Parks & Recreation - Parks, Recreation, And Sports

With its near-constant sunny days and exceptionally low humidity, the Coachella Valley delivers the three things outdoor sports enthusiasts want: weather, weather, and weather. Even snow lovers can scratch at least a bit of the winter itch by taking a trip up the Palm Springs Aerial Tramway for snowshoeing and cross-country skiing, or by driving for a ways for downhill skiing in the San Bernardino Mountains.

There’s so much for the golfer here that the sport gets its own chapter—with more than 100 courses throughout the valley, including some of the nation’s most notable tracks, and perhaps its most infamous. Golf is the number one outdoor activity and the one that gets the most attention from the press.

Back in the early days of the desert, when movie stars and the wealthy “discovered” Palm Springs, golf was nonexistent. In those days tennis was the sport of choice, followed by horseback riding in the hills surrounding the town. Tennis continues to be popular, with the Indian Wells Tennis Garden hosting the fifth most important tennis tournament in the world, and most every hotel and scores of public parks have a couple and usually far more courts. Horseback riders, sadly from their position, have lost a lot of the open desert that used to be their roaming grounds, though the Desert Riders group is quite active in maintaining and building new trails in the foothills.

Polo is a major sport in the eastern end of the valley, and even if you’ve never picked up a mallet, it’s a great spectator activity. You may even be tempted to sign up for a lesson or two so you can experience this “sport of kings” firsthand.

It almost goes without saying that if you’re a swimmer, you’ve found your spot. Every hotel in the valley has a pool. For lap swimming and lessons, several of the cities offer Olympic-size pools and expert instruction. If you’re a toe-dipper or a floater who thinks water is best used to make beer, you’re in even better stead because the lazin’ pools outnumber the workout ones about a gazillion-to-one.

Public parks for picnics, soccer, skateboarding, and just plain romping around are dotted throughout the desert. And for the furry travelers, off-leash dog parks are waiting for Spike and Fluffy.

To help you find your way around the sports side of the desert, we’ve grouped our listings by sport, with subcategories for geographic locations where appropriate. Sports activities with no address listed are companies that primarily provide tours and offer pickup and drop-off.

Keep in mind that many of the public parks and public pools have hours that vary by season. Public parks are free. Public facilities for such sports as tennis, fishing, and swimming usually charge a nominal fee. Always call the public spots to make sure you know their hours, available activities, and information about fees.

Well-marked bike trails in Palm Springs include the Heritage Trail and various loops around town and through the country club areas. Bike paths that connect among the other cities are works in progress but most major roadways are striped; Class II bikeways are far more prevalent here than Class I. Palm Desert, Rancho Mirage, and La Quinta are on board, as well. Is the desert two-wheeled nirvana? Weather-wise, yes. From a systemic view, it’s kinda in the middle. It’s a helluva lot better, easier and safer—and more enjoyable—to bike the valley than Los Angeles or urban Orange County. Yet it’s nowhere near a Boulder, Colorado, or Eugene, Oregon.