Explore only river to cross Coachella Valley

Rock walls rise high above the Whitewater River.

Canyon View Trail map

This article originally was written for and published by the Uken Report.

Day hikers can walk alongside the only river that runs the Coachella Valley’s entire length.

The 3.75-miles looping Canyon View Trail sits in the 2851-acre Whitewater Preserve, managed by the Wildlands Conservancy. A section of the route is part of the Pacific Crest Trail and sports a 650-foot elevation gain.

To reach the trailhead, from I-10 in the northern Coachella Valley take exit 114 and turn north onto Tipton Road. Near the exit ramps, go left/north onto Whitewater Canyon Road. The road ends in about 4.7 miles at the preserve’s ranger station. Park there and from the lot pick up the trail, which heads northwest into the canyon.

Well-marked with rocks lining the path, number of other footpaths crisscross the route, so be sure to bring a map.

In 0.15 miles, the trail comes to a wooden post with an arrow pointing right. Go that direction and onto the PCT.

The trail next enters the river’s floodplain. This is a great spot for birdwatching. Look for the endangered Southwest willow flycatcher, a small perching bird with brownish-olive upper body, whitish throat pale olive breast, and two light wing bars. During the 1990s, fewer than 1200 pairs remained, mainly because of urban development destroying its riparian habitat. The Bell’s vireo also can be spotted here, and during the annual migrations the summer tanager and vermilion flycatcher stop off at the preserve.

Whitewater River
About 0.5 miles from the parking lot, the trail crosses the Whitewater River via a wooden footbridge. Depending on the amount of snow and rain the San Bernardinos receive and the season, the bridge can be washed out (usually in spring) and sometimes you can hop across the rocks (usually autumn). Most of the year, the river is ankle- or calf-deep at best.

The main river that flows through the Coachella Valley, the Whitewater runs 54 miles. Its North Fork starts at more than 10,000 feet high on San Gorgonio Mountain, with the meltwater flowing out of the San Bernardino Mountains making for a cold stream and a lush canyon.

Upon reaching the desert and the preserve, much of the river water drips through the porous valley floor and eventually pools in the Coachella Valley aquifer. Farther downstream, near Coachella, the Coachella Canal replenishes the river with water diverted from the Colorado. Ultimately, the Whitewater River drains south of Mecca into the Salton Sea.

About 0.66 miles in, the PCT splits; go left/south. The Canyon View Trail enters a side canyon and then heads uphill via a series of switchbacks. If with a hiking partner, you’ll need to walk single file. The trail gains about 475 feet until reaching the ridge above the canyon.

At the top, watch for the wooden post for PCT and turn left off of it onto the Canyon View Loop Trail. The level route runs alongside Whitewater Canyon’s westside, offering nice views of San Jacinto Mountain and the Santa Rosa Mountains.

Switchback views
Eventually the trail dips slightly but then rises to a great panorama of the preserve. Deer, bear and bighorn sheep all have been seen at Whitewater.

At about 2.35 miles, the trail descends into Whitewater Canyon. Parts of this section can be rocky, so watch your step. The reward for the hard work are great views of the river flowing from the canyon’s north end alternating with windmills in San Gorgonio Pass and the San Jacinto summit to the south.

Once at the canyon bottom, walk northeast along the side of road. Cross the river via the road’s bridge and then look for a trail curving into the floodplain away from the asphalt.

In just under a half-mile from the road, the trail passes the ranger station and arrives at your parking lot.

As the entire trail is in the open desert, always don sunscreen and sunhat as well as bring plenty of water. (You don’t want to drink from the river) Leashed dogs are allowed on the trail. There’s no fee to enter the park, which is open from 8 am to 5 pm; you’ll want to start the hike at least a couple of hours before closing time to ensure you are not trapped in the preserve as the gates are locked when the park closes.

Learn more about national park day hiking trails in my Best Sights to See at America’s National Parks series.

Neat rock formations, bubbling oil await Los Angeles-area hikers

Wiley Canyon Trail

Wiley Canyon Trail easily reached
via I-5 north of San Fernando Valley

Greenery amid the desert, unique rock formations and oil naturally seeping out of the ground await hikers on the Wiley Canyon Trail about a half-hour north of Los Angeles.

The trailhead to Wiley Canyon starts at about 1,400 feet above sea level in desert country. Thanks to the seasonal creek and climbing elevation, most of the canyon bottom is green in summer. It’s located in Ed Davis Park, which is nestled between the San Fernando and Santa Clarita valleys just off Interstate 5.

'Wiley Motorway'
The Wiley Canyon Trail actually is a section of the Towsley View Loop Trail, which zig-zags for 4.5 miles through the park. Canyon View Trail is a smaller, alternative path at the park’s northeast corner that links Wiley and Towsley canyons.

The trail cutting through Wiley Canyon is an old oil road; it’s even listed on some maps as the “Wiley Motorway.” Today, it’s just a walking trail, usually wide enough for two people navigate side by side.

Wiley Canyon is part of the Santa Susana Mountains and sits in a wide swath of land set aside for preservation by the Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy. The canyon boasts mountain lions, black bear, bobcat, fox, mule deer and coyotes (though you’re unlikely to see more than birds and lizards during daylight). Grassland, sage, scrub, oak and walnut woodlands, and chaparral dominate the canyon and surrounding foothills.

A number of interesting geological formations exist in Wiley Canyon, which cuts through the Pico Anticline - an upside-down U fold in the rock layers in which the oldest rocks are at the center (or peak) of the formation. The seasonal creek’s water flow largely is responsible for cutting through and exposing the unique features of the Pico Anticline.

Geology and westerns
Wiley Canyon runs through the north flank of the Pico Anticline. The anticline is made up of thin beds of shale that have been turned up on their sides and in some cases twisted.

Wind and rain runoff combine to create small arches and wind caves in a sandstone wall alongside the trail. In addition, thanks to the geological formations and the erosion caused by Wiley Canyon's dry run, oil seeps run for several yards along the trail. The small of tar permeates the air around the pools.

About 5 million years ago, all of Wiley Canyon was under the Pacific Ocean. Plate tectonics during the past 2 million years shifted and folded most of sediment layers now exposed on the trails.

If Wiley Canyon looks familiar, you’ve probably seen something very similar in movies or television shows. A number of “movie ranches” where old spaghetti westerns were filmed are nearby – and they consist of virtually the same geological features and ecosystems. As hiking, see if you spot Black Bart behind the fourth boulder to the right of some peak.

See photo album of Wiley Canyon Trail.

Find out about trail guidebooks available in the Hittin’ the Trail series.