Until today, I'd given my hometown of La Quinta short shrift in my autumnal quest to explore Coachella Valley's plethora of hiking trails. A few days ago, Sue, aka The Energizer Bunny, and I crossed off the trails crisscrossing the Rancho Mirage foothills on my hiking to-do list, adding them to those recently tackled in the Coachella Valley Preserve and the Palm Desert mountains.
So, today Marianne—a more sedate, stop-and-smell-the-roses hiker—and I decided to ease into La Quinta's hiking possibilities with the Bear Creek Urban Trail, a 6-mile loop circumnativing the homes nestled in the southernmost pocket, or cove, of the Santa Rosa Mountains. La Quinta Cove is the city's oldest residential area—with some bungalows dating back to the '30s—and offers an eclectic jumble of architectural styles. The majority of homes reside on small 5,000 sq ft lots, harkening back to a time of more modest residential aspirations. Newer homes usually occupy double-lots and the area is still replete with virgin land dotted with granite boulders and scrubby palo verde trees.
The last decade has seen an explosion of Santa Fe-style courtyard homes—frontloaded with small pools and spa—that has re-energized the entire Cove into a desirable community. Colorful stucco and handpainted mosaics highlight the warm and welcoming architecture.
The Bear Creek trailhead is found at the bottom of the Cove and the paved trail hugs the water-runoff channel at the base of the Santa Rosas' vertical thrust. As the trail undulates toward the top of the Cove where Martinez Mountain dominates the southern horizon, it gently ascends a 150 ft elevation and parallels a xeriscaped park of desert flora. Roadrunners and birds seeking breakfast scurried out of our way. This trail is popular with dog-owning locals and we passed many a happily-lolling canine tongue.
At the top of the Cove, you reach the trailhead for strenuous hikes such as the Boo Hoff and Bear Creek Canyon Ridge. From here, you can continue on the trail around the perimeter of the Cove, passing Arnold Palmer's ritzy country club, Tradition, as you wend your way back through residential streets to conclude the easy loop.
Sunrise in the Cove is a magical thing. Evanescent golden-hued vistas continually forced us to stop and admire as the sun rose inexorably higher, repainting the landscape. We walked in and out of mysterious but pleasurable warm air pockets.
I snapped these captivating exteriors as we trod along. Enjoy my lovely town and let me know if you wish a personal tour of this remarkable part of the city.
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