The Desert is Not Deserted

The Coachella Valley Desert Is Full of Life - Here’s How to Discover It for Yourself

By Elizabeth Ogren Erickson

To quote CactusToCloud contributor and Coachella Valley naturalist Colin Barrows, “There is a perception that some people may have of the desert as a dry and desolate place, as compared to the green on the coast. In many respects, though, the desert is a place full of life, and lushness, and greenery - you have to get to know the desert first, before it reveals itself to you!” 

Did you know that all of us who live here in the Coachella Valley live in one of the most biologically diverse areas of the entire world? You may be surprised to learn that there is a lot of diversity, by that I mean variety, in the landscapes of our desert. And, by exploring these landscapes, you can get to know the amazing diversity of plants and animals that live here!

Here are a few of my favorite places to visit:

Yes! We have Joshua trees in the Coachella Valley, along with beautiful wildflowers in the spring!

One of my most favorite places to see wildflowers is Cottonwood Canyon, off Cottonwood Springs Road, near the southeastern entrance to Joshua Tree National Park.

The Salton Sea is part of an important flyway for over 450 species of migratory birds, including the American White Pelican (Pelecanus erythrorhynchos). It’s like watching the most beautiful symphony in the sky, as they swoop and soar through the air overhead!

My favorite place to explore in the National Monument is upper Carrizo Canyon, which is open October 1st through December 31st - closed the rest of the year for the birthing of the Peninsular Bighorn lambs.

So, mark your calendar for October 1st. I feel like I’m in another world when I hike through the narrow leaved willows to reach the California fan palm oasis!

One of my favorite places to visit in Sand to Snow National Monument is Whitewater Canyon Preserve. In March, the golden-yellow brittlebush (Encelia farinosa) flower and seem to almost cascade down the mountainsides. It is stunningly beautiful!

If you are looking for an easy hike to explore a native California fan palm oasis, I suggest Willis Palms Oasis, along an active strand of the San Andreas earthquake fault.

Enjoy the views of Mount San Jacinto and San Gorgonio in the distance!

If you want to see the uplift resulting from the action of the Pacific tectonic plate, which stretches all the way to Indonesia, moving along the North American tectonic plate, which stretches all the way to Iceland, Painted Canyon is a special place to explore!

This is where astronauts trained for the Apollo lunar landing, and even today the Orocopia Mountains seem almost as remote as the moon.

Plan to use a high-clearance, four-wheel drive vehicle to approach the wilderness along the Bradshaw Trail if you want the challenge of searching for Orocopia sage, which is a rare plant found only in the Orocopia Mountains!

This wilderness protects the largest herd of Peninsular bighorn sheep in the United States. The east end of the Boo Hoff Trail, near La Quinta, is one of my favorite places to explore.

A special place to explore is Hidden Lake, which is actually a montane - in other words, mountainous - vernal pool filled with shallow water in the spring, and yet completely dry in the summer and fall. And if you are really lucky, you may see Hidden Lake bluecurls, a rare alpine wildflower endemic to Hidden Lake - the only place on Earth where it is found!

Visiting Hidden Lake requires a (free) permit, which can be obtained at the top of the Palm Springs Aerial Tramway.