Coachella Valley - California - Travel and Recreation

LA QUINTA: ELEGANCE

OF THE OLD VALLEY

If Palm Desert is the center of the valley, La Quinta is its essence. Both the town and its world-famous resort feel intimate, off the beaten track, and old California.

La Quinta Hotel (49499 Eisenhower Drive; 564-4111) was bult 65 years ago as a 20-casita hotel at the foot of the Santa Rosa Mountains, still one of the valley's most beautiful settings. Today, Mexican-style cottages are scattered around desert gardens and 25 pools.

To sample the area, take a cowboy-led ride past wispy smoke trees and prickly ocotillo at the Ranch of the 7th Range (564-1414). Ponies are available for children as young as 5.

INDIO: STILL A

FARMING CULTURE

The valley's oldest city is also "Date Capital of the World," and it has several direct sales growers. One of the oldest is Shields Date Gardens (80225 Highway 111; 347-0996); it has a tasting room, and a theater continuously shows Romance and the Sex Life of the Date.

Indio is also known for polo. Eldorado Polo Club (342-2223) and Empire Polo Club (342-3321) are both on 51st Avenue between Monroe and Jefferson streets. Except for some celebrity tournaments and special events, admission is free. Picnic on the lawns to enjoy the mixed ambience of cowboys drinking beer in the back of pickups parked next to limos hosting tailgate parties of champagne and catered food.

THE WILD AND THE TAME

If you want to golf around, some 30 courses are open to the public. A short list of our favorites includes Indian Wells ($80 greens fee), La Quinta ($100), Marriott's Desert Springs ($100), Mesquite Country Club ($60), PGA West ($175), and Westin Mission Hills ($80). (Some private courses have reciprocal arrangements with lodging facilities.)

A lesson at the Institute of Golf in Palm Desert (341-2491) costs $30. The Junior Golf Clinic (341-4323), for ages 6 through 17, offers free lessons 1:30 to 3 Saturdays.

Desert Adventures (324-3378) 3uns a 2-hour trolley tour highlighting Palm Springs' heritage and the Indian Canyons. Or take a 3-hour jeep ride into the Santa Rosa Mountains or along the San Andreas Fault. You'll learn how Cahuilla Indians roasted stalks of agave so they tasted like asparagus, and such tidbits as the fact that Wyatt Earp once owned a gold mine here. Daily tours cost $25 to $125.

Covered Wagon Tours (347-2161) leads mule-drawn prairie schooners through the Coachella Valley Preserve. Cost is $40 adults, $20 ages 7 through 16.

California Jeep Rentals (322-9799) rents daily ($50) or weekly ($290) to those who want to explore off-road on their own.

THE CONDO ADVANTAGE

The bigger your family or the longer your stay, the more you may want to considera condominium or rental home. While you won't get daily maid service, you will--in general--get a place to cook, a washer and dryer, and more living space.

On a daily basis, most two-bedroom condominiums are comparable in price to the double-occupancy hotel rooms we've mentioned. Weekly and monthly rates vary greatly, but an average two-bedroom condo costs $750 to $1,000 a week, $1,500 to $2,000 a month.