Hiking Andreas Canyon, Part 1 of 2

My recent visit to Palm Springs was spent outdoors, hiking various trails, enjoying the glorious desert winter weather. Exploring solo, I’m always careful to stay where other people are, just not too close. I’d inquired at my hotel about best hiking trails and was directed to the Indian Canyons on the Agua Caliente Indian Reservation at the east end of the valley. I arrived just after opening time of 8am, paid the $9 entry fee at the gate, and started driving in, stopping to snap a couple of photos while horseback riders crossed. Cool, extra atmosphere bonus!

My original intent was to check out several trails fanning from the Reservation Gift Shop, but as I glanced over to the right I became curious about a line of palm trees off in the distance, along the base of the mountains.

After the horses were out of the way, I continued, saw a fork in the road, and turned that direction. It was a great decision. The horseback riders were arriving to a banjo player and breakfast ready; it smelled heavenly! I parked my little truck and wandered past in envy, heading up Andreas Canyon. Perfect, I thought, that’s my son’s name! A small family with two wonderfully quiet, well-behaved kids was on the trail just a little bit ahead of me. When out in nature, there’s nothing worse than being surrounded by loud, chatty people… I want to listen to nothingness, the birds chirping, the stream running over the rocks, etc. I was grateful they appeared to be of the same mindset, and we were the only ones on the trail the entire distance. Hooray!

The gallery below shows the spectacular views along the first half of the mile-long trail loop. What this trail lacked in distance, it made up for in surprising beauty. Colorful rock formations looming overhead on the right, a small creek and California fan palms guiding on the left. Tomorrow’s post brings the return half of the trail, with breathtaking views that had me standing and staring with mouth nearly hanging open. See you tomorrow. ~SueBee (photos by SueBee)