Super Bowl Sunday was bright and sunny here, not a cloud in the sky – but, it was pretty windy too, at least here in Desert Hot Springs. I figured it would be nice and calm a few miles away in Palm Springs because they are protected by Mt. Jacinto and don’t get hit with these occasional windy days like we do.
The trail up the canyon follows Andreas Creek all the way up
So, after taking the dogs to the dog park, and then having breakfast, I thought it would be a good day to visit the Indian Canyons just south of Palm Springs. That would still give me time to hike a few trails and still get back in time for the 3:30pm kickoff of the Super Bowl.
The path between the canyon walls and the creek below was narrow in spots
Paulette had already told me that she was going to skip these canyons as clambering around on rocks and rough trails would be way too hard on her knees. She said she would be quite happy to have the whole 5’er to herself for sewing and just hanging around for the day.
At certain parts on the trail, it felt like being in a jungle instead of a desert
So, with that, at 10am, I put my boots on and headed for Indian Canyons which is about a 20 minute drive from our RV Park. I headed down Dillon west for a few miles and then turned south on Indian Canyon Rd., which took me right through downtown Palm Springs. I then turned on to South Palm Canyon Dr. and 3 miles later I was at the entrance to Indian Canyons.
This is part of the rocky, steep trail up canyon
I paid the $6 entrance fee at the booth, got a map, and pulled over to have a quick look at what trails I wanted to take. Indian Canyons is actually a series of canyons, the largest of which are Andreas, Palm and Murray. I decided to start at Andreas Canyon as it was the closest and looked like it might be the easiest too.
There are many places in the canyon that are like an oasis 
I drove up to the Andreas Canyon parking lot and quickly found the trail entrance. I was right about this trail being easy as it was only a 1 mile loop. The trail took me up the right side of the canyon, following a very fast flowing Andreas Creek which wandered through groves of huge California fan palms.
This is part of the high side of the canyon on the way back to the start
Andreas Canyon is a stark contrast to the usual desert hiking trail due to the incredible palms and plant life that grows along the stream. I almost felt like I was walking through a jungle at times instead of actually being in the desert. Going up the trail, on the left was the creek and on the right were the high canyon walls with all kinds of unusual rock formations.
The unusual rock formations on the canyon walls are a stark contrast to the palms
After hiking about half a mile up the trail, I came to a wire fence which signals the end of the road. From there, I crossed a small bridge over Andreas Creek and headed up a 100 ft. climb to a trail which took me back to the parking lot. The trail back was interesting as it gave me a great view of the canyon, and the oasis, down below – it was very much worth the effort.
The high point of the trail back provides a great shot of the canyon below
I spent about an hour in total at Andreas Canyon, then headed down the road to the next one on the list – Palm Canyon. I spent two hours there, but I’ll have to save that story for another day. I headed back home and arrived about 30 minutes before the Super Bowl kickoff.
Congratulations to the New Orleans Saints and their fans – it was a great game and as usual I picked the wrong team to win this game. Oh well, I’m actually glad the Saints won as the City of New Orleans needed a boost.
Have a great Monday, and thanks again for visiting!
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