IronHiker - Jan 29, 2022 8:29 pm Date Climbed: Jan 1, 2022
From Living Zoo
Fun climb. I did the loop on the Eisenhower and Ridge trails. I've gotten all the named peaks along the ridge except LaQuinta benchmark. Hard to find a route that doesn't start in a gated golf community.
ryanemoon - Nov 30, 2020 5:10 pm Date Climbed: Nov 27, 2020
Big Fun Day Out!
I climbed this with my buddy Jack. We couldn't get in through the zoo due to the COVID reservation system and was told from the neighboring communities that we couldn't access the mountain from those places either. BUMMER!
Here's how we were successful and how you can be too:
Hop the fence north of the zoo near Haystack Rd (33.703362, -116.373822) and walk a dry river basin until you can cut across behind the zoo. Turns out this is pretty easy and might even save you some $$$ if you want to access the zoo this way in the future.
Hike the trail to the picnic area at the base of mountain and look for a path, but just end up slogging up the hill at a point of least resistance about 1000 ft south of the picnic area (33.692218, -116.343647). Near the summit you'll started to see cairns which is helpful.
After a beer at the summit and few selfies, begin to make your way down the north east ridge line to a saddle (33.693418, -116.332922) before heading straight down a wash. After boulder hopping through the canyon for a longer than it looks, you'll pop out on the "famous" 16th hole looking like you don't belong (cuz you don't). Head over to the bar at the Waldorf Astoria and get yourself an overpriced drink while people wonder where you came from and why you smell so bad.
Hope you figured out a shuttle system or else you're aiming for a round trip journey!
Rodney Tom - Jan 18, 2017 5:42 pm Date Climbed: Dec 11, 2016
Great traverse hike
There are a couple of ways of doing this hike. The traditional route is to take the outerloop trail at the Living Desert, and then scramble up from the picnic area about 1.5 miles out.
The route I took is much more interesting. Starting at the 16th hole of the La Quinta Mountain golf course, head up the valley. As the valley closes in, head up the right side to the ridge. Follow ridge the rest of the way. It's a great scramble, yet challenging enough to make it exciting. After summitting, I then scrambled down to the Living Desert trail, and hiked out from there. Great way to get from La Quinta to Palm Desert. It took me about 3 1/2 hours from start to finish. If you're in the desert, it's a great hike.
TrekAdam - Sep 10, 2007 5:44 pm Date Climbed: Jan 4, 2007
IronHiker - Jan 29, 2022 8:29 pm Date Climbed: Jan 1, 2022
From Living ZooFun climb. I did the loop on the Eisenhower and Ridge trails. I've gotten all the named peaks along the ridge except LaQuinta benchmark. Hard to find a route that doesn't start in a gated golf community.
ryanemoon - Nov 30, 2020 5:10 pm Date Climbed: Nov 27, 2020
Big Fun Day Out!I climbed this with my buddy Jack. We couldn't get in through the zoo due to the COVID reservation system and was told from the neighboring communities that we couldn't access the mountain from those places either. BUMMER!
Here's how we were successful and how you can be too:
Hop the fence north of the zoo near Haystack Rd (33.703362, -116.373822) and walk a dry river basin until you can cut across behind the zoo. Turns out this is pretty easy and might even save you some $$$ if you want to access the zoo this way in the future.
Hike the trail to the picnic area at the base of mountain and look for a path, but just end up slogging up the hill at a point of least resistance about 1000 ft south of the picnic area (33.692218, -116.343647). Near the summit you'll started to see cairns which is helpful.
After a beer at the summit and few selfies, begin to make your way down the north east ridge line to a saddle (33.693418, -116.332922) before heading straight down a wash. After boulder hopping through the canyon for a longer than it looks, you'll pop out on the "famous" 16th hole looking like you don't belong (cuz you don't). Head over to the bar at the Waldorf Astoria and get yourself an overpriced drink while people wonder where you came from and why you smell so bad.
Hope you figured out a shuttle system or else you're aiming for a round trip journey!
Rodney Tom - Jan 18, 2017 5:42 pm Date Climbed: Dec 11, 2016
Great traverse hikeThere are a couple of ways of doing this hike. The traditional route is to take the outerloop trail at the Living Desert, and then scramble up from the picnic area about 1.5 miles out.
The route I took is much more interesting. Starting at the 16th hole of the La Quinta Mountain golf course, head up the valley. As the valley closes in, head up the right side to the ridge. Follow ridge the rest of the way. It's a great scramble, yet challenging enough to make it exciting. After summitting, I then scrambled down to the Living Desert trail, and hiked out from there. Great way to get from La Quinta to Palm Desert. It took me about 3 1/2 hours from start to finish. If you're in the desert, it's a great hike.
TrekAdam - Sep 10, 2007 5:44 pm Date Climbed: Jan 4, 2007
Spring Day HikeA great little day hike!