Laura Randall - Five-Star Trails: Palm Springs: 31 Spectacular Hikes in the Southern California Desert Resort Area

Indian Canyons

Palm Springs

Other Desert Cities

Coachella Valley Preserve

Santa Rosa and San Jacinto Mountains

Five-Star Trails: Palm Springs

Copyright 2016 by Laura Randall

All rights reserved

Published by Menasha Ridge Press

Printed in the United States of America

Distributed by Publishers Group West

First edition, first printing

Project editor: Ritchey Halphen

Cover design: Scott McGrew

Text design: Annie Long

Cover photos: Laura Randall; interior photos: as noted on page

Cartography and elevation profiles: Scott McGrew and Laura Randall

Copyeditor: Emily C. Beaumont

Proofreaders: Susan Elliott Brown (text), Dan Downing (maps and photo research)

Indexer: Sylvia Coates

Frontispiece: The San Jacinto Wilderness near Palm Springs offers nearly 50 miles of hiking trails that traverse a wide range of scenery, from desert canyons to pine-studded mountains. (Photo: Laura Randall)

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Names: Randall, Laura, 1967 author.

Title: Five-star trails, Palm Springs/Laura Randall.

Description: First Edition. | Birmingham, Alabama: Menasha Ridge Press, [2016]

Distributed by Publishers Group WestT.p. verso. | Includes index.

Identifiers: LCCN 2015043800 | ISBN 978-163404-038-9

ISBN 978-163404-039-6 (e-book)

Subjects: LCSH: HikingCaliforniaPalm Springs AreaGuidebooks. | TrailsCaliforniaPalm Springs AreaGuidebooks. | Palm Springs Area (Calif.)Guidebooks.

Classification: LCC GV199.42.C22 P347 2016 | DDC 796.510979497dc23

LC record available at lccn.loc.gov/2015043800

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Disclaimer This book is meant only as a guide to select trails in and around Palm Springs, California, and does not guarantee your safety in any wayyou hike at your own risk. Do not attempt to explore terrain that may be beyond your abilities (such as areas with steep inclines or drop-offs). Please read carefully the introduction to this book, as well as safety information from other sources. Familiarize yourself with current weather reports and maps of the area you plan to visit (in addition to the maps provided in this guidebook). Be cognizant of park regulations, and always follow them. Also, note that land and road conditions, phone numbers and websites, and other information are subject to change.

For John

THANKS TO THE FOLLOWING FOLKS for helping to make this book a reality: Jim Foote and the staff at the Palm SpringsSouth Coast field office of the Bureau of Land Management, the rangers at the Idyllwild Ranger Station, and Sarah Hahne and the Palm Springs Bureau of Tourism. Thanks also to all the folks at Menasha Ridge Press for their help, patience, and encouragement.

Thanks also to Julie Makinen, Mark Magers, and Linda Yoshino for hitting the trails with me, and to the Coachella Valley and Desert Trails Hiking Clubs for organizing regular hikes in the Palm Springs area and welcoming anyone who wants to join them. Most of all, thanks to John Kimble, who introduced me to Palm Springs two decades ago on a whirlwind weekend punctuated by thrift-store visits, sublime Mexican food, fresh air, and one unforgettable visit to the Salton Sea. Multiple trips later, my awe and appreciation of the Southern California desert havent diminished one bit.

Laura Randall

PALM SPRINGS OFTEN BRINGS TO MIND images of palm-lined golf courses and swimming pools surrounded by lounge chairs, not rugged hiking trails for people of all ages and fitness levels. Yet the striking mountain ranges that frame this desert resort are full of winding trails that lead to natural palm groves, year-round waterfalls and streams, and cactus-spiked desert terrain. It may be near two other great natural spacesJoshua Tree National Park and Anza-Borrego Desert State Parkbut the Palm Springs area is a hiking destination in its own right. The Indian Canyons, where the Agua Caliente tribe of Cahuilla Indians once spent their summers, have dozens of trails, from easy half-mile jaunts to arduous treks that link to the 2,650-mile Pacific Crest Trail and Idyllwild on the other side of the San Jacinto Mountains. Four of the canyons Palm, Andreas, Murray, and Fern are clustered together at the south end of town; another, Tahquitz, sits just off Palm Canyon Drive, Palm Springs main drag.

To the north, the preserves of the Coachella Valley and Big Morongo Canyon are lovingly cared-for oases of palm groves, canyon washes, and tidal marshes that stand as testaments to the importance and dedication of volunteers. And in Palm Springs and neighboring towns like Palm Desert and Rancho Mirage, officials have worked with the Bureau of Land Management and others to improve and expand a network of trails while also keeping the area safe for the many forms of wildlife that inhabit it.

Desert trails come with their own unique sets of challenges. Hiking many of them during the summer months, when temperatures hit the triple digits, isnt a rational option for novice hikers. Parts of the Santa Rosa and San Jacinto Mountains are prime habitat for the endangered peninsular bighorn sheep, and many trails are closed to dogs year-round. Other areas are closed to all hikers during lambing season from January to June. Ive noted this for individual trails, but its always good to check with the Bureau of Land Management ( blm.gov ) or local recreation departments before hiking in or near a sensitive habitat.

Photo: Laura Randall

ROCK FORMATIONS ALONG A TRAIL IN INDIAN CANYONS

None of the trails in Palm Springs and the other desert cities in this book allow overnight camping, but the nearby Santa Rosa and San Jacinto Mountains offer good camping options. Idyllwild, a small mountain town with four seasons and many charming inns and shops, is a scenic 40-mile drive away and may be used as a base for these hikes. Nearby, the densely forested mountains and cool, pine-scented air offer a striking balance to the rocky hillsides and sandy washes that dominate many of the Palm Springs trails.

This book offers 31 hikes within less than an hours drive of Palm Springs. Some of them, like San Jacinto Peak (Hike 30) and the Lykken trails (Hikes 9 and 11), have been around for decades and have been described with adoration by everyone from John Muir to nature-loving bloggers. Other hikes, like Hopalong Cassidy (Hike 17) and the trails at Whitewater Preserve (Hike 15), are either newly developed or out of the waythey offer new and different experiences for even longtime hikers in the area. Whitewater Preserve, for instance, opened in 2008 and features a shady picnic area and pristine moderate trails that link up with the Pacific Crest Trail. As in Idyllwild, temperatures here are often 1020 degrees cooler than they are in Palm Springs, making it a year-round hiking destination.