My husband and I are in the practice of decolonizing thanksgiving. We call it ThanksLiving…read more We thought it would be a good day to hike in Tahquitz Canyon. We learned about the indigenous Cahuilla people that inhabited this beautiful desert land. We thought of them as we did this moderately challenging, beautiful hike. The creek was flowing and the waterfall was gorgeous. The canyon is so peaceful. There are plenty of rock steps, so good hiking shoes with traction are essential. The park rangers in the visitor center make sure you have enough water with you, as there's no shade and the sun can be brutal. On this day, temps were cool and we hiked early so the sun was still shining on the other side of the mountain, but we still brought along our reusable water bottles, and sunscreen of course. This is truly a special place. There wasn't any trash along the trail, which was good to see that people are respecting the space, and/or staff is cleaning up after any littering occurs. This really was a great way for us to spend this day, my heart is full and my body is happy for the movement and exercise.

I had a very disappointing experience with the staff working the counter on June 7, 2026, around…read more9:00 a.m. The woman and man assisting guests were rude, condescending, and disrespectful. The website clearly states that admission is free with a military ID. My brother works with the Air Force as a contractor, but the woman immediately dismissed him by saying he was "just a contractor" and insisted he had to pay. She then turned to me, as I was paying for my own admission, and repeated the same dismissive explanation. If contractors are not eligible for free admission, the website should clearly state that to avoid confusion and embarrassment for visitors. More importantly, staff should treat guests with courtesy and respect rather than speaking to them in a demeaning manner.

As we all know, it is always hot in Palm Springs. 365, 24/7. This review is a bit overdue. A friend…read moreof mine wanted to go to Palm Springs and suggested for us to go on this tour. Instead of driving, we decided to get a tour and let them guide us and drive us around. Well, it was a 2 hour tour and Tony, our guide, kind of spent a little extra time with us, after other people got off the tram. Weather was just perfect. We loved everything about this tour. It is breathtaking, beautiful, peaceful and relaxing. The tour included hiking, taking couple of photos, and other things..We took the Palm Canyon trail which is relatively an easy hike for the 1st mile. Gorgeous views to stop by and take photos. Beautiful waterfalls and can also be fun for children. We were there earlier this year and that's all I can say and remember about this tour. I highly recommend to all. Prices are $12.00 for adults, $10.00 for seniors and kids. They have a gift shop, restroom at the front of the entrance, plenty of parking spaces and it was a memorable experience. We are both glad that we took this tour. :-) Make sure you are out by 5pm, they will nicely escort you to your vehicles. Take extra clothes to change, pretty humid; and a gallon/bottles of water. Wear comfortable tennis shoes. Thank you Tony & Indian Canyons tour..

What a spectacular experience. So much to learn about the Indians that lived here and why. From a…read morenice cool walk under the trees next to the natural water flowing up through the ground then to some fabulous hiking with glorious views of the mountains to all the creatures that live all around it. Keep your eyes open for all of them and especially for the dangerous ones hiding around rocks. Stay away from the selfies with them. Shouldn't have to say it but.... Well worth the $12.00 entry fee per car. Come here when it's hot for a cooler experience under the trees or winter for some good hiking. This is Palm Springs after all.

Easily accessible But can be challenging…read more Make sure you wear the right shoes as the trail is steep. Great views Could be marked a bit better Coming down is actually harder than going up!

Exhilarating milestone hike! One for the books. +Indeed, the…read moretrail traverses from dry desert floor to cold alpine summit. Glad I prepped light, thin, sufficient clothing for both climates. + A 20mi hike over 12hr. +Free nearby street parking on N Belardo Rd (33°49'31.2"N 116°32'56.8"W). . I started late: 6:30am. Online denizens recommend start 2-4am to beat the blazing morning desert heat. As for my hike, it wasn't hot at all like ppl say. Weird. In fact, it was mild at worst. And good thing I'm above avg speed. For the first several hrs I was alone. But throughout 2nd half of my hike, I started passing other hikers. +For the ~most~ part, trail is well-defined. Most of the first few miles are marked with white circles on boulders to keep you on track (even in the early dawn dark, granted you brought headlamp & flashlight). -But at times, including some forks or unclear sections, white blazes are missing. Got lost several times on my hike. Relied on GPS (Thanks HikingGuy for .json interactive map!) + Two self-help aid stations: . Rescue box 1 (includes 1st aid). RCCJ+8CC, Palm Springs, CA. [33°49'14.9"N 116°34'08.2"W]. ~2.5mi from trailhead. . Rescue 2 (less supplies, more trash than R1). [33°49'08.3"N 116°36'26.0"W]. R99V+H4V Palm Springs, CA. ~6.5mi from trailhead. -Hope someone's clearing out the junk & spoiled food from these boxes and refilling them with non-perishables. + Overall elevation gain: 10k ft. Most of that incline grade is located in the first 10mi. It's no joke. -Restaurant (or cafe) at the tram was closed by the time I finished my hike ~7pm. +Someone mentioned flies/gnats? Encountered only 1 or 2 during my 12hr hike. -No H2O provided throughout the trail until you reach Long Valley Ranger Station (10mi in). -No restrooms at the trailhead. -On the summit, there's only one nailed sign to take pics with. No unattached signs to hold for your summit photoshoot. Gotta bring your own. And no trail register. -Crowded tram ride back down ~7:30pm. They pack 20-30 ppl in there. Weird guy kept rubbing his arm/body against me, despite me repeatedly inching away to give him space. -Tram leaves every 20min. They don't announce exact times. Just gotta stay cognizant and nearby. +Tram station (both upper station & lower station) has free phone chargers. Thank goodness! Toward the end of my hike, my phone surreptitiously jumped from 30% to 1%. -No signal (TMo 4G nor 5G) at the lower tram station. Had to log in to their public Wi-Fi D: But thankfully, that was sufficient for ordering an Uber to take me from the lower tram station back to my car near Palm Springs Art Museum. -Uber takes about 20min to drive from town to your location at the lower tram station pickup spot. . Didn't encounter any bighorn sheep or mountain lions during my excursion. Tips: . Best time of the yr to hike this is late Oct. . 760-327-0222 for live weather updates from Long Valley Ranger Station. Despite my anxiety over the unexpected Oct heat & gusts, ranger assured me a few days prior it'd be safe. Indeed the weather was pretty good on my day hike, despite the medium wind here and there. Not too hot, not too windy. . For GPS tracking, Organic Maps app is better than CalTopo, cuz CT consumes more battery for more complex processing. Still, try to minimize phone use, as you're gonna need to order an Uber after deboarding the tram at the end of your ordeal. .. Hence, I also have North America maps downloaded onto my Garmin Fenix 7x. Lifesaver! Trusted for 3yr since Nov '23. . Train well in the weeks/months leading up to your hike. Climb a Stairmaster while holding 5 or 10lb dumbbells. I don't have, so I use a sturdy chair. My workout: step-hop up the chair while raising 10 or 15lb dumbbells. +100 reps per leg. We're training for a myriad of hiking fitness: endurance, stamina, power, cardio, mental resilience... . Pack GU gels & electrolytes. In addition to various healthy snacks and drinks, gonna need amino acids & electrolytes. . Bring AT LEAST 4L of H2O. I brought 4.5L. It was BARELY enough for me. Thank goodness LVRS let me refill a bottle. Granted, my backpack started out so heavy xP . Pack fruits. Man, the banana, apple, and orange feel SO replenishing and revitalizing in the wilderness. Notes: . Indeed the tram closes for 1 month every yr around mid-Sept to mid-Oct for routine maintenance. Verify on their website: https://pstramway.com/about-us/hours/ Their website offers a ticket only for a round-trip: $36.95 total. Want a one-way ticket? You can buy in-person. Sold inside the gift shop at the tram station: $17 total. Keep that printout receipt; gotta scan it at the tram entrance. -Y'know, as a reward for hiking all that way, I think that if you provide proof of summiting San Jacinto that day, they should just offer the tram ride for free, or make it just $1. You earned it. :p . From Long Valley Ranger Station area, gotta fill out & pick up a permit. Takes a few min. Remember to return it to... [5000 character limit reached]

Beautiful, moderately challenging hike with great views of downtown and North Palm Springs. I…read morespontaneously decided to do the Museum Trail to North Lykken and then walked back to the parking by the museum along the streets. It took about 2 hours in total. The North Lykken trail is definitely a little less steep than the Museum Trail but has equally beautiful views. Be aware that this trail is NOT well marked. If I hadn't been hiking around other people who knew where they were going I definitely would have gotten lost several times. The loop between North Lykken, South Lykken, and the Museum Trail is also pretty confusing so make sure you're on the right path. Especially because many people do this as a point-to-point trail (like I did) instead of out-and-back, I wish the markings were a bit clearer. On the bright side, you're not exactly out in the wilderness so you should have cell service the whole time.

This trailhead at the dead-end of west Ramon Road is another way to access the Skyline Trail, as is…read morebarely discernable on the typically old, clouded, scratched plexiglass covered sign in its parking area (which is why it's good to check caltopo.com before doing a new hike - I've found it to be more accurate than alltrails.com). But this trail is worthwhile in itself. At the start it directly and intimately overlooks the Historic Tennis Club neighborhood and its beautiful old estates - probably the nearest ones have to forget about any nude sunbathing in their back yards. I hadn't been here in quite a while - when I arrived, slowly passing by the empty new development on my left, it was kind of eerie like one of China's just-built but uninhabited "ghost cities." I mention it only because I was gobsmacked to see what an awesome landscaping job they did - the view hasn't been marred by a nearly treeless bunch of homes as I'd expected. Suddenly I've got to know all about the transplantation of fully grown trees! Leaving your car at the trailhead seems safer now that the housing development appears to be nearly finished. The trail doesn't get much traffic so on a weekday summer morning I was surprised to see several vehicles arrive and park here over about 20 minutes. But as I watched, only the occupants of one of them headed to the trail. The others appeared to be here to rendezvous for who knows what. Seems like an out-of-the-way place for drug deals, so most likely it was just international espionage. That would explain the van. You don't have to climb very high to gain some gorgeous panoramic views of our amazing valley. At first the trail seems suited for the rehabilitating and/or bad knees crowd, but it gets steep/rocky/tricky soon enough. Watch out for snakes as there are a lot of dark crevices that you need to step near. It's basically a shadeless hike but a little off-trail I found an exception to that and have, in seated and still shaded comfort at 9:00am, been watching a pair of hummingbirds a few feet away and tennis games below and replaying the score from "Out of Africa" in my head while writing this. That's how well retired folks multi-task. As you can tell by my rambling review I'm in no hurry to leave! I found the path to be fairly clean but there's evidence of idiot invasions too. At one spot some partiers left behind beer bottles, KFC boxes, and a padded bra. Yes they did. So doubtless it was a night-time view they were after, among other things. Well **** them for leaving trash, but I got paid for packing it out since they were evidently too drunk or drugged or after-glowy to notice they'd dropped some money along with their garbage. I love it when that happens.

While we were in Palm Springs, I wanted to go do some bird watching. My friend didn't want to go so…read moreI traveled solo. Found this place on Yelp and decided to drive down there since they didn't have any tour trams, shuttles or buses. It was a 30 to 40 minute drive from our hotel. Not too bad considering that we didn't have to put miles on our own car, and that is what a rental is for. All we needed was to fill up the tank with gas. Got there around 12pm and it was kind of empty inside the park. They had couple of different hiking trails and they were not too far away from each other. They were also easy to walk/hike and trails were short, but not as narrow. I was there for about 2 hours and the weather was not too hot..(to my surprise). Cool breeze, considering that I was in the arms of nature and trees were hovering and keeping the place nice and cool. Wasn't sure if they had a store that sold snacks or a restaurant, so I packed 2 sandwiches and a bottled water to go on this hike. The sceneries were just breathtaking, beautiful, peaceful and tranquil. At first I was looking for some birds. Even took my binoculars. Later, saw few chilling on a branch, hiding in trees, and also few on the rocks. There were also several different species of birds to watch/view and observe. Took few pictures and it was fascinating, interesting how the way the path/trail turns into a nature that is SO beautiful. They have a nice small lake, lots of trees, a golf course, a decent sized parking lot and a very clean restrooms. Usually at places like this, restrooms are very nasty looking and dirty. Admission is free, and had few resting areas with benches under the trees. They had 2 park rangers patrolling the area. Trash cans in some places and no littering. What a great 1st time experience!! It was so worth the wait. Highly recommend to anyone who is interested in bird watching. Some people are interested in people watching, but for me this was 100 times better!!

What a disaster. This area is an overgrown sand pit. I love animals and wildlife but not here. I…read morefound a pair of pants just off the trail. Gross. I too saw a bum fire. Sad for the condo owners. Why no dogs? Will they scare the bums and wildlife away? Dumb concept and development.

My heart didn't explode! Seriously though, this hike quickly goes from a leisurely flat hike to…read morehiking a narrow path that zigzags up a mountain. It was a good workout. Hats off the the people who were running up the mountain. More than half the people I passed (dozens, it was busy) were using hiking sticks. Hiking stick would have been nice on the way down. There were some steep spots. The path is well defined. There is no question where the path is. I decided to only hike as far as Simonetta Kennett Vista Point. This seems to be what most other hikers were doing. The trail does keep going. This trail is not a loop. The vista has breathtaking views. It is a great location to take in a full view of Palm Springs. There are two picnic tables at Simonetta Kennett Vista Point. Talk about lunch with a view. Everything looks so small from this vantage point. Trash is pack in, pack out. The view was just one reason I chose this trail. Another reason I chose this trail was the reports of wild big horn sheep. Unfortunately, the sheep were not out the day/time I hiked. There was evidence of the animals. I just missed them. Make sure to dress in layers. On a January afternoon, it quickly went from needing a light jacket to not. There is no shade. Regardless of time of year, bring plenty of water. Parking for this trailhead is on the street, along South Palm Canyon Dr. There is a map near the street with interesting information and rules. There are no entry fees for the trail. Keep the pups, bikes, and motorcycles at home. Signs indicate no dogs, bikes, or motorcycles allowed on the trail.

Was in town for Desert Air music festival and they offered a guided hike on the Oswit canyon trail…read moreas one of the dayitme "layovers." Our guides were Jannick and Dave who took us on the one mile loop hike while telling us facts and stories about the property. I haven't been to the gym or hiked as much as I'd like and found it to be doable with great views. We stopped a lot to learn about the flora and the fauna and about the non profit that saved this land from development. If you're looking for a good hike Lykken has the one mile loop as well as a north trail hike with ELEVATION! It's great if you're looking for a quick hike that will get your heart rate going or a long hike that will hit you with elevation early and get you closer to the sky.

Parking could be problematic but the spectacular boulder-lined hike definitely makes up for it.read more

This hike takes you through natural dessert area within the Chino Cone alluvial fan geologic area…read moreat the base of the the San Jacinto mountains south of the tramway. It is a newer trail that has several interpretive signs and winds it's way through the in-development Desert Palisades housing project. In March the trail was full of yellow blooming brittle bush and there are great views to the north, east and south. There is no parking at the start on W. Chino Canyon Rd so you will need to park at the North Lykken trailhead or in town and walk through the city streets to the start. You can get a distant glance of a Beadle home as you walk through the development area. See this trail soon as it will be surrounded by housing in the next 1-2 years, though on large lots.

What a great hike. According to my watch it was 7.71 miles from the Bogert trailhead…read more I'd say this is semi-hard hike for several reason. Three long steep climbs, no shade anywhere, and it's almost 8 miles. If you are in decent shape you should be able to do it. The entire hike took me three hours and 14 minutes with two breaks of about 5 minutes and 10 minutes at the top. Great views from the top. There was also a cool breeze that felt great.

Past pictures of this waterfall made it enticing enough to get me and my friends to come marvel at…read moreit. Instead, my kitchen sink dripping is more impressive. Okay, I'm exaggerating... only b/c I'm very disappointed with so many aspects of this hike :( First, it's $9 per PERSON to hike to this waterfall. So not worth it. $9 per car, more is reasonable, but not the deal here. Second, the signage on the trail, indicating mileage, is sooo off! As you get closer to the falls, mileage is supposed to tell you you're closer (less miles), but does the opposite and gets longer! Signs made it kinda frustrating and comical at the same time. Third, hike to the falls here, when Palm Springs receives more rain -it's looking like a taquito when I expected to see a fat burrito (I love Mexican food). Horses use this trail too, so expect seeing and smelling the mounds of horse poopies. Otherwise, it's an easy 4.12 mile hike, out and back with about a 626ft elevation gain. I started from the parking lot and followed the signs for Murray Trails to Seven Sisters Falls. Bring your hiking "ten essentials" (REI has a good list, if you're clueless to what I'm referring to). There are a couple outhouses for bathroom needs. Stay safe and healthy (mind, body and soul) Yelping Out there :)

Really, really enjoyed this trail. The first mile is a bit steep and coming back may be hard on the…read moreknees as there's also a lot of loose rocks and switchbacks. After the first mile, it turns into a rolling trail with pretty vistas. I went in January and it's nice and cool in the morning with the occasional breeze but can still get fairly warm by mid afternoon. I did both the Araby and Bern trails, which totaled about 5.7 miles, and there were other trails to explore for those who want a longer hike! Side note: at the Araby trailhead, there's only parking for about 10 cars and I went on a moderately busy day and took the last remaining spot, if it could be called that since I squeezed in between a bush and another car.

Nice trail to hike up, however, be sure to wear good shoes, and bring water. It's uphill and rocky…read more There is also loose rock, so watch your step. Parking is very limited. It can be hard on your knees coming down, but can get a pretty view from just about any distance.