t know what the point is…
Please note, we just went to the bar and ordered drinks… The bartender seemed like he was annoyed. I would assume it is because he sees tourists all the time and knows they won’t be back.
For the price you pay for a beer and a cocktail, a smile and positive wouldn’t be too much to ask for.

This is a very cool experience! My husband and I drove here while on vacation in Anaheim as we wanted to see some sights outside of Orange County. This was our first visit to Palm Springs.
We enjoyed riding the tram as it rotates so you are able to see out on all sides as you make your ascent. On the way up, you also pass through different climate zones with changing plants and animals. The tram ride only takes 10 minutes each way. The temperature is a pleasant 15 – 20 degrees cooler at the top, which is refreshing in summer. There are nice, short trails you can follow to see other views. We were able to get some great photos of Palm Springs.
This is a must-​do if you are visiting Palm Springs!

We have been coming to Palm Springs for years and never have we done the Tram thing. I am so happy we did it this year :)
The tram is great. The views from going up to the mountian until you get to the top of it are amazing. We decided to have dinner at the sit down part of the resturant at the top of the mountain. It looked a little «ify» at first– even though they had a great view I just thought we were going to pay for an overpriced meal that wasnt going to be very good. I got more scared when I had their bread, but Wow was I wrong about the rest of the meal. The food was fantastic! I got the Pork Chop and the meat was so tender and yummy. Everyone elses food was great too. The wine was also very good.
The view with the resturant and the atmosphere was worth it :)

Restaurant review: not the cafeteria but the actual sit down restaurant.
After our guided hike with our passionate volunteer’s Sharon and George we were ready to relax with a glass of wine and lunch at The Peak.
Today was my 3^rd time here and THANK GOODNESS their sandwiches for lunch have not changed because I LOVE them! The bread is so deeeelightful!
Wines as usual, well chosen. I really enjoyed the New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc! Wonderful!
My Husband and I split the Greek Salad with Oregano vinaigrette and i thought it was very lively and exciting — love that dressing. — and the chicken sandwich (forgot the name) with bacon and aioli and I believe pesto was on this very wonderful sandwich too– yummmm!
I’ve loved this place since the first time and always look forward to going back! I REALLY enjoyed lunch today– and Jana our server was just perfect!
:)

Beautiful view. But too many people inside the tram, not a good thing if your scared of heights. Do not eat at there food is gross.

I loved this experience! a must if you are visiting Palm Springs! beautiful view from the top… very expensive though, so dont go up there starving and end up paying high prices for cafeteria style food… I didn’t try it so i can’t say the food is worth the cost. But I would much rather eat in downtown then head up here on the tram for fun! But they do offer a dining experience, which seemed pretty cool. eh. OVERALL GOTTA EXPERIENCE THIS! :D

Wht a terrible restauarant… that serves dogmeat. I have never walked out on a meal because I thought it was unhealthy. I DID HERE. Tram ride is great but pack a lunch.

We took the tram up to the top of the mountain. We knew there was a restaurant and planned to have lunch there. We didn’t make resrvations so we had to wait. It was only about 15 minutes and we walked around and took in the view. When we were done looking at the view from the observation decks our table was ready. We had a fantastic view and some drinks while we looked at the menu. I was a little bummed that the draft lines were messed up and had to drink wine oh boo hoo.
The menu was much cheaper than we had expected. We had great lunches and excellent service. It was good food and not all expensive. I loved the whole experience. It isn’t 4 star but it was not a dump! The cafeteria looked passable, It is probably fine.

I wonder if the previous reviewers went to the real restaurant or just the cafeteria. We went up for lunch with our preschooler and had a very nice lunch at an entirely reasonable price especially given the location. (Everything, including water, has to come up by tram).
I had the tri-​tip salad ($ 11), husband had a half wrap sandwich and soup ($ 12), and the kid had a generous serving of chicken strips and a bowl of fruit ($ 6).
While the view was spectacular and the restaurant very decent, we were disappointed in a few respects. The maps given on the tram were not at all helpful and we didn’t discover that some services (including the «Adventure Hut» where we thought we would rent/​buy outdoor equipment) were closed until we were at the top.
So bring all your gear with you knowing you can eat at the restaurant.

if you take the tram up san jacinto, don’t forget to pack a lunch! you will be plenty mad at yourself if you forget and are forced to eat at this place, plus it’s over-​priced.
the views of the desert are beautiful from up here though, so its worth your time if you’re in the desert.