Indian Canyons Palm Springs

Over the MLK Day weekend, a friend and I stayed a couple of nights in Palm Springs, a quaint little town in the California desert that was once the playground of the Hollywood rich & famous. It's full of adorable shops, modernist architecture, great restaurants (I had my best steak in years at Workshop), art, and some of the best hiking I've ever done.

There are several places to hike in Palm Springs. We settled on Indian Canyons because it offers numerous trails in a variety of difficulties. The cost is $9 per person (I believe you can get a discount if you buy a pass at the visitor's center on your way into town). I felt it was well worth it because at that price, you have access to multiple canyons.

We began at Andreas Canyon. There was a very helpful and friendly ranger there, who asked us our preferences and then directed us to a one-mile loop along the creek.

This is the only type of palm that is native to California. It is
the California Fan Palm.

I loved the pattern on this tree, which I presume to be some
type of beech.

Once we finished with that route, the ranger directed us down the road to Palm Canyon, where we hiked part of that trail (Palm Canyon is 15 miles in total) to connect with Victor Trail for a 2 mile-loop (there was also a very helpful ranger at Palm Canyon who gave us great directions when we forgot what the last ranger had told us).

Those are large cacti on top of the ridge.

It looked to us as though Palm Canyon had been through
a fire in recent years.

It's like a baby cactus Groot.

View of Palm Canyon from Victor Trail.

Both hikes were great in every sense. The second was slightly harder than the first, although not by any means difficult. The scenery was fantastic. We happened to have perfect weather. Here are a few shots on our way out of the park:

If you're ever in the Palm Springs neighborhood, I recommend you give the hiking a shot. Just remember: this is the desert, so even if it's not that hot out, wear appropriate clothing, put on sunscreen, wear a hat, and bring plenty of water!