You don’t have to travel with everything. If bringing your own equipment to the desert isn’t practical — it won’t survive the flight, you only need it for part of the trip, or you need something you don’t own day-to-day — you can rent almost anything once you’re here and have it waiting at your hotel or vacation rental.
The Coachella Valley is unusually well-supplied for this. Decades of catering to older and snowbird visitors mean there’s a real local rental market, not just national delivery services passing through. The catch is that “mobility rental” covers a few different things, run by different kinds of companies with different lead times. Here’s how each one works for a visitor.
In this Guide: Scooters & Chairs · WAV Rentals · Medical Gear · On-Site Rentals · Delivery · High Season · How to Choose
Wheelchairs, Scooters & Knee Walkers
This is the most common rental and the easiest to arrange. National delivery services and local desert medical-supply shops both rent manual wheelchairs, power chairs, mobility scooters, and knee walkers by the day, week, or month — and most will drop the equipment at your hotel or rental before you arrive.
Who does it:
- Cloud of Goods — wide range (standard, lightweight, transport, bariatric, and pediatric wheelchairs, plus scooters), with the broadest delivery coverage in the area: hotels, resorts, vacation rentals, and even specific attractions across the valley
- Scootaround (powered by WHILL) — national operator; can have your scooter or wheelchair waiting at hotel check-in
- At-Home Medical (Palm Desert) — local shop with wheelchair and scooter rentals plus on-site repair
What to plan around:
- Book a few days ahead for the model you actually want — lightweight and heavy-duty scooters sell out faster than standard wheelchairs, and faster still in winter high season (see below)
- Confirm your hotel will accept the delivery and hold it at the front desk; many providers drop off the evening before
- Having a local storefront (At-Home Medical) is worth knowing if equipment breaks mid-trip and you need a repair or swap
- Check the scooter’s weight capacity and whether it disassembles, if you’ll also be loading it into a car
Wheelchair-Accessible Van Rentals
This is the one most visitors don’t realize they need to plan for: you cannot rent a wheelchair-accessible vehicle (WAV) from a standard rental-car counter at Palm Springs International. Hertz, Avis, and the rest don’t keep ramp- or lift-equipped vans in their fleets, and the valley has a thinner WAV-rental market than a big city — so this is the rental to arrange first, not last.
How to handle it:
- Reserve as early as possible from a specialist accessible-van rental company, and ask whether they deliver to PSP or your hotel — some serve the desert from the wider Inland Empire / Southern California area rather than a Palm Springs storefront
- These are self-drive rentals: you’ll need a valid license, your own auto insurance or a credit card that covers rentals, and comfort driving a modified van
- Expect a daily rate well above a standard rental car, with discounts for weekly and monthly bookings
- Confirm the ramp type (side-entry vs. rear-entry) and that the door height and tie-downs fit your chair
If you’d rather not drive: that’s what WAV rideshare and SunLine’s SunDial paratransit are for — though WAV rideshare availability is limited in the valley, so don’t assume one will be minutes away. See Accessible Palm Springs: Getting Around on the main guide for the full picture.
Medical Equipment for Longer Stays
If you’re in the desert for more than a few days, or staying in a vacation rental rather than a hotel — which is common in Palm Springs — you can rent home medical equipment the same way, delivered and picked up.
What’s available: hospital beds, oxygen concentrators, patient lifts, lift chairs, shower and commode chairs, transfer benches, rollators, and bedside tables.
Who does it:
- Cloud of Goods — medical equipment alongside its mobility line, with hotel, rental, and attraction delivery
- At-Home Medical (Palm Desert) — local desert shop carrying beds, lift chairs, respiratory aids, and daily-living equipment for rent
- Scootaround — rollators and oxygen alongside mobility gear
What to plan around:
- Ask about pickup logistics at the end of your stay so you’re not suck arranging it on departure day.
- Oxygen often requires a prescription – ask the supplier what documentation they need, and note that portable oxygen for the flight itself is arranged separately through your airline.
- Vacation rentals don’t have a bell desk; you’ll need to coordinate a delivery window when someone can receive the equipment.
On-Site Rentals at Attractions
A few of the valley’s biggest attractions rent or loan mobility equipment at the gate, so you don’t have to bring your own just for the day.
- The Living Desert Zoo and Gardens rents wheelchairs, electric scooters, and strollers at the park entrance — useful, since the grounds are large (and the paths are wide and paved). Full accessibility details →
- The Palm Springs Aerial Tramway and several museums keep loaner wheelchairs on hand — first-come, so call ahead if you’re relying on one. Full accessibility details →
On-site equipment can’t leave the venue, and loaners are first-come with no reservations, so they can run out on busy days. If you want a scooter you can keep for the whole trip — at your hotel and between attractions — rent from a delivery service instead. A length-of-stay rental usually costs less per day than piecing together day rentals, and it’s yours whenever you need it.
Delivery to Hotels, Vacation Rentals & PSP
The delivery model is what makes renting in the desert work for visitors — the strongest providers bring the equipment to you and collect it when you leave.
How it works in practice:
- Hotels & resorts: Equipment is typically dropped at the front desk the evening before or the morning of your rental; you collect it at check-in. Always confirm your specific hotel accepts and stores deliveries.
- Vacation rentals: The valley is full of these, and they don’t have a bell desk — coordinate a delivery window with the provider for a time someone can receive and sign for the equipment.
- Palm Springs International (PSP): Some providers will deliver to the airport or to a hotel near it for your arrival. PSP is small and easy to navigate, but build in buffer time — airport delivery coordination is the step most likely to slip.
A Note on Timing: Winter Is High Season
Palm Springs’ busiest months are roughly November through April, when the snowbird population arrives and accessible accommodation, accessible vans, and specialty mobility equipment all get tighter. If you’re visiting in winter or around the big spring events, book your rental further ahead than you would in a quieter destination — the equipment that runs out first is exactly the equipment that’s hardest to substitute (accessible vans and heavy-duty or lightweight scooters). Summer is the opposite for availability, but the heat is its own planning factor — see the season guidance on the main Palm Springs guide.
How to Choose — The Short Version
| You need… | Rent from | Book ahead? |
|---|---|---|
| Wheelchair, scooter, or knee walker | Delivery service (Cloud of Goods, Scootaround) or local desert shop (At-Home Medical) | A few days; sooner for specialty models and in winter |
| A van you’ll drive yourself | Accessible-van specialist serving the desert | As early as possible — limited fleet |
| Beds, oxygen, shower chairs for a longer stay | Medical-supply rental with delivery | A few days; ask about prescriptions |
| Equipment for a single attraction | On-site rental/loaner (e.g. The Living Desert) | No — but it can run out; arrive early |
A few rules that apply across the board:
- Reserve early — accessible vans and specialty scooters are the first to run out.
- Confirm your hotel or rental will accept the delivery and hold it.
- For self-drive vans, sort out insurance before you book.
- Match the equipment to you: weight capacity, ramp type, whether it folds for a car trunk.
Renting fills the gaps your own equipment can’t — but it rewards planning. The visitors who have the smoothest desert trips are the ones who booked the van and the scooter before they booked the dinner reservation.
Prices, delivery areas, and availability change, and Only Everywhere isn’t affiliated with any company listed here — always confirm details directly with the provider before you book.