Palm Springs

Palm Springs is a desert city in the Coachella Valley of Southern California that has become one of the country's best-known LGBTQ+ destinations, especially popular with gay men, lesbians, and older queer residents and travelers. Its warm climate, mid-century modern architecture, and relative affordability drew a large LGBTQ+ community over decades, supported by events such as Modernism Week and Greater Palm Springs Pride. The city also became a landmark for queer political representation. Ron Oden was elected the first openly gay city council member in 1995 and later served as mayor, and in 2017 Palm Springs made national headlines by electing an all-LGBTQ city council, believed to be the first in the United States.