Palm Springs Aerial Tramway receives first visitors after months-long closure

The Palm Springs Aerial Tramway is back open after being closed since mid-March. The tourist attraction reopened on Friday, along with new safety measures in place.

"We’ve been very pleased to see how all our planning has worked to produce a very smooth reopening. We started planning the day we closed, on March 13," said Palm Springs Aerial Tramway Vice President of Marketing and Public Affairs, Greg Purdy.

The tramway opened on Friday, but with a new schedule and very specific limitations.

"It’s beautiful, it’s so worth coming up here," said Maryland resident, Mary Katherine Theis.

The attraction will now be open from Friday to Monday. The first tram car leaves at 8 a.m. and the last returns at 6 p.m.

"We came to visit the tram and share all our childhood memories," said former Palm Springs resident, Veronica Stahl Dietz.

Dietz came to the desert from Texas to visit family.

The tramway is now only allowing a maximum of 12 people on individual car rides. It previously was able to hold a capacity of 80 people, but changed since the pandemic.

"All I had to do was decide to put on jeans for this trip because I knew it was going to be about 30 degrees cooler and I’m glad I did," said Maryland resident, Joe Theis.

Monday's temperatures were mild and sunny, creating optimal conditions for visitors. Aside from the usual crowded attraction, there was noticeably a quieter atmosphere for visitors.

"It’s a good experience because there’s not as many people so we’re just using our masks and hand sanitizer," said Dietz.

Tram officials will now implement more safety measures such as taking temperatures upon entry and sanitizing cars in between rides.

"There’s plastic between us and the ticket agents. Wherever we can create a protective barrier and the tram car is a perfect example. We’ve also enclosed the cab where the driver is and between each trip we sanitize with this electrostatic cleaner which airlines use, and then we wipe everything down with a hospital grade disinfectant," said Purdy.

Tram car rides are also slightly slowing down to keep up with the sanitation

"One of the things we've done to facilitate the sanitation is to reduce the frequency of our car trips. We can go every 10 minutes but in order to buy time to clean between, we have moved that to every 20 minutes," Purdy said.

Visitors can expect not only the scenic views, but an abundance of signage to remind visitors to stay socially distanced.

"The social distancing couldn't’ get any much better than up here," said Maryland resident Joe Thies.

The gift shop remains open as well as the theatre, but with limited seating.

"Then of course 50 miles of hiking trails which have reopened," said Purdy.

Guests can grab packaged food and drinks at Pine's Cafe. Peak's Restaurant remains closed due to renovations.

"I think the tram ride up was pretty spectacular, just all the views and vistas and seeing the mountain," said Utah visitor, Seth Sorensen.

Visitors will now need to make reservations in advance. They can start as early as 2 weeks ahead of time.