Tahquitz Canyon

Dogs No Dogs

Features River/Creek · Views · Waterfall

This delightful loop travels through a dramatic desert landscape on a narrow rocky trail. The destination is a 60-foot seasonal waterfall that spills into a quiet alcove. Even if you don't catch the water, the canyon floor is littered with boulders and small scenes that make for an interesting trail experience.

The visitor center offers a small collection of displays, an observation deck, and a video presentation. There are typically a few ranger-led runs through the morning and early afternoon.

Plenty of rocks and narrow sections provide interesting terrain. However, the entrance fee and potential for bottlenecks may make this a poor place to run.

After exiting the Tahquitz Canyon Visitor Center, the rocky singletrack climbs gradually across a wide drainage as it works towards a small creek with a low, picturesque rock bridge. From there, the trail switchbacks up along the edge of the canyon with occasional stone steps leading the way.

Runners will work around plenty of scattered boulders and start to get a nice framed view of Palm Springs back down the canyon. All the while the towering walls provide a dramatic backdrop of stone and shrubs. You may encounter visitors traveling the other direction, which can make for slightly awkward passing, especially higher up as the trail nears the waterfall.

You'll know you're getting close when the narrow trail starts passing beneath low trees. If you're lucky enough to catch it when it's flowing, the waterfall sets a lovely scene as it runs down a weathered rock wall to drop in a shallow pool of water. Across another low bridge, the singletrack continues climbing up the other side of the canyon before dropping down on the return. About 0.3 miles later it connects back to itself. Head right to the next junction where a short run on Tahquitz Canyon Alternate concludes back at the visitor center.