Hiking Palm Canyon Trail With Young Kids

Saturday morning we woke up around 6:30 a.m. after sleeping for about 10 hours!  The kids, especially n, have come a long way in their ability to sleep in the tent. 

D insisted that I take a picture of the sunrise.

After our breakfast (pastries from Dudley’s and applesauce), we started on our hike of Palm Canyon Trail at 7:15 a.m.  According to the pamphlet, “The Palm Canyon Nature Trail is a three-mile round trip walk featuring a native palm oasis.” 

Wow—1 gallon of water minimum per person?  We didn’t heed the warning, but fortunately we did end up with enough.  D had his water belt that he uses for running, another bottle in his cargo pocket and I had extra water/juice in my bag.  The water belt was quite handy for the kids because they could take the water whenever they needed it and did not spill due to the pop tops. 

We were ill-prepared, however, in regards to k’s shoes.  I knew her shoes were getting ratty, but had no idea she actually had a hole on the bottom! 

Ocotillo plant.  I know this because the pamphlet was conveniently numbered to correspond with 15 stakes along the hike.  This was a nice way to learn more about our surroundings.  The stakes also helped us make sure we were on the path and gave the kids a guide as to how much further we had to go. 

While not too strenuous, the trail is not always clearly marked, and there are many rocks to climb.

The lone plant we saw that had flowers.  I believe it is a desert willow. 

What a heavy rock. 

k kept on stopping to say, “What a view!” 

As you can see, there were many rocks to climb over.  I was completely amazed how well k and n did.  k, the girl who we were still pushing in a stroller not too long ago, led the way for much of the way, and did not complain.  n, the boy that usually wants to be carried after a block or so, made it all the way to the oasis, scrambling over rocks, trying to keep up with k.  (He did get tired on the way back, and it was hotter, so D carried him for much of the return trip).

We were at the second to the last stake, #14.  The pamphlet states, “Step lively, water and cool shade await you!”  We were stepping lively, we could see the palm grove in the distance, but we could not find the final stake!  At this point, we had not seen another human being since we began our hike.  The sun was growing hotter, and I was having second thoughts about whether this hike was such a good idea.  I was having flashbacks of our Utah hike where we ended up in snow—how do we get ourselves into these situations? 

However, in the end, we did make it to the last stake, #15.  We saw the California fan palm and a marsh, but it wasn’t really the oasis that I expected.  Maybe during other seasons there is more water?

Seeing these palm trees in the middle of the desert is quite a sight, though. 

We found a shady spot and refueled with some snacks, juice and water.  On our way back, we did run into a couple of groups just starting out.  None of them had kids, and I think they probably thought we were a little crazy.  The hike ended up taking us 2.5 hours to complete.  It was definitely our most ambitious hike as a family, and I look forward to many more.

On the way home, we stopped by at Julian Pie Company again to pick up a Apple Mountain Berry Crumb pie to share with my parents that night.

A sweet way to end our excursion.