Horsing Around in the Desert

Riding in a golf cart isn’t the only way to enjoy the outdoors in this desert resort town.

Visitors can saddle up for leisurely horseback trips on trails that wind through unspoiled landscape to America’s most magnificent palm oases.

Although Palm Springs’ rustic dude ranches have been replaced by golf courses and luxurious hotels, Smoke Tree Stables still keeps a corral of horses near the pristine Agua Caliente Indian canyons.

Smoke Tree is the last public stable in Palm Springs. Would-be cowboys and cowgirls have been renting horses there since 1929, and city fathers recently gave owner Rod Johnson permission to keep his stable open for at least 10 more years.

Many Horse Trails

The area has about 135 miles of horse trails that offer visitors close views of desert plants and wildlife. Hourlong rides go through mostly dry Palm Canyon Wash at the base of Smoke Tree Mountains.

But longer and more interesting outings lead to streams and shady palm groves in remote Andreas, Murray and Palm canyons. You can stay in the saddle for two or four hours on the canyon rides, all guided by wranglers from the stable.

To get to Smoke Tree from Los Angeles, drive east on Interstate 10 to the Palm Springs turnoff, California 111.

Follow the highway (also called Palm Canyon Drive) south through town. Soon after it swings east, turn right at Sunrise Way. Take La Verne Way and then go left on Toledo Avenue to the stable entrance at No. 2500, where the street meets Murray Canyon Drive.

(Don’t turn in at Smoke Tree Ranch, a residential development.)

Riders of All Ages

Smoke Tree Stables welcomes riders of all ages. Parents can ride with a small child in the same saddle. Hours are 8 a.m. until dusk. One-hour rides are offered on the hour for $15; no reservations required.

More popular are the two-hour trips to Andreas Canyon that depart at 8 a.m. and 10 a.m. and at 1 p.m. and 3 p.m. They cost $33.50, including the equestrian entry fee to the Indian reservation.

Depending on the experience and desire of the riders the horses will walk, trot or lope along the trail at the command of the wrangler who guides the trip.

From the stable the path enters a sandy wash between Smoke Tree Mountain and a flood-control dike bordering the Canyon Country Club golf course. Then it narrows and crosses a couple of streams that carry the runoff of melted snow from higher elevations before entering Agua Caliente tribal land.

After stopping at a booth to pay the admission fee, the wrangler leads horses and riders through a landscape of palo verde trees, creosote bush, jumping cholla and other cactus. Willow leaves rustle in the desert breeze and birds flit from their hiding places at the sound of hoofs striking rocks.

Into the Canyons

The trail twists toward a canyon of California fan palms, botanically named Washingtonia filifera in honor of the first President. Many have survived for several centuries, including some with blackened trunks from a fire in 1980.

The horses usually pause to drink from an icy stream that nourishes the oasis of palms, cottonwoods, sycamores and thick undergrowth. There’s not much time to linger before heading back to the stable, but you may find Indian caves and grinding rocks near the picnic tables.

On a four-hour horseback excursion to Murray Canyon, another oasis on Indian land, riders can dismount for a bring-your-own picnic lunch among the palms. An option is to forgo lunch and continue on a longer trail that circles back to the stable.

The Murray Canyon trip must be arranged in advance and requires four or more riders. It costs $63.50 each, including admission to the reservation. For the same price, horsemen can mount up with a wrangler for a four-hour outing to Palm Canyon, the area’s largest palm oasis.

For more information on Palm Springs trail rides, call Smoke Tree Stables at (619) 327-1372.

Before or after your equestrian adventure, take an even closer look at desert plant life by visiting Moorten Botanical Garden. This is the 50th anniversary of a remarkable collection of desert plants that has grown to 3,000 varieties.

From the stables, follow Murray Canyon Road west to South Palm Canyon Drive, then turn right (north) to No. 1701.

Pat Moorten and her late husband, known as Cactus Slim, established the garden around their home as a result of botanical and geological expeditions that began in the 1930s. They collected plants locally, in Mexico and overseas.

A walk around the grounds is like a world tour, with specimens from a Baja boojum to an African thorn tree. Especially fascinating in the enclosed “cactarium” are plants with names such as “Snowball,” “Old Man’s Whiskers,” “Mink Tail” and “Devil’s Fingers.”

The thick vegetation has turned the property into a bird sanctuary, especially for about 200 mourning doves. Also look for the white temple doves from Egypt that are part of wedding ceremonies held frequently at the garden.

Pat and her son, Clark, welcome visitors every day. Admission costs $1.50 and includes a map for an informal tour of the grounds. The garden opens at 9 a.m., Sundays at 10 a.m. Some of the Moorten’s home-raised cactus plants are for sale.

Two blocks north is California 111, which you can rejoin to reach Interstate 10 for the trip back to Los Angeles.

Round trip from Los Angeles to Palm Springs is 230 miles.