Palm Desert's mascot is the Aztec. The school has football, tennis, cross country, soccer, track, golf, swimming, baseball, softball, volleyball, basketball, wrestling, water polo, and equestrian teams. Their main rival in the Desert Empire League is the La Quinta High School Blackhawks in the neighboring city of La Quinta, which plays in the annual "Flag Game" in football. Palm Desert also plays in "The Battle of Cook Street" with Xavier College Prep, located several miles to the north also off of Cook Street.
Reconstruction
Palm Desert High School was reconstructed as part of the District's $100 million bond used for PDHS, Lincoln, Kennedy, and Eisenhower schools. The new campus has been built to the north of the old campus using the former sports fields for land. The project was completely finished by the beginning of the 2011–12 school year. The new fields opened by the following year. A new gymnasium has been built to seat approximately 2000 students.
