Palm Canyon — Attraction in Palm Springs

Highly recommend. A beautiful and amazing canyon. The mix of palm trees, beachy sand, and running water stream among the rocky, scrubby, dry hills surrounding it is unique and not to be missed if you are in the area. Trail is mostly along the stream but farther along, the trail moves away from the water for a bit and gets really peacefully quiet. Also on way back, we got views of hills in distance with snow on them.

We were told Palm Canyon Trail hike was easy and yet when directed to start at just behind visitor center, the first part of that path down to the water, was narrow and rocky switchbacks, that one of us with balance issues couldn't handle.

We discovered later there is a wider, smoother and more gradually-sloped way down (sort of like a gravel road for ATVs) that could get you to at least the stream and first grove of palm trees.

This easier way down was via an additional parking wasn't obvious to us at first because we went straight to visitor center.

To get to this more accessible way down, you should go up to the entrance drive to top parking area but rather than turning right and entering to the parking by visitor center, you should instead turn left, and go back down a little, to another level of "additional" parking. From that additional parking lot, you can see the smoother way down.

Our friend with balance issues managed this easier way down with walking sticks, to get to the palm trees and creek but no farther due to water crossing they didn't want to try.

We also saw a mom with daughter in wheelchair who managed to get down that way, after we directed them to it, to get to at least be amongst palms and near creek. This more accessible way is not well marked, so be prepared to look for it or ask lots of questions of staff, explain what you want.

Rest of Palm Canyon Trail was fairly flat but had some deeper sandy areas and water crossings, because it had just rained when we went in Jan., so not accessible unless fairly good walker. A regular wheel chair wouldn't work in the sand but could get to the start of trail along stream and palms, if you can handle some slope down and back up again, and seems worth it, even if you can't do rest of trail, because just such a unique place to see and spend some time at. You can also see palms and canyon from above, from visitor center area accessible from parking lot.

We also saw big horn sheep from the picnic tables in front of visitor center, just off the parking lot. They were a ways up in hills and hard to see with naked eye but with binoculars and a good camera, could see well. They were pregnant and park staff said they likely would have babies in a few days.

There is also a trail to another stream, rapids, just few hundred feet beyond visitor center (just beyond where toilets are), worth checking out because so quick to see.

The visitor center staff were great and they have some nice basic snacks and soft drinks for sale and some outdoor picnic tables to eat at, wait...

Awesome place to visit whether you are a tourist or a local. A must for anyone visiting Palm Springs.

Very well worth the price of admission!

You park at the Trading Post.

The initial trail down to the canyon is a little steep, but we had one person who had both knees replaced and had no issues. However, she mentioned that before the knee replacement, she probably would not have tried.

The initial moderate climb down into the canyon is the only difficult part of the trail. You can see this part of the trail at the Trading Post making it easy for you to decide if you can handle the hike down.

The initial moderate climb down into the canyon is the only difficult part of the trail. You can see this part of the trail at the Trading Post making it easy for you to decide if you can handle the hike.

It's so beautiful. A very popular hiking area. It is a trail, but feels a bit more like a campground without the camping.

The Cahuilla tribe lived here for thousands of years. The Palms are native and very abundant.

The world's largest naturally occurring oasis of Washingtonia filifera palms.

You see fire damage on some trees and not others. We encountered a local who told us that in his 60 years, there had been no fires in this canyon, so the fire damage is older.

History tells us that the Cahuilla people would burn the hanging fronds off the trees to get rid of the palm-boring beetles and make the trees produce better fruit.

This is a canyon with water flow in the winter months. Water gets knee-deep in places. The water is from the snow melt. There are remnants of multiple natural springs but very little water flows in the summer - at least that was our experience.

We visited in August of 2024. Since tourism is slower in the summer, they use the time to clean up the canyon. They clear out the palm fronds so the water flows more freely in the winter months also making hiking easier. They do an excellent job of maintaining this canyon.

This is the cleanest and best maintained hiking trail I've been to in this area.

This is a must for tourists in the winter months and a great place for locals in the summer when tourism is slow.

Picnic tables and porta potties are available in the palm groves.

The park is only open on weekends in summer. Check their web site before going.

I imagine it's very crowded on weekends in winter, so plan ahead and arrive early when...

This was my favorite hiking area of our visit to the area. In fact, we went twice in the 8 days we were in the area! I would say it's a moderatel-easy level hike due to the steep inclines on small sections of the trail, but truly most of it is very easy. There are plenty of places to rest and the trail is absolutely lovely. So, don't be afraid to go if you are a beginner. I saw children as well as elderly (even more elderly than myself! Ha!) Everyone seemed to be having a great time. (There are bathrooms on the trail too.) Be sure to listen to the Ranger talk if you can make it. There is one at 10am, not sure of the other time, but they do it twice daily. You get to hear a little history of the Agua Calliente branch of the Coahuilla Indians that once lived down in the canyon. There are a couple of recreations of the type shelter they once lived in. But the real treat is the beauty of this canyon. The palms are massive, a spring fed stream runs thru the rocks and the various type & coloring of the rocks are awe inspiring. There is a small gift shop at the trail head too. This is an experience words really are not adequate & even photos don't do it justice. You HAVE to...