Whitewater Preserve

Beautiful place! Nice and peaceful, although not a million things to do, which was expected, was nice to just sit in some nature and eat a packed lunch outside.

This is such a beautiful place, a must see!
First off, parking and entrance is free. Awesome! There are picnic tables in shade and restrooms to use. There is a big trout pound with a paved path that is lovely.
There is a wading pool area which is nice for the kids and adults to wade in. There are several trails to do as well, although I have yet to hike any yet. But, most importantly and my favorite part is the Whitewater River! It’s off to the left toward the mountain and a bit hard to find but it’s shallow enough for the kiddies and dogs. So clear and beautiful. Oh, yeah I forgot to mention that dogs are allowed! They do need to be leashed but, I did remove the leash once my pup was in the river.

Wow! Such a fun and beautiful place to hike! My hubby and I were so happy to learn that Whitewater Preserve allows dogs as long as their on leash. Yay! As soon as we learned that incredible information we knew we had to take our handsome blue heeler with us. Our boy was so happy the whole time. He loved the water! It was so great for my hubby and I to experience the hike with our boy. It’s truly magical listening to the water and taking in all of the scenery. We did see a snake on the Red Dome trail, but we let it pass by us and we were totally fine. I admittedly was so nervous about seeing a snake, but in nature that happens so I had to stay calm. All in all we had the time of our lives and definitely will recommend Whitewater Preserve to dog owners, family, friends, and anyone else who wants to know of somewhere great that is outdoors!

I can’t believe more people don’t know about this gem. ITS FREE. Bathrooms are very clean. Hiking trails for everybody & some people even bring their dogs. Me & my boyfriend tried the 12 miles hike to the stone house. We were not prepared! Don’t be stupid like us. BRING LOTS OF WATER & some snacks.

Such a beautiful park/​trail. It was a pleasant surprise.
They had water running down the way for miles and I just ran around in them. Barely saw anyone else on the trail so it’s great for dogs and children.
I love that they do not have trash cans (to prevent trashing the park) so the park stays super clean. Really clean/​well maintenances bathrooms and the lake is beautiful.
We hiked up the hills and saw hundreds of birds in their natural habitat.

Dog friendly hiking!
My boyfriend, dog and I were out on vacation and I wanted to try this hike out.
It was very easy to find after plugging the address into my GPS, just follow a long road down to the end. Parking is free, and you do not need to pay for parking and do not need any special permits. (This might be false if you are doing a hardcore trip to Mexico or Canada via PCT though)
We decided to do the Canyon View Loop trail, and we got to hike a mountain! Very satisfying and breathtaking views. It’s a 3.5 mile loop, and the inclines aren’t too bad. Once you climb down the mountain part of the trail takes you on the street that you drove up on, which was a bit disappointing, but we found that the trail picks up again up a ways do you’re not following the road all the way back to the ranger station.
I wish we lived closer so we could try all the other trails! Should we come back to the area, we will definitely be back!

It was a great hike! We went up the pacific crest trail going south and hiked up 5 miles up and saw the windmills ! Great view on the way as well ! Going back down we reach the loop trail and went back to ranger station. The hike was moderate and got a little hard cause the further you go the trails wasn’t as visible but other than that it was beautiful and total of 11.5 miles.

Visited on my son’s class field trip today. What a delightful place within the desert. Something for the entire family to explore together. Take a hike, pack a picnic and invest about 4 – 5 hours of quality time in the process.
The docents are also very SERIOUS and KNOWLEGABLE in regards to everything that is offered. We definitely will plan an excursion in the near future. There is quite a bit to learn.
We will be back.

Very glad we finally came to check this place out. Arrived around 9 am on a Sunday. Only a few other cars in lot. Walked down the river trail. Trails vary in difficulty from easy to moderate. We decided to just walk up the river enjoying the cool trickle of water. Rangers very helpful and friendly. Park and pond areas are beautiful. Wading pool. Very nice relaxing place. Will def come back again.

Went for my Bday, when we arrived at the gate, the gate said open but there was a chain lock, we waited for the ranger to approach us, who just yelled at us from the station that the preserve was closed, no explanations and proceeded to shut the door and not iterate on the situation as to why they were closed, manners are obviously not their #1 priority there. As we walked along the creek line, we then had another ranger approach us yelling at us that we were on private property ‘reserve property’, which we we told that just the ranger station was closed, he was just as rude as the first guy, apparently there was rain on the way, which the first ranger should have told us, but did not. I understand being responsible for others, as most jobs entail, but the Rangers that we’ve crossed since we’ve been doing more ‘outdoor travels into the trails, have been more than rude.

I’ve lived in the Coachella Valley my whole life and I just found out about this gem. I had a great time! I loved that you can hike as far and as long as you want so it can be a morning adventure. It was a well kept hike, I’m just really confused as to why they opem at 8 AM. Usually in the summer it’s way to hot to be hiking that late but over all a great hike and no complaints!

Great little place to take the kids. If you pick up trash and bring it inside they will give you some fish food. The kids love seeing the fish jump up from the water to eat the food. Rangers and staff are very friendly. Clean restrooms and clean park. Lots of hiking trails that lead all over. There’s one that even goes from Canada to Mexico… you can ask if you don’t believe me. Its not a far hike to the water. Although, since times have changed there isn’t much water left. There’s enough to splash around in, but that’s it. You can see along the mountain where the water was a lot higher. Great for toddlers though. There are mountain goats there, but I’ve never seen one. You can bring pets on a leash and it’s FREE for everyone to enjoy. The dogs really enjoyed that water too. Nice place to cool off during the desert heat.

We went for the first time in mid March when the brittle bush was in full bloom. The drive into the Preserve was breathtaking with mountains covered in undulating mounds of yellow flowers everywhere!
We have two old Golden Retrievers whose hard running adventure days are over, and Whitewater was ideal for them. Flat mostly, small channels of water flowing in the riverbed, lots to see & smell. After walking some distance from the Ranger hut, we felt comfortable letting the dogs off the leash & they had a blast!
Your in the desert but Whitewater has some concentrated mountains, water & vegetation that make for a unique and spectacular day trip.

Been wanting to come here for a while now and finally made the trip. Whitewater preserve is located just a few exits from Palm Springs or Casino Morongo depending which direction you are coming from. It’s only a few miles from the freeway exit, you head north in between the canyon.
Right away you can tell there is a river, you will notice all the big green trees that follow the path of the river. You are basically in the bottom of a canyon river bed surrounded by lots of rocks, trees.
We did the 3 mile loop hike since we arrived just around 3pm and the park closes at 5pm and the loop hike was the shortest trail. I asked the ranger how long the hike would take and he said depending on your skill strength the hike can take anywhere between 2 – 2.5 hours.
So after we did a little exploring and checking out the trout pond at the ranger station we started our hike on the loop trail. The trail starts just north of the ranger station and takes you along the river, you cross the river and start heading up the hill taking a bunch of switchbacks. This was probably the hardest part but nothing too difficult. After about a mile and a half you reach the top of the loop trail and reach a plateu, covered in a variety of cactus, and sage, there were lots of flowers blooming, most noteably the pink flowers of the prickly pear cactus.
The top of the loop trail has nice views in all directions, you can get a good view of the ranger station and Mt San Jacinto to the south.
As you continue down the plateu you begin to descend down back towards the river, once you get back down you can follow the river back to the ranger station. The only issue is that the trail markers are not really marked to tell you which trail you are on they just say «trail» so you may want to do some research before you head out.
Overall definitely a nice enjoyable hike, not very much trash on the trail which is great, and plenty of free parking. Definitely will be back again!

Whitewater Preserve is truly an oasis in the middle of the Palm Springs area. You start off in a garden area surrounded by cliffs and a small trout pond. It’s a lovely place to stop by and have a picnic, as they have benches and tables to rest at. Make your way to the trails and begin following the water upstream. My boyfriend and I followed it up about 2 miles and had a blast walking barefoot in the stream then playing in the water.

Scenic area with a variety of hiking trails. We took the Canyon View Loop Hike which is about 4miles and has a bit of elevation. With our dog (slow moving basset) it took about an hour and 30min round trip. Beautiful views and lots of fresh air. Recommend taking the trail north starting near the ranger station for much more clearly marked trail signage. Good for dogs.

This place is awesome!
We made a stop here for lunch during my department’s offsite in Palm Springs. We arranged one of the staff from the ranger station to give us a quick talk about the preserve.
They are open daily from 8AM-​5PM (except Thanksgiving, Christmas & New Year’s Day) at no cost! Dogs are allowed on all trails if they are on leashes.
There’s a trout pond, picnic tables, and beautiful hiking trails. Their restrooms have flushing toilets and are clean. They also offer various outdoor programs.
The Pacific Coast Trail (PCT) runs through the preserve. The PCT is a 2,650 mile trail that runs from Mexico to Canada!
The other trails are the following:
Canyon View Loop Trail = 3.5 miles (moderate)
Red Dome = 2 miles each way, 4 miles total (easy-​moderate)
West Fork Trail = 1.6 miles (easy-​moderate)
Cottonwood Trailhead = 8 miles (moderate-​difficult)
If you plan to hike, you are required to sign in at the Ranger Station or trailhead sign-​in so they can track visitor use in case of an emergency.
⁵⁴⁄₁₀₀ Reviews for 2014

Learned about this place while looking for sight seeing locations while visiting CA.
I took a trip from Temecula to here to see the beautiful landscape. It was about 1 hour away from my hotel, but was definitely worth it. I did some walking around for about 1 hour (couldn’t take the heat after that!) and took a lot of pictures. I’m not a hiker, but just wanted to see the sights and get some great pix. You can see the mountains all around and I was amazed by their size. After reading other reviews there were a lot of trails that I missed, but I enjoyed what I did see. If I visit Cali again, I will definitely venture further out next time!
As one other person mentioned, the preserve is free! I’ve paid money for less spectacular views.

First off, this place is FREE. The ponds are beautiful and the river is awesome, those things alone make it worth while. However, if you’re a hiker or a wannabe like myself, you have got to hit the trails. Now, beware, the Pacific Coast Trail goes on forever! That mofo will lead you to Canada! I had no clue what I was doing so I kept going until I could go no more. I kept walking in hopes that I would find something amazing but miles and miles later, nothing.
The best views are right when you are about to reach the top of that first mountain. I recommend you take the Canyon Loop, it’s roughly 2 ½ miles and you get to see the amazing views of the hills and the river below. Truly beautiful, nature at it’s best.

The Whitewater Preserve is a favorite of mine! There are great hiking trails including the infamous Pacific Crest Trail (PCT) and hikes to the rivers of rushing water. It’s so refreshing to see water flowing in the desert!!! I also love the fish pond. It’s extremely relaxing here and a great place to get away from the rush and bussle of everyday life! I highly recommend this fabulous place!!!
P. S. It’s also great I can bring my dog here!!!