Free & Cheap Things to Do with Kids

Explore the best free & cheap things to do with kids options for kids and families in Desert Hot Springs

Hi-Desert Nature Museum

Hi-Desert Nature Museum

Educational museum of desert ecosystems. Interactive museum detailing the flora, fauna & geological nature of the surrounding desert.

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Children's Discovery Museum of the Desert

Children's Discovery Museum of the Desert

Hands-on exhibits & toddler spaces. Sizable children's museum featuring 50-plus interactive exhibits, a giant loom & areas for toddlers.

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Get Air Trampoline Park

Get Air Trampoline Park

Visit this great place for kids and families!

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Coachella Valley Preserve - Thousand Palms Oasis Preserve

Coachella Valley Preserve - Thousand Palms Oasis Preserve

Palm-lined oasis & desert hiking. Nature reserve around a palm-filled oasis offering picnics & hikes in a desert wilderness setting.

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Covered Wagon Tours

Covered Wagon Tours

Visit this great place for kids and families!

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Desert View Conservation Area

Desert View Conservation Area

Visit this great place for kids and families!

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World Famous Crochet Museum

World Famous Crochet Museum

Unique collection of crocheted items. An eclectic assortment of crocheted animals & other creations in a converted drive-thru photo stand.

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Palm Desert Aquatic Center

Palm Desert Aquatic Center

3 pools, slides, concessions & classes. Popular aquatic center features 3 pools, slides & spray areas, plus fitness classes & concessions.

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Palm Desert Civic Center Park

Palm Desert Civic Center Park

Sports fields, concerts & public art. Palm Desert's biggest park, with tennis courts, sports fields, picnic areas, concerts & public art.

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Desert Holocaust Memorial

Desert Holocaust Memorial

Sculpture garden with educational info. Bronze sculpture garden & interpretive information commemorating Holocaust victims.

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Palm Desert Cross Hiking Trail

Palm Desert Cross Hiking Trail

Hiking destination with hilltop cross. Illuminated cross mounted on top of a hill, popular for moderate desert hikes with scenic views.

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Cap Rock

Cap Rock

Joshua trees, desert shrubs & boulders. Short trail through desert scrub dotted with Joshua & juniper trees, plus huge monzogranite rocks.

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The Living Desert Zoo and Gardens

The Living Desert Zoo and Gardens

Native species & animals since 1970. Over 1,000 acres of desert ecosystem featuring a bighorn sheep enclosure & small animal exhibits.

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Keys Ranch

Keys Ranch

Tours of a remote ranch & orchard. Ranger-led tours of a historic ranch, old schoolhouse, workshop & orchard in a remote canyon.

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Noah Purifoy Outdoor Desert Art Museum

Noah Purifoy Outdoor Desert Art Museum

Found art in a rustic desert landscape. This open-air desert museum features an offbeat collection of found folk-art assemblages.

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Noah Purifoy Foundation

Noah Purifoy Foundation

Visit this great place for kids and families!

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Santa Rosa and San Jacinto Mountains National Monument Visitor Center

Santa Rosa and San Jacinto Mountains National Monument Visitor Center

Visit this great place for kids and families!

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Barker Dam

Barker Dam

Historic reservoir along nature trail. Small lake reservoir built by ranchers in early 1900s to store water; part of a 1.5-mi. loop trail.

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Coachella Valley Vista Point

Coachella Valley Vista Point

Panoramic roadside desert overlook. Observation point off of Highway 74 offering scenic views of the surrounding desert landscape.

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Indian Cove Boy Scout Trail

Indian Cove Boy Scout Trail

Hiking area with rock formations. Secluded hiking area with a large campground, surrounded by rock formations popular with climbers.

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La Quinta Museum

La Quinta Museum

Local history & cultural arts exhibits. Museum with local history & cultural arts exhibits, including dioramas & old photos, plus a shop.

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Miles Avenue Park

Miles Avenue Park

Playground with picnic & sports areas. Fenced city park with benches, shaded picnic areas, a playground & sport courts.

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Civic Center Campus

Civic Center Campus

Visit this great place for kids and families!

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Coachella Valley History Museum

Coachella Valley History Museum

Local history & a museum about dates. Complex including a restored 1909 school house, a 1930s home & a museum dedicated to the date palm.

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George S Patton Park

George S Patton Park

Visit this great place for kids and families!

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Fred Wolff Nature Preserve

Fred Wolff Nature Preserve

Visit this great place for kids and families!

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South Jackson Park

South Jackson Park

Spot with a play area, baseball & soccer. Community park featuring a playground, picnic facilities & fields for baseball & soccer.

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Split Rock Loop Trail

Split Rock Loop Trail

Scenic path in a desert boulder field. Gentle 2-mile circuit in a boulder field with picturesque rock formations & colorful desert plants.

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Knott Sky Park

Knott Sky Park

Visit this great place for kids and families!

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Dateland Park

Dateland Park

Visit this great place for kids and families!

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Joshua Tree National Park Visitor Center

Joshua Tree National Park Visitor Center

Visit this great place for kids and families!

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Oasis Of Mara Nature Trail Trailhead

Oasis Of Mara Nature Trail Trailhead

Historic desert oasis with nature trail. Spring-fed oasis & nature trail in desert terrain, the historic site of Indian & other settlement.

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Luckie Park

Luckie Park

Visit this great place for kids and families!

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Splash Park

Splash Park

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Glass Outhouse Art Gallery

Glass Outhouse Art Gallery

Visit this great place for kids and families!

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Sylvan Park

Sylvan Park

Spot for free-play, picnics & sports. Public green space with play equipment & picnic tables plus facilities for basketball & baseball.

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Kimberly Crest House & Gardens

Kimberly Crest House & Gardens

1897 mansion & renaissance-style gardens. 1897 home & sprawling renaissance-style Italian gardens, with tours available several times weekly.

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San Timoteo Nature Sanctuary

San Timoteo Nature Sanctuary

Multi-use trails amid woods & grassland. 200-acre park with hiking, biking & horseback riding trails through riparian & chaparral landscapes.

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Orange Street Alley

Orange Street Alley

Visit this great place for kids and families!

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Lincoln Memorial Shrine

Lincoln Memorial Shrine

Historic presidential monument & museum. This 1930s structure commemorates the life of Abraham Lincoln with artwork & exhibits.

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The End of The World sign

The End of The World sign

Visit this great place for kids and families!

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San Bernardino County Museum

San Bernardino County Museum

Cultural & natural-science exhibits. Educational exhibits on local culture & natural science, plus cactus gardens & a live-animal center.

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Hulda Crooks Park

Hulda Crooks Park

Park with a playground, tennis & more. 19.6-acre park featuring a playground, volleyball, tennis courts, grassy areas, restrooms & more.

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Norton Air Force Base Museum

Norton Air Force Base Museum

Air Force photos, uniforms & memorabilia. Small military museum with tours & a collection of Air Force photos, uniforms & memorabilia.

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Perris Hill Park

Perris Hill Park

Baseball, picnic areas & playgrounds. Park for baseball, tennis, swimming, picnicking & grilling plus Roosevelt Bowl stadium.

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Fiesta Village Family Fun Park

Fiesta Village Family Fun Park

Amusement center with varied attractions. Family amusement center featuring go-karts, laser tag, carnival rides & arcade games.

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INLAND EMPIRE MILITARY MUSEUM

INLAND EMPIRE MILITARY MUSEUM

Small army memorabilia museum. Small army museum with a collection of military artifacts & uniforms from the civil war, WWI & WWII.

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Cal Fire Museum

Cal Fire Museum

Visit this great place for kids and families!

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Galleta Meadows

Galleta Meadows

Ricardo Breceda's giant metal sculptures. Sprawling desert sculpture park with massive metal "Sky Art" creatures by artist Ricardo Breceda.

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San Bernardino History and Railroad Museum

San Bernardino History and Railroad Museum

Exhibits on trains & local history. Set in an 1918 train depot, this museum showcases artifacts dedicated to railroad & local history.

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World's Largest Paper Cup

World's Largest Paper Cup

Visit this great place for kids and families!

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Hunter Hobby Park

Hunter Hobby Park

City park with mini steam-train rides. Green space with softball fields, picnic tables, grills & free mini steam-train rides twice a month.

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Blair Park

Blair Park

Outdoor area for sports & picnics. Recreation space with 2 baseball diamonds & 3 tennis courts, plus picnic tables & playgrounds.

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Robert and Frances Fullerton Museum of Art (RAFFMA)

Robert and Frances Fullerton Museum of Art (RAFFMA)

Ceramics & ancient Egyptian artifacts. Diverse mix of ancient & contemporary art, with a special focus on ceramics & Egyptian relics.

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