Fan Palms

We enjoyed an interesting self-guided Spring hike of two oases at the Thousand Palms Oasis – Coachella Preserve (on the San Andreas Fault, no less) in the Southern California Desert (about 10 miles East of Palm Springs).

Here’s a video with photos that captured some of our day hiking at the Thousand Palms Oasis at Coachella Preserve!

A Hike at Thousand Palms Oasis Preserve – Coachella Valley

Here are some photos from our hike at Thousand Palms Oasis Preserve!

Visitors Center at Thousand Palms Oasis Preserve, Coachella Valley
Photo by SJF Communications

Enormous palm fronds at the Thousand Palms Oasis Preserve, Coachella Valley
Photo by SJF Communications

A View of the Thousand Palms Oasis Preserve, Coachella Valley
Photo by SJF Communications

McCallum Pond at Thousand Palms Oasis Preserve, Coachella Valley
Photo by SJF Communications

We started our journey by stopping at the Palm House Visitors Center (the original homestead log cabin, complete with really cool artifacts) and hiking over a few boardwalks (and a bit of sand) on the flat McCallum Trail (round trip 2 miles). The amazingly tall fan palms (Washingtonia filifera – some over 50 feet) are a sight to behold!

Side giggle note: The lengthy fronds resemble ‘Cousin Itt’ from the Addams Family!

In the middle of this desert, there were two magnificent oases, as well as beautiful purple, yellow, blue and white wildflowers, and a few birds.

At the end of the trail was McCallum pond (yes indeed, a pond – with water courtesy of the San Andreas Fault) with an added bonus – the endangered Desert Pup Fish!