Hiking Tahquitz Canyon was one of my favorite activities when I was vacationing in Palm Springs.  Palm Springs is one of my favorite travel destinations.  For thousands of years, the Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians called the Tahquitz Canyon home.  As a result, I decided to check out the canyon in the San Jacinto Mountains.  

There is a $12.50 fee for adults and a $6.00 for children for the hike.  The money goes toward maintenance of the canyon.  The hike is approximately 2 miles and considered strenuous.  Bring a bottle of water, wear long sleeve shirts, long pants and wear either hiking boots or sneakers.  Furthermore, there are few areas with shade along the trail.  It is also rocky and steep.  You should be in pretty good shape if you want to accomplish this hike.

There’s a visitor’s center at the entrance of the canyon.  You can watch a 15 minute video on the Cahuilla tribe’s heritage and look at various artifacts before hitting the trail.  I decided to go with a Park Ranger since I’m not a hiker.  However, you can hike on your own.

Mortars were used to grind corn, beans, and acorns for mush.  You can find mortars throughout the canyon.

We passed this stream as we were going up the trail.  It is feed by a 60 foot waterfall at the top of the trail.  For thousands of years, it provided the Cahuilla Indians with drinking water and pools to bathe and cool off.

Tahquitz Canyon is full of plant life and mesquite trees.  Cahuilla  Indians were experts in using mesquite for cooking when meat was available.  Because meat was scarce, they ate mostly berries, mush and edible plants.  This plant hides an entrance to a cave.

We finally reached the waterfall after an hour.  It wasn’t running at full capacity, but it was beautiful nevertheless.  It’s 60 feet and flows into a pond below.  The pond flows into a stream.  We relaxed at this spot for about 30 minutes while the Ranger explained the history of the waterfall and the habits of the Cahuilla Indians.

The group listening to the Park Ranger history lessons.

This is a photo of me by the pond feed by the waterfall.  It was about the only cool spot on the hike.

This rock is where Tahquitz’s spirit supposedly lives.  Tahquitz, a Cahuilla Indian, misused his power and was banished into the canyon.  As a result, the canyon is named after Tahquitz, which means fireball or meteor.  Legend has it, that Tahquitz appears as a green meteor-like ball of fire.

Finally, the history of the Cahuilla Indians is interesting.  What they ate, their clothing and rituals make the hike interesting.  The guided hikes last about 2-1/2 hours.  Make reservations for the hike.  The first hike of the day is the best time to spot bighorn sheep and a small bluish-black bird called the Phainopepla.  I didn’t see any bighorn sheep, but I did see the Phainopepla.