Indian Canyons Jan 11

Looking for a day trip escape, Heather mapped out a 6.5 mile loop hike on some seldom visited trails in Indian Canyons near Palm Springs. We arrived around 8:30am to a pleasantly empty Palm Canyon parking lot and packed lightly for the hike. Down the hill into the shade of the palm grove I was caught off guard by the slight chill that would soon wear off. The creek was a mere baseflow trickle, much less than I was expecting. We hiked up the main trail of Palm Canyon, having it all to ourselves. We both were surprised at the verdant greenery from the recent holiday rains. 

We passed the main trail junction above the palms and continued up the wash of the East Fork. Despite no visible surface water, two interesting hillside travertine deposits and palms extending intermittently for a thousand feet signaled some springs. The wash was actually more engaging than I could have guessed with many meanders, shifting sights, interesting outcrops, and several dryfalls requiring climbing or bypassing.

After almost 2 miles along the wash we branched onto the loop connector that took us across the rolling hills on the eastern shoulder of Palm Canyon. At intervals there were nice patches of barrel cacti but this was overall the most desolate part of the hike. The different rock types and slanting turtleback of the San Jacintos made for dramatic landscapes from this vantage. This loop trail was advertised as being great for cholla patches but we really only saw one minor patch. At another junction we turned onto the Vandeventer Trail which took us back to Palm Canyon. The quiet shady grove we had before was now sunny and noisy with tourists. We made it back to the car, covering 6.6 miles in 2.5 hours.

Heather was ready for lunch (and I was hungry) but I still wanted a quick detour to see a little more water at Andreas Canyon. Despite the busy parking lot, we found a spot easily enough and had a quick stroll upcanyon to some of the deeper pools and taller cascades.

We ended our day out with a tasty meal and refreshing drinks at Native Foods in Palm Desert, then drove on home. The hike was better than I would have guessed and well worth the effort.