Don’t Hurry Murray

Murray Canyon Hike in Palm Springs

Don’t let the desert stereotype fool you: Palm Springs has a wet-and-wild side beyond hotel swimming pools. A 3.8-mile (round-trip) hike in Murray Canyon showcases Palm Springs as the Agua Caliente Indians knew it: stately fan palms, towering rock formations, and a spring-fed stream. Murray Canyon Trail traverses a sandy wash and quickly enters the canyon mouth, guarded by tilted rock outcrops pointing toward the sky. Clusters of reeds, grasses, and wild grapes hug the streambanks. Palm trees rustle their fronds, and birds serenade you as you rock-hop across the creek (watch for the endangered least Bell’s vireo, which nests here). The canyon twists and turns, its 50-foot-high walls closing in tighter as you progress. Too soon you reach the trail’s end at a series of small cascades known as the Seven Sisters, a perfect spot to cool your heels.

From the southern end of S. Palm Canyon Dr., bear right at the sign for Palm Canyon/Andreas Canyon. Stop at the toll gate (entrance fee is $9 adult, $5 children), drive about 200 yards, and turn right. Drive past the Andreas Canyon trailhead to the Murray Canyon trailhead. The Indian Canyons Visitor Center has additional info. No dogs.

Trending Stories NorCal

View all Stories
  1. Serene Las Gallinas

    A serene stroll alongside marshland, passing ponds and grasses frilled in seasonal wildflowers, with Mount Tam a beacon in the background … how nice. As part of the esteemed Bay Trail, San Rafael’s Las Gallinas Valley Birding Loop and Wildlife Ponds comprises about 3.5 miles of wide-open trail.

    View
  2. Paint Brushy

    This time of year you’ll have good reason to head for the hills—the electric-green rolling hills of Brushy Peak Regional Preserve in Livermore. This 4.5-mile loop hike is like stepping into a plein air painting.

    View
  3. Sponsored

    2025 POST Wildflower Walks

    Get flower empowered! POST’s complimentary 2025 Wildflower Walks guide blooms with the best places to see a variety of florals across the Peninsula and South Bay this spring.

    View
  4. All right, Almaden!

    Take a trip through time on this 5-mile loop in Almaden Quicksilver County Park. Explore the ruins of an old cinnabar mine and enjoy the first hints of wildflower season.

    View

Trending Stories SoCal

View all Stories
  1. Sponsored

    Weekend in Reno Tahoe

    Weekend plans? Reno Tahoe! Just a few hours by car or a short flight away, Reno Tahoe springs to the moment with great ways to combine adventure and relaxation in its beautiful mountains-meets-desert setting.

    View
  2. Hiker walking along the North Bluff Trail on Santa Cruz Island, Channel Islands National Park

    Purely Wild

    Channel Islands National Park lives up to its nickname as “North America’s Galapagos.” This less-traveled national park is an undeveloped and isolated series of five dramatic and distinct islands reached by boat. Hike the largest of the islands, Santa Cruz.

    View
  3. Woman hiking the South Kaibab Trail in the Grand Canyon

    Truly Grand Day Hike

    One of the best spring day hikes in the Grand Canyon? See layer upon layer of the park’s grandeur—including the river—on this 3-mile (one-way) journey to Skeleton Point via the South Kaibab Trail.

    View
  4. A woman stands amid an array of yellow and purple flowers at Descanso Gardens in Los Angeles

    Petal Paradise

    Tulips, lilacs, and daffodils—flower power is in full bloom at Descanso Gardens in La Cañada Flintridge. Sprawling across 150 acres surrounded by mountains, the gardens are putting on their best show right now.

    View