[9] Rancho Mirage is home to a number of celebrities past and present including Don Sutton, Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Bing Crosby, Sammy Davis Jr., Lucille Ball, Bob Hope, Billie Dove and Gerald and Betty Ford.

Along with Don Cameron, the two began offering property here advertised as “fifteen minutes from Palm Springs, CA.” They were able to attract actor Frank Morgan, among others, until the onset of World War II brought development to an end once again.

He described it as “the most wind free area I could find in the desert.” Two years later, in 1946, Henry L. Gogerty established an airstrip here and later launched the Desert Air Hotel and Airpark.

Several U.S. Presidents vacationed at the Annenberg estate, including Richard Nixon, Ronald Reagan, Gerald Ford, and Barack Obama.

In 2008 the tribal board completed the expansion of the Agua Caliente resort, which includes a 16-story hotel and spa, as well as remodeling the casino and expanding the parking structures.

Rancho Mirage has expanded its economy from one based on seasonal, resort-based golfing and rentals, to include light industry and commerce near the I-10 and high-end retail centers like The River shopping complex on Highway 111 and Bob Hope Drive.

[citation needed] A new residential development for senior citizens by Pulte Homes, Inc., known as Del Webb Rancho Mirage, will open in the year 2020.

While President George H. W. Bush had an official summit here with Japanese Prime Minister Toshiki Kaifu in 1990, Queen Elizabeth II of Britain visited in 1980.

[40] Thunderbird Country Club has hosted presidents such as John F. Kennedy, Lyndon B. Johnson, Richard Nixon, Gerald Ford, George H.W.

Whitewater River (Agua Blanco), a perennial stream, flows through the city in a southeasterly direction before discharging into the Salton Sea.

[55][56] Bing Crosby established the Blue Skies Village Mobile Home Park in 1953 and named its streets after celebrities such as Burns and Allen, Jack Benny, Greer Garson, Claudette Colbert, and Barbara Stanwyck.

Some bird species, including the White-crowned sparrow and Ruby-crowned kinglet, spend winters in the Coachella Valley before flying to colder climates during the hot summer months.

High mountain ranges on three sides and a south-sloping valley floor all contribute to its unique and year-round warm climate, with the warmest winters in the western United States.

Entertainers at the venue have included Blue Öyster Cult, Rodney Atkins, Thompson Square, Pam Tillis, Pablo Cruise, Thelma Houston, Roberta Gambarini, Maxine Nightingale, Diane Schuur, and Mickey Thomas.

[109][110][111] The desert botanical gardens opened to the public in 2012 and have a 1.25-mile (2 km) walking path with 70 species of arid plants surrounded by views of Mount San Jacinto.

The botanical gardens were designed by architect James Burnett using Vincent van Gogh’s artwork series Olive Trees as his inspiration.

It has cantilevered rooflines, open floor plans, walnut walls, and an exterior of corrugated aluminum and natural rock.

[114][115][116] Another structure known for its mid-century modern architecture, the 1962 Samuel and Luella Maslon House designed by architect Richard Neutra, was demolished in 2002.

As of 2021, there are 72 structures listed on the Rancho Mirage Register of Historic Places, including celebrity homes previously owned by Kaye Ballard, Red Skelton, and Gummo Marx.

The city's oldest house, the 1934 Casa Chiquita (Ranchito Chiquito) was the first structure added to the register when designated a historic site on June 1, 2003.

[22][118][119] The Club at Morningside and Sunnylands were added to the city's Register of Historic Places due to President George H. W. Bush's official summit with Prime Minister Toshiki Kaifu in Rancho Mirage on March 2–3 in 1990.

[122] The Dinah Shore Golf Classic is held in Rancho Mirage every March and draws an estimated 15,000 lesbian visitors to the area.

[126][127] City officials in Rancho Mirage have worked with the U.S. Bureau of Land Management to further expand and improve desert trail networks.

[129] Parts of the city lie within the Santa Rosa and San Jacinto Mountains National Monument, which makes up 280,071 acres and borders Rancho Mirage in the southwest.

It is home to wildlife such as the Peninsular bighorn sheep, Coyote, Bobcat, Gray fox, Prairie falcon, Golden eagle, Gambel's quail, and Mourning dove.

The ecological reserve is located in Magnesia Springs Canyon and is an important habitat site for sensitive species such as the Peninsular Bighorn Sheep, Bell's Vireo, Southwestern Willow Flycatcher, and the Prairie Falcon.

This trail leads to a variety of oases and waterfalls in the Santa Rosa Mountains and is closed from January 1 to September 30 in order to protect the native Peninsular bighorn sheep.

Rancho Mirage Mountain Reserve, which is approximately two square miles (5,182 acres), was established to provide habitat for the Peninsular Bighorn Sheep.

[145] Rancho Mirage City Hall is located at the intersection of California State Route 111 and Frank Sinatra Dr.

At least two novels, Love Child by Andrew Neiderman (1986) and Generation X: Tales for an Accelerated Culture by Douglas Coupland (1991), are set in Rancho Mirage.