Gorgeous and challenging to access mountain. You will be one of the only people summiting, whether…read moreyou come on a weekday or weekend. It's just not easy to access and there are no trails going up this mountain. It's a rock scramble that you'll have to navigate yourself. This past weekend, I ended up going up Martinez Mountain and Sheep mountain. We started at the Cactus Spring Trail and hiked to Horsethief Creek. We were able to filter a good amount of water at the creek with a decent water source and from there hiked to Cactus Spring (about 5 miles from the start of the trailhead). Martinez Mountain was about 8 mile round trip back to Cactus Spring. It was quite a feat to traverse and required some class 3 moves to get up to the summit. Quite a thrilling adventure. Coming down the backside of the gully was not for the faint of heart; I definitely got some injuries I wish I didn't get...if I do this mountain again, it would probably be an out and back, although you can hit Sheep the same day (I ended up doing Sheep the next day). All in all; it's quite a challenge and you probably won't see a soul up here, but it's worth it for the adventurous-minded!

On April 27th, 2014 Lindsay, Kate and myself set off to climb Martinez Mountain. We drove up the…read more74 and parked the truck near an old mine. We started about 8 am, and the hike lasted almost 12 hours. All of us are in great shape but this turned out to be a brutal day hike. Starting point is located up the 74. Make a left on the dirt road right after the sugarloaf cafe. Then after the cactus spring trailhead sign, drive down and to the left to get the closest start. Exact location: Latitude: 33.5767109413 Longitude : -116.4422111493 The elevation was 3922 ft The hike starts off descending and you go cross a small stream about a half mile in. At 1.7 miles in and 3400 ft, we crossed Horse Thief Creek, which surprisingly had a good amount of water flowing. No water after that. After 1 mile of good grade it leveled out and we followed a wide wash, making out way to the mountain. We met another hiker who knew the area well and told us where the trail we needed connected to the wash. At 4.97 miles from our start, we took the trail to the right and headed to the saddle just west of Martinez Mountain. It could easily be missed without keeping an eye out. 1.35 miles after leaving the wash, we made it to the saddle and stopped for lunch. We could see Jacinto, Santa Rosa Mountain, and the south side of the Martinez. From here, there is NO TRAIL to the top. Making out way up the ridge was a scramble. It was a lot of work, and there are large boulders and overgrown bushes. Its steep and you will need to be in great shape. At 7.64 miles from the start, and 6543 ft up, we summited! The summit is a group of large boulders and you will need to be able to lift your own bodyweight to get up. We found the summit sign in ammo box, which only had about 100 signatures in the last ten years. On our way down we decided to go a more direct way down, which was very steep and slow moving. Our knees really took a beating jumping down rock to rock. We then got back on the trail in the wash and headed back to the start. In total, we hike 14.8 miles. We had a great time and want to explore this area more!

If you take the Henderson trail in the early winter a few weeks after rainfall you will be greeted…read moreby a bounty of flowers and shrubbery that make most hikes in the surrounding Palm Desert utterly boring. There is also a managed garden, a visitor center, and a 19 year old turtle exhibit. This is a must see.

Ok I can see why it's a popular trail especially since it's 3 loops in one. There is a very short…read moreone, medium and the complete one. Of course each one you go in higher elevation. Is located next to a visiting center. We didn't go in there but that's where there's restrooms in case before or after you have to go. Actually on the trails app it shows that there are other trails in close proximity. Ok more about this trail. There were several groups of two people here and there. So would run into them, say hi. But it was nice because it's not a busy trail, well at least when we went. For us the trail is easy, but there is elevation to tackle on this trail the further you go. So it's about a little over an hour, especially if you take your time and of course take pictures and videos. Weather was nice, slight wind but nothing crazy like DHS wind. The way I see it, if younger and in shape people will find this easy but a nice exercise with a nice view not just from the top but just walking around. Gave it a 4 because I felt it a little easy. But did notice a lot of elderly so it's definitely a good hike to keep in shape or go for a walk. I might do it again, but I do recommend it for a fun easy hike at least once.

The Salton Sea is a large and hyper saline lake with high concentrations of minerals and salts…read more While many fishes no longer survive here due to increasing salinity, the primary fish species that currently inhabit are tilapia and the native desert pupfish. I have to say it's very smelly in this area, and the lake has a distinct rotten egg odor.

Great fascinating place to visit. See the separate entry for its interpretive center. That's a…read more"must visit." Sadly, New Camp is closed. Copper wire thieves stripped the RV hook ups, and the state gated the campsite, even though us tent campers don't need hook ups. Mecca campground, one mile south, is also closed. Its plumbing has been broke for years. Unfortunately fixing this gem of a state park is probably not a high priority for Sacramento. Still, visit it & do the best you can. Try Salt Wash campground (separate Yelp entry).

Fun hike that was on the drive back for us. Really wanted to do 49 palms but had no time and this…read morelooked like an interested hike. If we didn't have a senior citizen and 2 kids with us we would have gone for the whole thing. It's a long 7.5 mile hike if you want but we weren't able to get too far into it because of timing but the nice thing is the giant palms are right in the beginning! Here are some nice things you can see without getting too far deep: -The palms right at the beginning, if you go a little past them there is a small path where you can get right into the middle of them and climb up a little platform into a totally "secret" and secluded area. I would go into here and not just look at it from the outside. -On the right side there are stones that Native Americans used to use for grinding down seeds, herbs, etc... You can find these distinct holes and get right up to them. -The desert plants are amazing at the beginning of the hike, some we didn't see anywhere else at Joshua Tree.

+ Cool place to encounter a real oasis and a closed mine. So…read moreglad I do my research before embarking on my adventure, so I can anticipate cool attractions such as this hiking trail. Surprised to witness so much greenery and shade in the middle of the desert, as well as mines, a glimpse into history. + Plenty of parking.

Beautiful, moderately challenging hike with great views of downtown and North Palm Springs. I…read morespontaneously decided to do the Museum Trail to North Lykken and then walked back to the parking by the museum along the streets. It took about 2 hours in total. The North Lykken trail is definitely a little less steep than the Museum Trail but has equally beautiful views. Be aware that this trail is NOT well marked. If I hadn't been hiking around other people who knew where they were going I definitely would have gotten lost several times. The loop between North Lykken, South Lykken, and the Museum Trail is also pretty confusing so make sure you're on the right path. Especially because many people do this as a point-to-point trail (like I did) instead of out-and-back, I wish the markings were a bit clearer. On the bright side, you're not exactly out in the wilderness so you should have cell service the whole time.

This trailhead at the dead-end of west Ramon Road is another way to access the Skyline Trail, as is…read morebarely discernable on the typically old, clouded, scratched plexiglass covered sign in its parking area (which is why it's good to check caltopo.com before doing a new hike - I've found it to be more accurate than alltrails.com). But this trail is worthwhile in itself. At the start it directly and intimately overlooks the Historic Tennis Club neighborhood and its beautiful old estates - probably the nearest ones have to forget about any nude sunbathing in their back yards. I hadn't been here in quite a while - when I arrived, slowly passing by the empty new development on my left, it was kind of eerie like one of China's just-built but uninhabited "ghost cities." I mention it only because I was gobsmacked to see what an awesome landscaping job they did - the view hasn't been marred by a nearly treeless bunch of homes as I'd expected. Suddenly I've got to know all about the transplantation of fully grown trees! Leaving your car at the trailhead seems safer now that the housing development appears to be nearly finished. The trail doesn't get much traffic so on a weekday summer morning I was surprised to see several vehicles arrive and park here over about 20 minutes. But as I watched, only the occupants of one of them headed to the trail. The others appeared to be here to rendezvous for who knows what. Seems like an out-of-the-way place for drug deals, so most likely it was just international espionage. That would explain the van. You don't have to climb very high to gain some gorgeous panoramic views of our amazing valley. At first the trail seems suited for the rehabilitating and/or bad knees crowd, but it gets steep/rocky/tricky soon enough. Watch out for snakes as there are a lot of dark crevices that you need to step near. It's basically a shadeless hike but a little off-trail I found an exception to that and have, in seated and still shaded comfort at 9:00am, been watching a pair of hummingbirds a few feet away and tennis games below and replaying the score from "Out of Africa" in my head while writing this. That's how well retired folks multi-task. As you can tell by my rambling review I'm in no hurry to leave! I found the path to be fairly clean but there's evidence of idiot invasions too. At one spot some partiers left behind beer bottles, KFC boxes, and a padded bra. Yes they did. So doubtless it was a night-time view they were after, among other things. Well **** them for leaving trash, but I got paid for packing it out since they were evidently too drunk or drugged or after-glowy to notice they'd dropped some money along with their garbage. I love it when that happens.

Awesome Half Marathon Event (5 Stars)…read more Running 13.1 miles in Palm Springs was an awesome event. February 10, 2013 was set for a 7:00 am start, and it was on time ... Yay! Here are the highlights: - finish time 1:59:00 - easy online registration - optional paper registration - great piggy-back on Tour de Palm Springs bike ride - regular email messages about the event - online info regarding the event - interesting route - great support along the route - nice relatively flat route - easy access to the start line - easy parking around the neighborhood - lots of police support Awesome medal ... and I definitely plan a return in 2014.

Have participated in the women running wild 5k since 1998 annually ( only missed 2 ) First of all…read moreit's set in the Movie Colony area of Palm Springs, so you go through a wonderful neighborhood of lovely homes with San Jacinto as the backdrop. Sunrise Park is a beautiful setting where it all begins and ends with much comraderie. Each year I have seen this event outdo itself. Brenda Clark & Greg Klein are wonderful, compassionate people who make everyone feel welcome and special. Don't let the name fool you, women and men are welcome to participate, also children, dogs, moms with strollers, you get the picture. And amazingly, in all the years I've attended, it's gone off without a hitch. A fun day benefiting a worthy cause. Jeanie Ribeiro Palm Desert, CA

This review is for Ladder Canyon & Painted Canyon Trail which was a ~4.4 miles round trip that took…read more~2.5 hours to complete. Ladder Canyon & Painted Canyon Trail was a popular and crowded hike near Mecca, California. Trail was flat and sandy while you're at the bottom of the canyons. Started the loop clockwise; look for the ladder on your left. Requires a little bit of rock scrambling at this part and some ladders to get to the slot canyons. Trail becomes a bit more rocky with a slight incline towards the top of the canyons. Furthermore, there was a rope and ladder near the end of the loop. Overall, this was unique trail with stunning views throughout the hike! Required to drive on a well maintained dirt road for ~4.6 miles. Low clearance cars could make it; go slow and dodge the bigger bumps as you get closer to the parking. No restroom at the trailhead! Short video of the hike for those interested! https://youtu.be/7HECQHARzvs

I went there on April 6, 2025. There's 7 cars at parking area. I ran into 6 hikers while I was on…read morethe trail. It's quiet and really enjoyed the nature. Gloves and hiking boots are game changers. Last 2 miles are very rocky and sandy, so it's hard to walk. I forgot my sunscreen and sunglasses.

The Salton Sea is really unbelievable. Haven't really ever heard of it before my mom moved to La…read moreQuinta 14 years ago. But after hearing the stories, I had to go. Recently, it finally came true. When you finally get your sights on it, it's more unreal. The lake is about 15 by 35 miles at its widest and longest. So, it's HUGE, and there's a hell of a lot of water. Sure, it's getting smaller, but still. If you go, you should decide to go on the West or East side...because it's very far to go all around. My mom and I went east, but I think there's more to see on the west side (which has Salton City, Desert Shores, Salton Sea Beach). What we did see was a few "campgrounds", former structures, and the highlight -- Bombay Beach, an little town with some artistic endeavors, but mostly low income and off-grid living. It's just not healthy to live nearby this. It has a little market and an old motel, the Ski Inn, that is now a coffee shop and dive bar. It wasn't very smelly on a 75 degree day, but I'm sure it is in the heat of summer. It's both marvelous and a engineering disaster. I asked Siri a million things while driving, but I'm left with more questions than answers.

It's my second time to visit this desolate place in two years because of its art installations. The…read moreart is amazing and quirky that makes Salton Sea Beach a nice getaway spot and admiration. Unfortunately, the sea is receding fast, nevertheless its environment is breathtaking! As long as interesting and quirky art installation continues, Salton Sea Beach will never be a desolate place.