Monday, September 21, 2026

Question: Since 1963, visitors have beaten the Coachella Valley heat by riding the world’s largest rotating tram car from the desert floor to more than 8,500 feet up Mount San Jacinto. What is this attraction called?

Answer: The Palm Springs Aerial Tramway. Electrical engineer Francis Crocker dreamed it up in 1935 while longing to reach the mountain’s cool heights on a scorching day. It opened in 1963, and its rotating cars, added in 2000, climb Chino Canyon from the 2,643-foot Valley Station to the 8,516-foot Mountain Station.