What an excellent Grand Hikers out of area trip to Palm Springs! Many thanks to Dot Agather and Cynthia Janulaitis and their team of hike leaders, Cindy Anderson, Jan Cossette, Barbara Ray and Scott Stanek. Forty-nine Grand Hikers descended into the oasis of Palm Springs to enjoy the hot desert weather that is Southern California. As is normal for us, each day offered Easy, Moderate and Difficult hikes. Day one was scheduled at Indian Canyons, which are the ancestral home of the Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians. The sacred canyons (Andreas, Palm and Murray) are also historically important to scientists and nature lovers (like ourselves). The chosen hikes this day went through Palm Canyon and up into the stark, rocky gorges beyond. Learn more about Indian Canyons at www.indian-canyons.com. It was so hot (94 degrees F) that most of us enjoyed a cool ice cream bar at the Trading Post before heading back to the Best Western Plus Desert View Inn and Suites (Cathedral City).
Day two took us over to Joshua Tree National Park (named by Congress in 1994). Today the park is 792,510 acres, 80 percent of which is wilderness. This spectacular land is where the Mojave and Colorado Desert (subdivision of the Sonoran Desert) meet. We saw towering formations of weather-sculpted rocks, and miles of Joshua trees, which are actually a yucca species. They can grow over 40 feet at a (leisurely) rate of one inch per year. Learn and explore more about Joshua Tree NP at https://www.nps.gov/jotr/index.htm. Still warm - but in the park we were promised cooler temperatures.
Day three hikes were launched out of the Whitewater Preserve which is the Coachella Valley’s free access point to the Sand to Snow National Monument in the San Bernardino Mountains' region. Before heading back to The Grand campus, each hiking trail included some steps along the infamous Pacific Crest National Scenic Trail (PCT). The PCT is a 2,650 long-distance adventure hike that begins at the Mexico border (Campo, California) and terminates on the Canada-US Border (Manning Park, B.C.), passing through California, Oregon and Washington States. Located 20 minutes NW of Palm Springs, the Preserve is 2,267 acres and is at an intersection of coastal, desert, and mountain ecosystems. Learn more about the Whitewater Preserve and the Wildlands Conservancy here:
https://wildlandsconservancy.org/preserves/whitewater.
Hiking wasn’t the only item on the list for this trip! A delicious Taco Tuesday was our themed social dinner at Luchador Brewing Company. Many of us took time to schedule a fun adventure to go up the Palm Springs Aerial Tramway. This tram is the world’s largest rotating tram car and travels over 2-½ miles along the cliffs of Chino Canyon. The journey is ten minutes one way and the tram car rotates slowly for all to see the picturesque vista of the valley below. Once up on top we could enjoy the wilderness of the Mt. San Jacinto State Park. Palm Springs is also a fun place to golf! And yes, a couple of us did take an afternoon to enjoy the beauty of Desert Princess Country Club.
Photo credits: Richard Coles, Brenda Cooper, Jan Cossette and Allen Frankel
I hope you enjoyed this mini-report of our 2025 Palm Springs Out of Area trip. Keep an eye out for information on our Fall 2025 trip scheduled in November to Kanab, Utah. Go to:
https://grandhikers.clubexpress.com for more information.