10 Indian Canyon

SCENERY: images

DIFFICULTY: images

TRAIL CONDITION: images

SOLITUDE: images

CHILDREN: images

DISTANCE: 3.6–11.6 miles round trip

HIKING TIME: 3.5–8 hours

OUTSTANDING FEATURES: Continuous stream; riparian habitat; quiet, open desert; beautiful views

A daylong hike from the parking area at the third crossing, or a shorter foray if your four-wheel drive can make it to the vehicle closure just past Sheep Canyon Primitive Camp. Whichever you choose, Indian Canyon is a fairly flat trek through open desert. A constant stream offers willow and tamarisk thickets and an amphibious chorus.

OPTIONS: Camp almost anywhere in Indian Canyon. With its off-the-beaten-path location, you’ll find solitude under the stars. The dense night quiet is interrupted only by the orchestra of frogs that serenade you.

Directions: From Borrego Springs, drive east on Palm Canyon Drive and turn left on DiGiorgio Road. Drive 5 miles till the pavement ends, then continue on the dirt road for another 5.6 miles to the large turnout on the left, just prior to the third crossing. If you cannot or choose not to drive all the way to this point, park at the first or second crossing, adding appropriate mileage to the hike (see the Coyote Canyon Introduction). In a four-wheel drive, it’s possible to begin the hike 4 miles from the third crossing at the vehicle-closure sign—cutting this hike by 8 miles round trip.

GPS Coordinates    10 INDIAN CANYON
UTM Zone (WGS84)    11S
Easting    548672
Northing    3691851
Latitude–Longitude    N 33º 21’ 53.2336”
   W 116º 28’ 36.5284”

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images From the parking area just before the third crossing (see the Coyote Canyon Introduction), turn left and cross the stream, pass by the entrance to Lower Willows, and continue up the steep, rocky hill heading west. The rocky uphill section continues for about 0.66 miles before the road begins a gradual descent. On foot or by four-wheel drive, continue west on the Jeep road. It’s about 1.5 miles till you pass the spur road on the right leading to the Santa Catarina Spring historical marker. The road bends a little to the right. Continue along this dirt Jeep route, as directed by the “Sheep Canyon” marker sign. At just more than 2 miles, the road forks; follow the left split west toward a sign marked “Sheep Canyon Camp.” At approximately 3.8 miles from the third crossing, the route dips, crossing a wide, sandy wash. Keep going past the marked right-hand turnoff to Sheep Canyon Primitive Camp at 4 miles. Go southwest as directed on the marker pole, toward Indian and Cougar canyons. Another 0.1 mile brings you to a vehicle-closure sign. If you’ve driven, park your four-wheel drive here. If on foot, take heart. Your monotonous hike along the Jeep road, perhaps dodging clouds left by four-wheel drives, is about to end—replaced by a quiet trek into pristine desert.

Head south on the foot trail (for more detail about this portion of the hike, see the Cougar Canyon write-up), passing the Cougar Canyon marker and continuing south. Past this point, the trail narrows. For most of the hike, the stream will be on your left. Soft breezes spread the scent of desert lavender. The bushes’ pale-green leaves and delicate lavender blooms add a soft fringe that blurs the harsher lines of the rocky desert landscape.

About 1.4 miles past the vehicle-closure sign, the trail bends right (west). Cross back and forth across the stream on flattish rocks as needed. A fairly steady trail runs along the right of the stream, but you’ll see narrow footpaths snaking around and along both sides—the obvious efforts of other hikers to find or forge a path. Some of these paths lead through tangles of feathery tamarisk that become thick to the point of turning back. Others come to dead ends at deeper, wider stream spots. You may find yourself on a trial-and-error mission to discover the most consistent path, but it’s all an adventure. Indian Canyon is quiet and pretty. Enjoy stream nooks where the water eddies and spills into a forest of sturdy reeds, or trickles into serene pools covered in bright-green duckweed. Your feet may get muddy.

At 1.7 miles past the vehicle-closure sign, you’ll come to a fork of sorts, centered by a single palm at the end of a narrow ridge. This is where I most often turn around (and is the end of the measurement for this write-up). However, from this point, you can work your way a rugged 0.66 miles west to the Valley of a Thousand Springs. There, sycamores grow and wildlife prints are common around the stream. Or you can continue 0.5 miles south to the mouth of smaller Deering Canyon. Or simply climb up onto the ridge beyond the palm for a fantastic view back down into the desert valley. If you’re not up for more hiking nor the climb, no worries—you still get a fantastic view on your way back. As you emerge from the area dense with tamarisk and willow, the valley framed by surrounding mountains comes into view.