The folks who write travel brochures toss around words like “magical” to describe places they would like you to visit. Often these vacation spots are very nice, but “magical” might be stretching it a little.
However, I’m going to confidently step out on a limb here and tell you that the Agua Caliente Cahuilla Indian’s Palm Canyon truly lives up to being described as magical. It’s the world’s largest fan palm oasis and walking into it is like stepping into an exotic world all its own.
It’s part of the Indian Canyons on the land of the Agua Caliente Cahuilla Indians and is tucked in behind Palm Springs. They maintain the area and charge a small fee for admission to the hiking trails. Also in the area are Murray Canyon and Andreas Canyon, which treats visitors to a perennial creek.
Abundant nature
The plant and animal life in these little self-contained ecosystems is abundant, including some rare and threatened species. When you look up to the canyon walls, you see stark walls of red rock, but on the floor of the canyons, there is rich, green plant life. The shade the palms provide along with a source of water, sustained the first inhabitants in this area.
When you visit, you can develop a real appreciation for what life was like before the first European settlers arrived. You’ll also find reminders of when the ancestors of today’s Caliente Cahuilla Indians lived there, including rock art, house pits and foundations, irrigation ditches, dams, reservoirs, trails, and food processing areas.
Imagine yourself to be an early explorer, parched by the dry desert floor, when you discover that hidden away in the rugged mountains is a series of cool, green and even wet oases. Could there have been a more welcome sight?
The good life
Of course, life is quite a bit easier today for the residents in Palm Desert, La Quinta, Indian Wells and the general Palm Springs or Coachella Valley area. But it’s always a good idea to remember the roots of the area where you live.
When you have these images filed away in your mind, you’ll probably recall them often when you’re out on one of our golf courses. You can see that many of our courses here are inspired by locations such as Palm Canyon. They make almost artistic use of the dramatic meeting of the rock and sand with the green of native plants.
And while I gave travel brochure writers a bit of a hard time at the beginning of this article, I have to say that there is something magical about being out on a course like The Citrus Club, the Dunes Course at the La Quinta Resort, Rancho La Quinta and many others with a green fairway under your feet, a clear blue sky over head and mountains to your side that display an almost infinitely varied palette of reds and tans.
There’s only one thing better: living alongside such natural and man-made beauty. It’s no mystery why people continue to settle in La Quinta and the Coachella Valley as a whole; this area has the natural beauty, the recreational opportunities and the climate that makes for an ideal home base.
La Quinta real estate information
Take a moment to download our golf course resource guide. It’s really much more. It gives you an idea of relative home prices, country club fees and a listing of area restaurants.
And after you’ll mulled the golf course guide over for a little while, call us or drop us an email so we can answer your questions and help you find your ideal home.
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