INDIAN CANYON TOUR

First stop, Andreas Canyon, the second largest palm oasis in North America where we will take an approximate 30-minute nature walk. The tour is filled with information on plants, animals, native lore, history, and earthquake information of the area. Next stop, Palm Canyon, home to over 3,000 native palms, forming an incredible canopy with breathtaking vistas of the oasis and valley below. At the trading post, you can purchase that special souvenir and snacks.

Learn how the native people, our own Cahuilla Indians, thrived on the desert floor for many hundreds of years. Your naturalist guide will identify some of the more than 200 plants the Cahuilla used for food and medicines. Visit a "kish" and "ramada" to learn how early housing was possible in a natural palm oasis. Be intrigued, standing atop a massive "metate" where mothers and daughters worked side by side to prepare family meals.

Stroll along a cool stream flowing down from the San Jacinto mountains above. Gaze in wonder at steep canyon walls towering overhead. Watch for some of our amazing desert animals risking discovery to steal a drink from the ever-flowing stream. See the "Lion King" perch as your guide explains the fascinating geology of the Palm Springs area.

Your naturalist guide will explain where the water comes from here in the hottest and driest desert in North America. Who were the first settlers and why did they come? Did you know we had our own local gold rush? Why is our land ownership called the "Golden Checkerboard?" What influence did Spanish missionaries have in the region? Do we really have over 400 earthquakes per WEEK in California...and when will the next big one happen?