Trip report by BestHike editor Rick McCharles
I wanted to sleep one night in the desert.
I started late afternoon on the Bear Creek Oasis Trail out of La Quinta Cove.
There are plenty of walking options. I found the unsigned trail heading towards “Palm Oasis” using AllTrails offline.
There’s a nice picnic area near the start. No dogs allowed past this point.
All of the hiking in this area is good. But there are very few birds, reptiles, animals, or insects.
When it got dark, I looked for a sandy spot to set up my tent with a view over the town.
A very quiet night.
I used the iPhone 16 Pro Night Mode in RAW (ProRAW) for enhanced low-light detail. This sky photo looks much better than what I could see with the naked eye.
Dawn next morning woke me.
It was bright by 6am.
Early Sunday morning, hikers passed before 7am. Followed soon after by trail runners. This is a good trail to get some vertical. 708m elevation gain if you do the entire 15km return.
I climbed a little higher — then headed down for breakfast and coffee.
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