The BNP Paribas Open runs two weeks each March at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden, about 12 miles east of Palm Springs on Highway 111. It's one of the largest tennis events in the world outside the Grand Slams, combining an ATP Masters 1000 and a WTA 1000, which means the full top 10 from both tours show up. 450,000-plus people attend over those two weeks.
Palm Springs works well as a base for a reason most tennis-focused guides skip: March is one of the best months in the desert, and there's enough outside the venue to build a real trip around. Mid-70s days, cool nights, full mountain views, walkable dining on Palm Canyon Drive. If you're coming from out of state and want a vacation that happens to include tennis rather than ten days of nothing but stadium seats, Palm Springs handles that better than a hotel in Indian Wells does.
Palm Springs in March. The Santa Rosa Mountains still have some snow at elevation, days run mid-70s, and the crowds from February are mostly gone. It's a good time to be here.
What the BNP Paribas Open Is
Context helps if you haven't been before. The BNP Paribas Open is a combined ATP Masters 1000 and WTA 1000 event, which makes it one of the most significant stops on both calendars outside the four Grand Slams. Players are required to compete unless injured, so the draws are genuine. Rafael Nadal won here 11 times. The Sinner-Alcaraz generation has been making it one of the most watched tournaments on tour.
The venue itself is designed well for a desert setting: shaded concourses, permanent stadium courts, and outer courts that run early-round matches at close range. Stadium 1 holds just over 16,000. The outer courts during the first week put you within feet of top-10 players with a grounds pass. That proximity is something you don't get in the upper decks of a Grand Slam.
Match days run roughly 10am to 10pm, often with multiple courts going simultaneously. Most people spend 6 to 10 hours at the venue on a full match day. That's a long time in stadium seats, even in comfortable March temperatures, and it makes what you come back to each evening matter more than it might seem when you're booking.
The Indian Wells Tennis Garden from above. The venue sits in Indian Wells between Palm Springs to the west and Indio to the east, roughly 12 miles from each city via Highway 111.
Tickets: What to Know Before You Buy
Tickets go on sale at bnpparibasopen.com. The general structure is grounds passes for outer court access and session tickets for Stadium 1 specific rounds. A few things worth knowing:
Grounds passes sell slowly early, then fast. The first week of the tournament is when grounds passes have the most value: outer courts, early rounds, top players at close range. Buy grounds passes as soon as they're on sale if you're attending the first week, not at the last minute.
Stadium 1 session tickets sell out in rounds. Quarterfinals and later are the sessions that go first, particularly for the men's draw where name recognition is highest. If you want to watch a quarterfinal or semifinal inside Stadium 1, buy those before they're gone. First-round Stadium 1 sessions rarely sell out before the tournament starts.
The smart two-week strategy. Grounds passes for most outer-court days in the first week, plus one or two Stadium 1 session tickets for a quarterfinal or later when the draws are thin enough that every court is showing a match you recognize. That combination gives you the most variety of match quality at a reasonable total spend.
Parking costs $20-40 per day in general lots. If you're attending multiple sessions from Palm Springs, rideshare along the 111 corridor avoids that and removes the outer-lot walk in afternoon heat. Post-match surges are less severe than Coachella weekend because the crowd disperses over a longer window, but plan for a 10-15 minute wait after major evening sessions.
Staying in Palm Springs: The Sundune
The Sundune is a two-bedroom Palm Springs condo with three king beds, a full kitchen, and shared pool access. It sleeps up to four and has a four-night minimum. Check dates and full totals.
The Sundune's community pool. March afternoons in Palm Springs hit mid-70s, so the pool gets used. After 8 hours in stadium seats, this is worth more than a hotel pool with posted hours and a crowd: this one has far fewer users and no schedule.
The practical advantages for a BNP Paribas Open trip from Palm Springs:
The drive to the venue is 12 miles east on Highway 111. In normal March traffic it's about 20 minutes. That's the same corridor as everything in the valley, so you're not fighting any unusual routing. Drive to the venue in the morning, rideshare back if you're staying for an evening session.
Three king beds means two couples or four people split that cost. At a price point where Indian Wells hotels are running $400-600 per night for a standard room during tournament week, a three-bed condo with community pool access divided four ways is a different math problem entirely.
Shared pool, full kitchen, ten minutes to Palm Canyon. The Uptown Design District is a short drive for coffee or a drink, and downtown Palm Canyon Drive, the main restaurant and shop corridor, is about a ten-minute drive. After a day at the venue that short hop matters more than it sounds in a listing, because you're picking a dinner spot in your own city rather than eating whatever is attached to a hotel lobby, even after 40+ round-trip miles.
The Sundune living room. Mid-century condo in central Palm Springs, 3 king beds, community pool access, dog-friendly with prior approval.
What to Do Besides Tennis
This is where Palm Springs earns the trip for first-timers. Indian Wells itself is a small city without much to do outside the venue. Palm Springs has layers.
Indian Canyons. The Andreas, Murray, and Palm canyons are 10 minutes from downtown Palm Springs and contain one of the largest native California fan palm oases in the world. The Palm Canyon trail is an easy 3-mile round trip that gets you into the canyon and away from the tournament crowd without any serious elevation. Go early, before the day heats up.
Palm Canyon, about 10 minutes from downtown Palm Springs. One of the largest native California fan palm oases. Easy 3-mile round trip, no serious elevation.
Palm Springs Aerial Tramway. The tram runs from the desert floor at 2,643 feet to the San Jacinto Mountains at 8,516 feet. In March, there's usually snow at the top while it's 74 degrees at the bottom. The ride takes about 10 minutes each way and the mountain station has restaurants and hiking trails into the wilderness area. It's one of the more surprising things you can do in the Coachella Valley.
The architecture. Palm Springs went through a postwar development boom that produced an unusually concentrated inventory of mid-century modern houses by architects like Richard Neutra, Albert Frey, John Lautner, and William Cody. The Palm Springs Historical Society runs guided walking tours, and the Modernism Week events in February spill into early March most years. Driving around the Las Palmas, Movie Colony, and Vista Las Palmas neighborhoods to look at the houses is free and worth an afternoon.
Mid-century modern Palm Springs. The postwar residential architecture here is unusually dense for a city this size. An afternoon driving the neighborhoods requires no tickets and no tour guide.
Pool time. March afternoons in the desert run mid-70s to low-80s with no humidity. The community pool at The Sundune in that weather is not a consolation prize. On rest days between match sessions, it's the right call to do nothing except be in the water with the mountains visible over the property edge.
Palm Canyon Drive dining. For a full restaurant guide to Palm Springs, the Palm Springs restaurants post covers this in detail. The short version for a tennis trip: breakfast at Cheeky's (known for rotating weekend menus, expect a line), lunch or drinks at Bootlegger Tiki or Workshop Kitchen, dinner at Sago or Workshop Kitchen or The Tropicale. Most of these are walkable from central Palm Springs.
Weather in March: What to Expect
March is the window. Daytime highs average 75-80 degrees. Nights drop to the low 50s, cool enough for a light jacket or a sweatshirt but not cold. Wind can pick up in the afternoons, especially in the western Coachella Valley corridor. The Indian Wells Tennis Garden sits in a slightly protected position relative to the worst of the corridor winds, but watch the forecast before scheduling your outdoor court sessions.
Rain is rare in March but not impossible. The desert gets most of its rainfall December through February, and March storms are short when they come. The tournament has been played in March for decades and venue cancellations are uncommon, but outer court sessions do pause in rain.
Sunscreen. Stadium seats in March feel comfortable until they don't. The UV index at this latitude is significant even in mild temperatures. Bring it to the venue every day.
Getting Around
The Coachella Valley runs along Highway 111 east-west, and almost everything in the valley is on that corridor. From Palm Springs to the Indian Wells Tennis Garden is a straight shot: 12 miles, about 20 minutes in normal traffic.
Match-day logistics work best with a plan. Drive to the venue in the morning, where general parking is $20-40 per day. For evening sessions, either build the parking cost into your budget or rideshare the return trip. Rideshare from Indian Wells back to Palm Springs is straightforward and the wait after a major session is typically 10-15 minutes, less if you walk a block from the venue exit before requesting.
If you're splitting match and non-match days, the car isn't needed every day. Palm Springs itself is walkable in the downtown corridor, and having one rest day per two or three match days keeps the trip from feeling like a commute.
Practical Notes
Book accommodation before November. BNP Paribas week fills the valley's top rentals by November or December of the preceding year. For March 2027, the right window is fall 2026. The Sundune takes direct bookings at indigopalm.co/the-sundune/.
Dog-friendly, with prior approval. The Sundune accepts dogs with advance notice. If you're bringing a dog, confirm before booking. Given that match days run 10am to 10pm, community pool access and an enclosed outdoor area makes the arrangement more manageable than a hotel would.
Stock the kitchen on arrival day. Stadium food at major tennis events is good by tournament standards (Nobu is literally inside the Indian Wells Tennis Garden) but expensive over a week. Having breakfast at the rental every morning and dinner most nights saves real money. There's a Stater Bros on Palm Canyon Drive and a Trader Joe's nearby. Do the grocery run first.
Frequently Asked Questions
When is the BNP Paribas Open 2027?
The 2026 tournament ran March 6-16. The 2027 dates are typically announced in fall of the preceding year, usually the same first-two-weeks-of-March window. Check bnpparibasopen.com for confirmed 2027 dates once they're released.
How far is Palm Springs from Indian Wells Tennis Garden?
12 miles west via Highway 111, about 20 minutes in normal March traffic. Indian Wells sits between Palm Springs and Indio, making both roughly equidistant. Palm Springs gives you walkable city access and more to do on non-match days. Indio gives you more space per dollar and pool access at most price points for larger groups.
Best place to stay in Palm Springs for the BNP Paribas Open?
A vacation rental with pool access beats a hotel for most trips lasting more than two nights. The Sundune at indigopalm.co/the-sundune/ is a 2BR/2BA with 3 king beds, shared HOA pool access, and a full kitchen in Palm Springs, 20 minutes from the venue. It books direct without the Airbnb service fee, and the HOA requires a 4-night minimum stay.
How do I get tickets to the BNP Paribas Open?
Directly at bnpparibasopen.com. Grounds passes for the first week and Stadium 1 session tickets for quarterfinals and later are the categories to prioritize. Semis and finals sell out fast. Grounds passes for weekday first-round sessions are usually available closer to the tournament start.
Is Palm Springs walking distance to the BNP Paribas Open?
No, it's a 12-mile drive. Indian Wells Tennis Garden is in Indian Wells, not in Palm Springs. You need a car or rideshare for each match day. The drive is easy along the 111, and rideshare return after evening sessions works without major wait times compared to events like Coachella.
What is there to do in Palm Springs in March besides the BNP Paribas Open?
Indian Canyons for hiking (Palm Canyon trail is the easiest and most impressive), the Palm Springs Aerial Tramway for mountain access from the desert floor, mid-century architecture touring in Las Palmas and Movie Colony, and Palm Canyon Drive for restaurants and bars. March is the best month in the desert for all of it. Days are warm without being hot, nights are jacket-comfortable, the crowds from Modernism Week in February have largely cleared out.