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Palm Springs Indian Canyons
At the visitors center a Native American cultural desk provides
information about Agua Caliente Band
of Cahulla Indians, who have lived some 10,000 years in the the region.
Literature includes newsletters and brochures about several attractions,
Spa Resort Casino Hotel
(100 N. Indian Canyon Dr., Palm Springs), and
Indian Canyons, theindiancanyons.com.
A getaway trip to Palm Springs offers
many attractions and actvities, and for those inspired by the desert
surroundings, a visit to the Indian Canyons is a must-see experience. A toll gate is open daily till July, then only opens on weekends until
October (due to extreme heat in the desert during the summer months of July,
August and September.) The fee for entry was under $10 at the time we visited,
with ranger led hikes costing a nominal, additional fee.
Three canyons comprise this driving tour where visitors can park at
designated spots to get out and hike. Murray Canyon, Palm Canyon and Andreas
Canyon are the three attractions within the park, each offering things to see
and do. Hikes are quite popular in the spring when wildflowers and cacti bloom
after one of those rare desert rains that make its way over the San Jacinto
Mountains with still enough water to touch this arid land. As you look up and
see snow-capped peaks, you learn that the weather system that brings rain and
snow to the westerly slopes of the mountain resort, Idyllwild, leaves little
moisture or precipitation for the Palm Desert. Hikes in the canyons treat
visitors to scenic streams, the result of run-off from snow melts.
A hike down the rocky Palm Canyon (stretches 15 miles) affords views of
a stream where hikers can sit next to the California Fan Palm trees for a
picnics. The half-mile radius of Andreas Canyon offers a glimpse into the past
with bedrock mortars and metates still shaped in the rocks. Around 150 plants
and types of vegetation exists within this canyon floor, though you may not see
or recognize all of them. Heading south from Andreas Canyon, Murray Canyon
sometimes offers visitors a glimpse of the mule deer or the endangered Peninsula
Big Horn Sheep. The sheep and Least Bells Vireo birds that nest in this location
are both endangered species.
While parking on the roads is not permitted, cars can park past the
entry booth at the Palm Canyon lot next to the guard booth, or at a parking lot
accessing Murray and Andreas Canyons.
For more exploration of native American culture in this region, be sure
to visit the Agua Caliente Cultural Museum in downtown Palm Springs. It is
located at 219 South Palm Canyon Drive at the Village Green Heritage Center,
Palm Springs, CA. accmuseum.org
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