Palm Springs Tramway
$70.00 – $110.00
Palm Springs, CA
Kit Includes
- Access to our entire Kit Materials Vault, with fun facts, multi-disciplinary project starts, worksheets, and a teaching manual
- Reserved space on our Master Explorers page
- Student tram ride (Teacher Kit includes student and teacher tram ride)
- Ticket/reservation insurance and educational planning support
Travel Guide
As a young electrical engineer, Francis Crocker’s dream began in 1935 while he was on a trip to Banning, California, with newspaper publisher Carl Barkow. Mopping his brow in the heat of the day, Crocker gazed at the still snow-capped peak of Mount San Jacinto 10,834 feet elevation and longed to “go up there where it’s nice and cool”. At that moment, “Crocker’s Folly,” as it was soon dubbed by one newspaper woman, was born – a tramway up the sheer cliffs of Chino Canyon.
Construction of the Tramway was an engineering challenge and was soon labeled the “Eighth Wonder of the World.” The superlative was earned because of the ingenious use of helicopters in erecting four of the five supporting towers. Twenty-years later, the Tramway was designated an historical civil engineering landmark.
Parking isn’t free, and food is allowed. There are a number of wonderful restaurants at the top, and that can be a very unique experience worth planning for. Since 1963, over 20 million people have traveled the 10-minute, 2.5-mile ride, which begins at the Valley Station (elevation 2,643 feet) and ends at the Mountain Station (elevation 8,516 feet). Your students will love taking the ride!
