Cathedral City golf and Desert Hot Springs: the value courses next to Palm Springs

Cathedral City golf is where Palm Springs goes for value: Cimarron, Desert Princess, Cathedral Canyon and the Date Palm executive course, all 10 to 16 minutes from downtown Palm Springs, with early-November 2026 rates from about $45 on a weekday hot deal to $145 for a prime morning. Up the hill, Desert Hot Springs adds Mission Lakes and a 9-hole course at an RV resort.

This guide covers the Cathedral City golf courses and the two in Desert Hot Springs, the one that closed, and the condos, hotels and hot-spring RV resorts that make this corner of the valley a cheap base. Fees were seen in 2026 and change by date.

Quick facts

• Bookable: 6 courses and rotations in Cathedral City, 2 in Desert Hot Springs.
• Closest: Cimarron, 10 minutes from downtown Palm Springs.
• Biggest price swing: Cimarron Boulder, $145.49 at 8:48 AM vs $56.49 at 3:04 PM on November 3, 2026.
• Cheapest full 18 seen: Mission Lakes, $34 with cart, August 8, 2026.
• Closed: Desert Dunes in Desert Hot Springs, January 2025.
• Wind: the north side catches the most; play early.

Cathedral City golf courses compared

GolfNow hot deals add a $3.49 fee. Drive times are free-flow from downtown Palm Springs. Mission Lakes and The Sands are in Desert Hot Springs.

Cimarron: 36 holes at one address

Cimarron Golf Resort is a John Fought and Todd Schoeder design from 2000, beside a Raintree timeshare resort, booked on GolfNow or by phone.

• Boulder is the full-length course, the old Cimarron Long Course: desert mounding, rock outcrops and mountain views. It is the clearest case for afternoon golf in the valley. For November 3, 2026 the same course ran $145.49 at 8:48 AM, $90.49 at noon and $56.49 at 3:04 PM. A GolfNow hot deal in summer was $29.99 with cart on August 31, 2026.
• Pebble is an executive 18 of par 3s and short par 4s with elevated, undulating greens. GolfPass reviewers rate it 4.3 out of 5 from 1,161 reviews as a good iron-practice round with quick pace.

Pair the two for a 36-hole day, the best-value full day of Cathedral City golf. Cimarron's 2026 overseed dates were listed as TBD; it was open with tee times by November 3. See the Cimarron Boulder course guide and our Cimarron Golf Resort guide.

Desert Princess

Desert Princess is a 27-hole David Rainville course from 1985 with La Vista, El Cielo and Los Lagos nines, owned by its homeowners and sold to the public on GolfNow. It is flat, with lakes, condos along the fairways and mountain views, plus a restaurant, range and teaching pro. Carts are required.

The three nines rotate through maintenance, so ask which are in play when you book; one reviewer found only one nine open on arrival. Weekday afternoon hot deals ran about $45 cheaper than weekend mornings in early November 2026. The La Vista/El Cielo rotation is the longest at 6,816 yards. See the Desert Princess course guide.

Cathedral Canyon and Date Palm

Cathedral Canyon is a 1975 David Rainville course along the Whitewater wash, run by JC Golf inside a condo community. It is short but tight, slope 132 from the Blue tees, and among the cheapest full-length rounds in the valley in early November. Conditions reviews are mixed (3.3 out of 5 for conditions on GolfPass), a recent review said the restaurant was closed and reviewers say the range was closed. Read the latest reviews before you book.

Date Palm is a 1971 Ted Robinson Sr. executive course, par 58, inside a 55+ manufactured-home community, rated 4.5 out of 5 from 759 GolfPass reviews. It is well kept, but in season it is priced close to a full course.

Desert Hot Springs: Mission Lakes and The Sands

Mission Lakes is an older Ted Robinson course from 1971 on a hillside above Desert Hot Springs, with views across the valley and low prices. It takes public play through GolfNow and TeeOff; carts are included and there is no range. Since Desert Dunes closed, it is the only full-length public-access 18 in Desert Hot Springs, and it suits snowbirds based on the north side. See the Mission Lakes course guide.

The Sands is a Ron Garl 9-hole executive course from 1984 inside The Sands RV & Golf Resort, open to the public as well as RV guests. It is walkable and casual, and a hot-deal walking rate of $19 was seen on one date.

Closed and unclear

• Desert Dunes in Desert Hot Springs announced a permanent closure in January 2025, citing operational struggles; NBC Palm Springs reported the land would become a nature preserve.
• Status unclear, call first: the executive course at Outdoor Resort Palm Springs in Cathedral City has a GolfNow profile but no rates or tee times. Hidden Springs, Desert Crest and Caliente Springs in Desert Hot Springs appear only as map or directory listings and were not verified.

More in closed golf courses in Palm Springs.

Where to stay

At The Sands, a 2024 reviewer worked out to about $20 a night on a 31-day stay. Outdoor Resort Palm Springs owners disagree on whether its resort fee covers golf for two per lot, so ask. The DoubleTree's listings disagree on whether Desert Princess is public or members-only for hotel guests, so ask the hotel about tee times.

For winter stays, read Palm Springs snowbird rentals and Palm Springs RV resorts.

Making Cathedral City golf part of a trip

Cathedral City sits between downtown Palm Springs and Rancho Mirage, so it pairs naturally with Escena, 7 minutes from the Desert Princess condos, and with the Rancho Mirage resort courses. A cheap rotation for a Palm Springs base is Cimarron Boulder after 3 PM, Cathedral Canyon on a weekday and a Desert Princess hot deal, with one splurge round elsewhere. See cheap golf in Palm Springs, Rancho Mirage golf, the Coachella Valley golf guide and the full Palm Springs golf courses list.

Plan it on the map

Open the Palm Springs golf map to see Cathedral City golf, the Desert Hot Springs courses and the RV resorts and condos beside them. The $30 plan can turn these value rounds into a weekly rotation for a whole winter.