We love the desert, which is why we selected the Coachella Valley for our short term rental. With great weather year round, there’s always sunshine to enjoy and amazing places to explore.
The Coachella Valley Oasis is conveniently located on the border of La Quinta and Indio with access to great amenities in both desert communities. If you’re interested in booking the home for a memorable vacation, please reach out to us for special pricing! Check out these places near the home during your stay!
Places to Hike
Indio Hills Trails
Indio | Free | 11 minute drive
This trail overlooks a man-made lake with some cool houses to check out. It’s a little hilly, but kids and a pregnant lady (me) fared well. At the trailhead, see if you can spot sea shells!
Cove Oasis Trails
La Quinta | Free | 15 minute drive
There are a few good trails here at the base of the Santa Rosa Mountains. If you’re traveling with younger kids, they also have a paved trail running along reservoir at the base of the mountain. See if you can find the “Brady Tree!”After your hike, swing by Old Town La Quinta for a beer, cold treat or lunch/dinner.
- Pro Tip: We bring a bag of Skittles along with us on hikes to keep the kids motivated. Other non-melting candy will work, too!
Coachella Valley Preserve
Thousand Palms | Free | 24 minute drive
You’ll have to keep reminding yourself that you are in the middle of the desert! Amazing, lush green oasis with surrounding mountain trails.
Indian Canyons
Palm Springs | Pass required | 46 minute drive
There are a few areas to explore in the Indian Canyons. Palm Canyon is a great spot for kids or adults. There’s a nice spot for resting and picnicking at the bottom of the canyon, then continue on the trail for as long as you are comfortable before heading back. The Andreas Canyon has a nice one-mile loop, too. The day pass also grants access to the nearby Tahquitz Canyon, featuring great views of the valley and a waterfall with pool crossing.
Joshua Tree National Park
Pass required | 30 minute-1 hour drive
Explore many trails over multiple days, or complete “the loop” in a single day. The national park requires entrance fees per vehicle, or you can use your America the Beautiful pass. For the day trip, we drive to the east entrance (Cottonwood Visitor Center), then hit the Cholla Garden, Jumbo Rocks/Skull Rock trail and Keys View before exiting through the Joshua Tree (west) entrance. We left around 10 a.m. and returned home to the Coachella Valley Oasis around 4:30 p.m.
Barker Dam is also an easy trail (the pregnant lady did this one without breaking a sweat), and Hidden Valley had some awesome scenery. We’ve also done the Arch Rock trail without the kids. They likely could have handled it, but we ended up losing the trail and exploring the large rock formations on our own before finding the backside of arch rock.
If you exit the park through Twentynine Palms, stop by Kitchen of the Desert or grnd sqrl for lunch or dinner. (Check back later for more on Twentynine Palms in a future post!)
Palm Springs Aerial Tramway
Pass required | 50 minute drive
Full disclosure: we are not great planners. We are usually more spontaneous on vacation, and end up choosing what we do once we get there. This one, you do need to plan ahead a bit. Luckily, on one trip with my mom and step-dad, they did more research than us and found that you should plan the famous Palm Springs Aerial Tramway trip in advance. A week before the trip, the only times available were 6 p.m. or later. For us, this ended up working great. We booked a 6 p.m. ride on the tramway and got there around 5:15 p.m. We ended up getting to go early at 5:40 p.m. – just in time for a fantastic sunset ride! We not only got to see the sun setting behind the mountains but also got views of the valley at night – all lit up.
When you go up the mountain, be sure to bring an extra layer. We were there in March and there was 6 feet of snow at the top of Mount San Jacinto! We went up with sweatshirts and pants and were fine just exploring the visitor center and observation decks at the top of the tramway, but if you’re planning to explore a little more, a winter jacket, hat and mittens wouldn’t be a terrible idea. They sold sleds at the top of the mountain for kids, and there are more areas to explore, so we plan on heading back soon.
Art Smith Trail
Palm Springs | Free | 25 minute drive
This trail just off the Pines to Palms Highway offers great views of the valley. There is an incline, but it made for a nice workout and the views were worth it. The trail itself is 8.3 miles, but we basically turned back once we got up the mountain (Blaine had a baby strapped to his back at the time).
Places to Eat
Old Town La Quinta
10 minute drive
This is our personal favorite spot to grab dinner and hang out in the valley! There are lots of restaurants to try and some cool shops. They even have a seasonal farmer’s market on Sundays from 8 a.m.-1 p.m. October-May with locally grown flowers, fruits, eggs, honey, vegetables and Artisan goods. Some of our go-to food options are TQLAS (great margaritas – try the street corn!), Stuft Pizza Bar & Grill, Casa Mendoza, and, of course, you have to stop at Nitrofusions for an ice cream treat! You can also grab a bite to eat or a beer at La Quinta Brewing Company‘s Old Town Taproom (other locations are in Palm Springs and Palm Desert). The taproom has live music on most Fridays nights – check out their Facebook page for the lineup!
Mario’s Italian
4 minute drive or 20 minute walk
The best “dive” Italian food around! Be sure to get the “biggest glass of wine in the valley” for only $5! They’ve got a great selection of Italian favorites, including pizza. Check the website for weekly specials – note that Thursdays are Prime Rib night, but you need to call a day or two in advance to make a reservation for the special (our step dad found that out the hard way and will have to get his prime rib fix next visit). We often walk here, and the best route is to take Dr. Carreon Boulevard down to Monroe Avenue street.
Pueblo Viejo
4 minute drive or 20 minute walk
Great Mexican food and margaritas! The guac rocks.
La Quinta Cliffhouse
10 minute drive
One of our splurges every trip! Food is amazing, and you get a good deal if you go between 3:30 and 5:30 p.m. for the sunset dinner or Happy Hour. Before we became vegetarians, we did try the steak and it was wonderful. Now, we usually get the cactus pasta (sans Chicken) or the vegan burger with fries at the bar (trust us – you’ll want the fries!). Call ahead for reservations, and order a Cliffhanger from the bar!
Misaki Sushi
9 minute drive
Great spot to get your sushi fix and asian cusuine. This was the spot where Blaine realized for the first time that Megan was terrible at using chopsticks.
Canton Bistro
7 minute drive
We like this place for takeout. On a busy weekend evening, the kitchen was backed up, so just give yourself plenty of time between ordering and being ready to eat. Our kids love the lo mein!
Other Things To Do
Downtown Palm Springs
30-40 minute drive
We haven’t done a whole lot of exploring in Palm Springs proper, but we have just walked around to check out some of the cool art. They have free parking, and there are lots of interesting things to check out near the Palm Springs Art Museum, including the famous Marilyn sculpture (we stopped by on our way to the Aerial Tramway). And of course, the mid-century architecture is fascinating to see.
Living Desert Zoo
Palm Desert | 20 minute drive
This place is great for kids – especially those who like things that go! They have a model train set that our kids always enjoy watching. And of course, there are neat animals from Africa, Australia and the Americas. For $3, you can ride the carousal featuring animals from the park. If you have a membership at your hometown zoo, check the reciprocity list to see if you can get 50% off admission for 2 adults and 2 children!
Coachella Valley Brewing
Thousand Palms | 27 minute drive
Fun brewery where you can bring your own food or get something from the food trucks that frequent the taproom. They have live music as well as comedy shows – check their Facebook for lineups. The location is pretty close to the Palm Springs International Airport, so it makes for a great “one last stop” stop before heading back home.
Hjorth Street/Empire Polo Fields (scenic walking route from house)
If you’re looking for a good route for a morning walk, you can walk to the polo grounds that host famous festivals like Coachella and Stagecoach. Head south on Calle Diamante, then take a right on Avenue 48, then a left onto Hjorth Street.We usually continue on Hjorth until we hit Mountain Vista Elementary School, then turnaround and it takes us about an hour (with kids in tow). Avenue 48 is a busy street, but Hjorth has much less traffic. We have seen some of the most gorgeous sunsets while walking this area.
Playgrounds
There is a playground at the corner of Calle Diamante and Avenue 48. There is another one across Avenue 48 near the Hjorth Street intersection (Hjorth Park, or “the dog park” as the kids refer to it as, given the dog statue). Dominguez Park (6 minute drive has a splash pad. There’s also a playground in Old Town La Quinta that the kids enjoy (usually before or after ice cream from Nitrofusions). Check out a list of Indio Parks.
Golfing
We are not golfers, but there are 120+ golf courses in the Coachella Valley! If you have any recommendations, send them our way as we should probably make a point to hit a course at some point.
What are your recommendations for the Coachella Valley? Leave them in the comments for us to check out on our next desert trip!
letswinatlife.com 