Hike Pushawalla Palms Trail loop

by Coachella Valley | January 19, 2020 6:09 am

Hike the Coachella Valley Preserve’s Pushawalla Palms Trail

The Pushawalla Palms Trail is located in the Coachella Valley Preserve which is located 10 miles east of Palm Springs near Thousand Palms.

It is a 20,000 acre site that is home to the Coachella Valley fringe-toed lizard, which is found nowhere else in the world. It is also home of the spectacular Thousand Palm Oasis which is fed by water seeping out of the San Andreas Fault. There are also several other palm oases, including the Paul Wilhelm Grove, Willis, Hidden Horseshoe, Pushawalla and Indian Palms oases.

The Pushawalla Palms Trail begins near the visitor center and follows the ridge of an uplifted earthquake fault past stunning views of the Coachella Valley down to a large palm grove, then returns via a scrub-covered wash. This hike is amazing to do in the late afternoon, when the sinking sun casts dramatic shadows over the desert and the San Bernardino Mountains. This is an easy-to-moderate hike with an elevation gain of about 300 feet. Outstanding Features: palm groves, desert and mountain views, Mission Creek earthquake fault.

At the end of the trail is Pushawalla Palms Oasis, which is located in a deep canyon carved into the Indio Hills. It is about a six mile round trip hike, so be sure to take plenty of water, some food, and wear proper shoes and clothing and follow these hiking tips.

If you are ready to experience some of the most beautiful hiking the Palm Springs area has to offer, grab your CamelBak, other Hydration Pack or Hydroflask and get out on the trail!

The information below posted by Hal Summers.  You can follow Hal and his hiking experiences at https://hikeeveryday.blogspot.com

Since this is a Preserve area there are no motor vehicles allowed, you know, like bicycles and dogs.
 

To get to the trail, you have to walk through all the oases in the canyon.

At the last oasis, you can go either straight through this muddy section or take the trail to the left. Just for fun, I went straight.

Once you have gone through the last oasis, keep your eye on the right for this little opening in the canyon wall. It’s not really a trail but it’s how I got up.

It’s across the canyon from this big gap in the west wall, the one with a rusted out old car.

When you top out at the gap, start heading east. You’ll hit a trail, cross a little wash and start heading up hill. At least, hopefully you will.

The trail is pretty good but there are sections where erosion has caused significant damage. It’s pretty rocky until you hit the top.

But once you hit the top the trail is smooth and beautiful. I initially thought this might be an Indian Trail but the trail meanders along the ridge top while an Indian trail would go from point A to point B.

It meanders along so you can take in the views of the canyons below and the mountains beyond. There are wonderful views all around.

Keep following the trail until you come to a split and go to the left. I went right and that fork just does a circle and comes back. Go left.

OK, you can go to the right if you want to take one more look at the view before you head down into the canyons again.

The canyon you drop into is rockier than any of the others so far. Be very careful while descending because most of those rocks are loose.

Once you’ve gone down the canyon, take a right into the next canyon and that will return you to Pushawalla Canyon. From there, it’s a short walk back to your vehicle. That is if you have a 4X4 and can drive to the trailhead. If not, your walk will be longer. All in all this loop is just a touch over 3 miles and I highly recommend it. I saw only one set of footprints on the trail itself–mine from a week ago.

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