About 13,000 years ago, the area around Palm Springs was savannah land with 100 inches of rainfall per year and two types of mammoths. In fact, the palms dotting the desert — the remains of an ancient jungle — developed thorns to prevent the mammoths from eating their buds.
Today, the jungle is long gone and desert covers a huge portion of southern California. Often dismissed as hot and dry, desert ecosystems are more complicated and delicate than they first appear. For people wanting a late winter/early spring break from colder and wetter parts of the country, that desert sunshine is a balm. The southern California deserts offer hiking, biking, camping, stargazing and fascinating encounters with geology, as well as the posher amenities of resort communities Palm Springs and Palm Desert. Here are a few highlights of a desert wellness vacation.
Biking with Big Wheel Tours
Big Wheel Tours’ Earthquake Canyon Express Tour starts in the Mecca-Copia National Wilderness and descends 12,000 feet along 20 miles of remote roads to the Salton Sea. Cyclists spread out to get some desert solitude as they contemplate the crazy rock formations that the San Andreas Fault pushes every which way. This is an easy downhill cruise. Intermediate bikers who want more exercise can rent a mountain bike and tackle the epic 29-mile Palm Canyon Trail.
Jeep Tour of the San Andreas Fault
If you want to learn everything about the desert around Palm Springs, Desert Adventures’ Jeep drivers/tour guides will school you in the area’s geology, agriculture, Cahuilla Indians and animal and plant life. Plus, you get to Jeep through bumpy dirt tracks in one of the most seismically active parts of the country, surrounded by the enormous San Jacinto Mountains. Huge rock faces lay on their sides, pushed up by the Pacific plate as it moves northwestward. “It’s the bones of the Earth sticking out here,” says Jeep driver Morgan Levine, who reads the landscape like a book. One tour highlight is a stop at one of the 28 palm canyons that straddle the San Andreas Fault. As moisture seeps up through the fault line, oases of palms spring to life in the otherwise dry desert.
Resort Life
Those who would rather swim in a pool, play a round of golf or get a massage are also well-cared for in the SoCal desert. One of many area resorts, the J.W. Marriott Resort in Palm Desert offers all the upscale amenities, plus such unexpected sights as a pond full of flamingos and a short boat ride to the bar. However, some guests don’t come here to relax. The Marriott also offers The Biggest Loser Resort, an onsite wellness program for people who want to make permanent changes in their health habits. Trainers motivate participants through hikes, exercise sessions, wellness education and spa cuisine meals.
Getting Away to Borrego
About 90 minutes south of Palm Springs, the Anza Borrego Desert is a much simpler and less-developed region that draws serious hikers and birders. Four-wheel drive comes in handy here as you lurch over dirt tracks to arrive at a trailhead where no other cars are parked. At night, locals and visitors enjoy the stars in this internationally designated dark sky community.
Anza Borrego is also home to an unusual art installation.Since 2008, sculptor Ricardo Breceda has populated the desert with more than 100 metal renditions of saber-toothed tigers, ground sloths, dinosaurs, wooly mammoths and other beasts who once roamed here, helping visitors to step back in time.
Want to Explore?
From Richmond, Va., American and United fly you to Palm Springs the fastest. If you’re visiting Borrego, you might want to fly to San Diego instead. Either way, rent a four-wheel drive if you want to explore the desert. Dogs aren’t allowed on trails in Anza Borrego State Park.
Desert Adventures’ Red Jeep Tours
Anza Borrego Desert State Park
“A desert is a place without expectation.” ~ Nadine Gordimer
