Skip to main content

Thousand Palms Canyon Road

By


Thousand Palms Canyon Road is a four-mile highway which is located in Indio Hills of Riverside County.  Thousand Palms Canyon Road is named after the Thousand Palms Oasis which is home to a grove of Californian Palms.  Thousand Palms Canyon Road begins at the intersection of Washington Street/Ramon Road and ends at Dillon Road.  


Part 1; the history of Thousand Palms Canyon Road

Thousand Palm Canyon Road lies in a fold in the Indio Hills which is filled with native Californian Palm Trees (Washingtonia filifera).  The Californian Palm Trees of the Indio Hills grow in lands which water is pushed to the surface by the nearby San Andreas Fault.  The Indio Hills are home to the Thousand Palm Oasis of the Coachella Preserve for which Thousand Palm Canyon Road is named.

Thousand Palms Canyon Road was constructed as a haul road to the Colorado River Aqueduct site north of the Indio Hills.  The Colorado River Aqueduct spans 242 miles from Parker Dam on the Colorado River west to Lake Mathews near Corona.  Construction of the Colorado River Aqueduct began during January 1933 near Thousand Palms and was made functional on January 7, 1939.

The intersection of Thousand Palms Canyon Road and Dillon Road can be seen in a photo dated to 1934 (courtesy Carl Schulz).  A sign can be seen directing traffic to Thousand Palms Camp.  Thousand Palms Camp was developed during the 1930s by Paul Wilhelm.  Wilhelm constructed the cabin which is now the headquarters of the Coachella Preserve.  


Thousand Palms Canyon Road and the Thousand Palms Oasis can be seen on the 1944 United States Geological Survey Map of Edom.  


The Coachella Preserve as it is known today was created during 1986 and is managed by the Centers for Natural Lands Management.  



Part 2; a drive on Thousand Palms Canyons Road

Thousand Palms Canyon Road northbound begins via a right-hand turn from Washington Street.  


As northbound Thousand Palms Canyon Road begins the Willis Palms Trail and grove can be seen. 


Northbound Thousand Palms Canyon Road passes by the Coachella Valley Visitor Center.  






Northbound Thousand Palms Canyon Road terminates at Dillon Road.  Thousand Palms Canyon Road sometimes appears on older United States Geological Survey maps continuing north of Dillon Road to mining claims at Fan Hill near the boundary of Joshua Tree National Park. 





Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Grand Loop Road of Yellowstone National Park

By
  Grand Loop Road is a 140 mile loop highway which traverses the interior of Yellowstone National Park.  Grand Loop Road connects all of the major attractions and geological features of Yellowstone National Park along with the entrance roads.  Grand Loop Road is a seasonal highway and despite some conjecture never has been part of the US Route System.   Part 1; the history of Grand Loop Road The majority of history pertaining to Grand Loop Road was taken from the below National Park Service article: Historic Roads - Yellowstone National Park (U.S. National Park Service) (nps.gov) Yellowstone was declared the first National Park of the United States on March 1st, 1872.  The first real highway to access Yellowstone National Park came in 1873 when a tolled facility was constructed from Bozeman, Montana via Yankee Jim Canyon to Mammoth Hot Springs.  Numerous attempts were made to fund construction of roadway infrastructure during the early years of Yellows...
Post a Comment
Read more

The last 1956-63 era California Sign State Route Spade?

By
Along southbound California State Route 170 (the Hollywood Freeway Extension) approaching the Hollywood Freeway/Ventura Freeway interchange a white California State Route 134 Sign State Route Spade can be observed on guide sign.  These white spades were specifically used during the 1956-63 era and have become increasingly rare.  This blog is intended to serve as a brief history of the Sign State Route Spade.  We also ask you as the reader, is this last 1956-63 era Sign State Route Spade or do you know of others?  Part 1; the history of the California Sign State Route Spade Prior to the Sign State Route System, the US Route System and the Auto Trails were the only highways in California signed with reassurance markers.  The creation of the US Route System by the American Association of State Highway Officials during November 1926 brought a system of standardized reassurance shields to major highways in California.  Early efforts to create a Sign State Route ...
Post a Comment
Read more

California State Route 70; the Feather River Highway

By
From 2017 through to early 2019 I drove the majority of the California State Route 70; the Feather River Highway from CA 89 southwest to CA 99. CA 70 is an approximately 178.5 mile state highway which starts at US 395 near the Nevada State Line and travels west through the Feather River Canyon to CA 99.  CA 70 is often referred to as the Feather River Highway" given it's close association with the river.  Historically CA 70 was previously signed as US 40A and CA 24.  The Legislative Routes prior to the 1964 California Highway Renumbering that made up the current route of CA 70 are as follows: -  Legislative Route Number 21 from US 395 westward to Oroville. -  LRN 87 from Oroville south to Marysville. -  LRN 232 from Marysville to the current junction with CA 99.  CA 70 was even dual signed with CA 99 into Sacramento on what was LRN 232 for a time. The change from US 40A/LRN 21/LRN 87/LRN 232 can be seen by comparing the 1963 State Highway Ma...
Post a Comment
Read more