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When is snowbird season in the Coachella Valley?
There is no official start date, but most part-time residents arrive between October and December and leave between March and May. The weather sets the calendar. At the Palm Springs weather station, the 30-year average high is under 81°F from November through March, then climbs fast: about 94°F in May and close to 108°F in July and August (NOAA 1991–2020 normals).
| Month | Average high | Days at 100°F or more | What it means for a season home |
|---|---|---|---|
| October | 91°F | about 6 | Early arrivals; houses are opened and furnished |
| November to March | 69–80°F | almost none | The season itself; most homes are lived in |
| April | 88°F | about 2 | Departures begin |
| May | 94°F | about 10 | Last departures; homes are closed up |
| June to September | 102–108°F | 22 to 30 a month | Closed houses, summer remodels, monsoon storms |
How many homes are part-time, town by town
The Census Bureau counts homes that are empty because their owners live elsewhere for part of the year. In the latest five-year survey (2020–2024), that share is far higher in the golf-club towns than in the rest of the valley:
- Indian Wells: about 44% of all homes
- Rancho Mirage: about 35%
- La Quinta, Palm Desert and Palm Springs: 27–28% each
- Cathedral City and Indio: about 11–13%
These are survey estimates with a margin of error (Census table B25004), but the pattern is clear. In Rancho Mirage and Indian Wells, about one house in three or more sits empty for part of the year, and many moves there follow the season rather than a sale. The same is true across large parts of La Quinta, Palm Desert and Palm Springs.
Moving into a gated or country-club community
Much of the valley's season housing sits behind a guard gate, and each association writes its own rules. They differ, so read yours before you pick a date. These are the requests that come up most often:
- A name on the gate list. The guard needs the company name and the date, or the truck waits at the entrance while someone tries to reach you. When you book, we ask for the gate details for the same reason.
- Vendor hours. Many communities treat movers like any other contractor. One La Quinta gated community, for example, posts vendor hours of 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. on weekdays, allows only interior work and deliveries on Saturday, and admits no vendors on Sunday. Rules like that turn a weekend move into a weekday one.
- Vendor registration or passes. Some gates issue a day pass at check-in; others want the company registered in advance.
- Proof of insurance. An association may ask the moving company for a certificate of insurance before move day, sometimes naming the association. Send the request to us early, along with the exact wording they want.
- Truck size and parking. Narrow club streets, cul-de-sacs and shared driveways can limit where a large truck may stand. We look at this during the estimate.
- Condos and shared buildings. Expect a reserved elevator or loading time and padding for shared hallways.
If you are looking for a moving company in Rancho Mirage, where guard-gated clubs such as Thunderbird and Mission Hills hold a large share of the homes, ask the management office for its move rules in writing and forward them to us before the estimate.
Furnishing a second home
Furnishing a season home is rarely one tidy move. People tell us about a few pieces coming from the main house, new furniture arriving from several stores on different days, and a bed or two from family. A few things make it easier:
- Move what matters from home, buy the rest here. If your main home is out of state, the long haul is priced by weight and distance, so it pays to choose carefully. See long-distance moving.
- Line up deliveries before you arrive. If you will not be in town when new furniture is ready, ask us whether it can come to our Indio warehouse first, so our crew can bring it to the house and set it up when you are there.
- Plan the unpacking. Beds, dining tables and large pieces can be put together in place and the cartons emptied, so the house works on the first night. See packing and unpacking.
Closing up the house for the summer
A house left empty from May to October sits through the valley's hardest months. Spring and early summer bring strong winds and windblown dust; regional air-quality officials issued several dust advisories for the Coachella Valley in April, May and June 2026 alone. Then comes the Southwest monsoon, which the National Weather Service dates June 15 to September 30, bringing thunderstorms, gusts and blowing dust in some summers. Before you leave:
- Clear the patio. Wind and monsoon gusts can throw cushions, umbrellas and light chairs. Bring them inside or have them collected for the summer; it is one of the things owners ask us about before they leave.
- Close and latch every window and door, and cover upholstered furniture with sheets. Fine dust gets in anyway.
- Get rid of what you will not want in the fall. An old mattress or a worn sofa is cheaper to haul away now than to store or move later.
- Decide who holds a key. A neighbor, a home-watch service or a family member who can let in a crew, a contractor or the gate guard while you are away.
- Plan any remodel now. Summer is when many owners renovate, because nobody is living in the house. Furniture has to come out of the rooms being worked on and go somewhere safe until the work is done.
Storing furniture between seasons
Some owners empty part of the house for the summer: a remodel, a home being sold, a rental, or simply less in the house while it stands empty. Our full-service storage works like this. Our crew comes to the house, wraps the furniture, and takes it to our warehouse in Indio, about 13 miles from Rancho Mirage, where it is sealed in wooden vaults about 7½ by 6½ by 5½ feet. You do not drive anything anywhere. When you are coming back, call ahead and we schedule delivery to the house. Read more about household vault storage.
If you also leave a car behind for the summer, our car storage page explains how indoor, covered storage for vehicles works.
Booking around the season
The weeks when the season opens and closes are the crowded ones. Many owners want their furniture picked up in the same few spring weeks, and associations only allow moves in set hours. A few habits help:
- Call before you set your travel date, not after, so the pickup lands while you are still in town.
- Get the estimate in person or on video. California requires a written estimate before a household move, and you will have ours before anything is booked. For how local moves are priced, see what movers cost in the Coachella Valley.
- Tell us at the estimate who will be there on pickup or delivery day if you will not be.
- Leaving the desert for good? Part-time residents selling a valley home often ask about moving furniture back to a home state. As an agent for Wheaton World Wide Moving, we handle those moves too.
Desert Moving has been a family-owned company in the valley since 1987, working from Indio and serving Indio, Cathedral City and every town in between. When you are ready, request a quote.
Questions snowbirds ask
When is snowbird season in Palm Springs and the Coachella Valley?
Roughly October or November through April or May. It follows the weather: average highs at Palm Springs stay under 81°F from November to March, reach about 94°F in May and near 108°F in July and August, so most part-time residents leave by late spring and return in the fall.
When do snowbirds leave Palm Springs?
Most leave between March and May, as average highs climb from the 80s into the 90s. May is usually the last month to close up comfortably; at Palm Springs it averages about ten days at 100°F or more, and June averages more than twenty.
Can movers store my furniture over the summer and bring it back?
Yes. Our crew collects and wraps the furniture, seals it in wooden vaults at our Indio warehouse, and delivers it back when you call ahead. Owners use this for summer remodels, homes being sold, or simply an emptier house while it stands closed.
Do I need to be in town on moving day?
Not always. Many season-home owners are away when the move happens. Tell us at the estimate who will open the house and sign off for you, whether that is a neighbor, family member or home-watch service, and we plan the day around that person.
Can movers work in a gated community on weekends?
It depends on the association. Many limit vendor and contractor access to weekday hours, and some allow no vendors on Sunday at all. Ask your management office for its move rules in writing before you choose a date, and send them to us with any insurance certificate request.
Should I empty my second home before summer?
Not necessarily. Many owners leave the house furnished. Clear the patio, cover upholstery, latch the windows against dust, and take out only what you are replacing, what a remodel will disturb, or what you want kept out of an empty house until fall.
