Thousand Palms Oasis | Palm Springs

Monday | 9 January 2006 | Palm Springs, California: Today our adventure took us east to the Thousand Palm Oasis. This Coachella Valley Preserve is a 20,000+ acre sanctuary for the endangered Coachella Valley Fringe-Toed Lizard, and is now jointly owned and managed by The Nature Conservancy, Bureau of Land Management, Wildlife Service, California Department of Fish & Game and California Department of Parks & Recreation. (Whoa! That's a lotta bureaucracy!)

This interesting fan palm paradise is situated exactly over the famed San Andreas fault-line. The fault forces underground spring waters up to the surface and for over 1000 (known) years native peoples have come to the oasis for water, food and hunting. Homesteaded in 1900 by Albert Thornburg, the oasis was traded to Paul Wilhelm in 1905 for two mules and a fancy wagon. Wilhelm always envisioned the oasis as a public park, which it has been since 1984.

The visitor center (built with vertical palm trunks) is the original homestead. It is staffed during the day and has interesting historical information and photos in the dusty building.

Thousand Palms Oasis Visitor Center

From the visitor center, we walked from the Thousand Palm Oasis, over the San Andreas Fault and through a wash to the McCallum Grove and pond on the McCallum Trial. (It really is more like a walk, not really a hike.) First you go through the cool fan palm forest. Much of this trail is on raised planks set over the marshy bottom. Soon you leave this oasis and enter the open desert where the McCallum Oasis is found about 15 minutes later.

Thousand Palm trail


California Palm

The trail is well-marked and most of the plant species are identified with informative signs. There is evidence of flooding, the fault-line, drought, and geological events of all sorts. We saw many birds (including a hawk), lizards and a jack rabbit on the desert trail between the two oases. Other animals common to the area are mountain lions, coyotes and rattle snakes.

Jack Rabbit


The trail goes over a salty wash


Reaching the oasis


McCallum Oasis

On a hot day, the fan palm forest - coupled with the water from the springs and ponds - can lower the ambient temperature by nearly 20 degrees. The McCallum Oasis is very pretty and the palm-lined pool is idyllic. The pond is home to the rare and incredibly-endangered Desert Pupfish, so swimming is not allowed.

 
Mosquito fish and crayfish (photos by DT)


McCallum Grove (photo by DT)


McCallum Grove oasis (photo by DT)