Great Shakes in Palm Springs California

Have you ever been to Great Shakes in Palm Springs California? They are the best. Bar none. Am I right?

One of the things that my cousin Gail said was not to be missed, was a milkshake from a place called Great Shakes. Great Shakes is an adorable 50s style milkshake and candy emporium on the main drag in Palm Springs, California. So of course, we had to go.

We wanted to visit Palm Springs anyway. For so many years I had read about it being The place that movie stars went to relax and play. Those of us of a certain age, know exactly who the Rat Pack was. Don’t you? Well the likes of Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Sammy Davis Jr. and Peter Lawford came to this desert oasis to enjoy the sunshine and fine dining.

But before we could drive around to check out the homes of the rich and famous, we needed sustenance. So our first priority was to stop at Great Shakes for our decadent lunch of milkshakes. Well let me tell you, these are no ordinary milkshakes. You can choose from one of their creative pairings or use your own imagination and have a custom milkshake.

Steve and I saw combos that we loved on Great Shakes’ menu. I ordered the Banana Fudge Malt and Steve had the Peanut Butter Brownie. Each milkshake comes with a long spoon inserted into the extra wide straw and through a miniature vanilla iced donut. Who says you can’t have your cake and milkshake too?!

The shakes were flavor packed and so thick and creamy. It was totally necessary to use that spoon to get those luscious bits of banana and fudge in mine and the brownie bits in Steve’s. Also the shake was so thick that it was hard to sip through the straw until about halfway though the shakes.

We enjoyed our shakes while strolling up and down the main boulevard. We even saw a statue of the late Sonny Bono who was once Mayor of Palm Springs. But it was those milkshakes that I can’t get out of my head. Those milkshakes from Great Shakes in Palm Springs California were the absolute best we have ever had!

By the time we got back in the Jeep to check out the rest of Palm Springs, we were stuffed. Hard to believe how filling a milkshake could be.

The well manicured landscaping made the residential areas of Palm Springs so gorgeous. Of course, there was also the absurd there too. We came upon a property that looked like it was a perpetual holiday display. There were so many oddities that we couldn’t stop staring. So we got out of the car and took some pix. Honestly we couldn’t see the house for the decorations. There was everything from Christmas items to the Transformers!

There were other homes that seemed to sprawl across the lawn. And then there it was. Frank Sinatra’s Palm Springs hideaway. You actually can’t see much of it because it’s behind a privacy wall. Unfortunately due to Covid it was closed to the public. It would have been so cool to actually see how “old blue eyes” lived and played.

On the ride back to Redlands Steve and I discussed how there was no way we wanted a big dinner. By 7pm we were still too full to eat. But those milkshakes were worth every single calorie!!!