Desert Hiking and Outdoor Guides for Greater Palm Springs

The desert does not care how fit you are. Every year, confident people in expensive shoes get into real trouble on trails that looked easy from the parking lot.

So: hiking in the Coachella Valley, done properly. Indian Canyons, the quieter corners of Joshua Tree, the trails at The Living Desert — plus the practical things that never make it onto a trail sign. When it's simply too hot to be out there at all. How to keep your car from getting broken into at a trailhead. What to carry that won't occur to you until mile two.

Visiting between May and September? Read the heat guidance first. It's short, it's boring, and it's the one that actually matters.