12.9 miles
Distance
450 ft
Climb
-3,327 ft
Descent
01:48:57
Avg time
Supporters, Builders, Maintainers & Land Managers of Palm Canyon Epic Trail
  • BLM
    BLM
    Land Manager

  • USFS
    Land Manager

Palm Canyon Epic Details

  • Activities
    • Mountain Bike
    • Hike
    • Trail Running
  • Riding Area
    La Quinta Cove
    La Quinta, California
  • Difficulty Rating
    Black Diamond rate
  • Voted Difficulty
    Black Diamond (7 votes)
  • Hiking SAC Scale
    T1 Hiking
  • Trail Type
    Singletrack
  • Bike Type
    AM, XC
  • Direction
    Downhill Primary
    Popular direction shown
  • Climb Difficulty
    Black Diamond
  • Physical Rating
    Hard
  • Trail Visibility
    Sometimes hard to follow
  • Season
    November - March
  • Dogs Allowed
    Yes
  • Global Ranking
    #5683 in Mountain Biking [+]
    • #59776 in Hiking
  • Local Popularity
    95 in Mountain Biking [+]
    • 5 in Trail Running
    • 40 in Hiking

Palm Canyon is an epic high California desert ride that provides great desert views, narrow single track, significant exposure that should only be attempted by experienced riders. Trail starts off with an excellent downhill with lots of short technical climbs. Trail should only be ridden in winter or shoulder seasons as it can get over 90 to 100 degrees in the summer. Recommend bringing a gallon or more of water, arm, leg/shin armor due to the cactus and cholla. The complete PCE is a point to point route and requires a shuttle down in Palm Springs and offers 29 miles of single track and dirt road with a little over 2000 ft of climbing and 6000 ft of descent. You need to be self sufficient, have a map & GPS receiver, and be good at navigation as the complete PCE is composed of multiple trail segments.

Access Info

From the lower trail head, turn right onto CA-111 (East Palm Canyon Drive) take it for 8.1 miles to Highway 74. Turn right onto Highway 74 and take it for 18.2 miles. Shortly after passing the sign for Ribbonwood Drive, turn right onto Pine View Rd and travel .2 miles until the pavement ends, park here.

Local Trail Association
Traditionally Indigenous Territory
More Stats for Palm Canyon Epic mountain bike trail trail
  • Altitude change
    -2,879 ft
  • Altitude min
    1,463 ft
  • Altitude max
    4,342 ft
  • Altitude start
    4,342 ft
  • Altitude end
    1,463 ft
  • Grade
    -4.2%
  • Grade max
    -35.1%
  • Grade min
    30.5%
  • Distance climb
    2 miles
  • Distance down
    9 miles
  • Distance flat
    1 mile
  • Avg time
    01:48:57
  • Avg reverse time
    03:59:09
  • view trail stats
Status:
on Mar 22, 2025
Ideal
Avg: 4.46 (18 votes)
Your vote: 0

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Trail Conditions
  • Unknown
  • Snow Groomed
  • Snow Packed
  • Snow Covered
  • Snow Cover Partial
  • Freeze/thaw Cycle
  • Icy
  • Prevalent Mud
  • Wet
  • Variable
  • Ideal
  • Dry
  • Very Dry
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  • moto (1 year)
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      Directions to palm-canyon-epic trailhead (33.573139, -116.501960)
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      Palm Canyon Epic Trail Reports

      statusdatedescription
      Mar 22, 2025 @ 5:08pm
      Mar 22, 2025
      		 The Agua Caliente Reservation rangers had two rangers stationed at the trail head warning bikers that the trail was closed approximately 10 miles...
      Mar 16, 2025 @ 10:23pm
      Mar 16, 2025
      		 Rode the PCE on 3/16/2025. The PCE trail was in great condition even after rains the day before. However, the PCE is closed roughly 10.8 miles...
      Mar 1, 2025 @ 8:16am
      Mar 1, 2025
      		 PCE is in excellent riding conditions but could use some rain. There were two Aqua Caliente Indian Reservation rangers at the intersection of...
      Feb 18, 2025 @ 3:00pm
      Feb 18, 2025
      		 Trail was in great shape at least from Pinyon Flats trail down to Dry Wash trail. The section I rode was NOT a black diamond trail. It was blue...
      Feb 3, 2025 @ 9:32am
      Feb 3, 2025
      		 Trail was dry. Signage is up to "Stay on Trail" and not ride on the native lands. BTW... eBikes are illegal on this trail, even though we saw a...
      view all reports »

      Recent Ridelog Activity on Trail

      Past Week
      • 0 rides
      •  
      6 Months
      • 42 rides
      • 41.9 km avg distance
      All
      • 256 rides
      • Last: May 3, 2025

      Technical Trail Features (TTF)

      Photos

      more »
      12 |
      Mar 22, 2025 @ 3:11pm
      Mar 22, 2025
      131 |
      Feb 24, 2024 @ 9:02pm
      Feb 24, 2024
      65 |
      Feb 24, 2024 @ 9:01pm
      Feb 24, 2024
      63 |
      Feb 24, 2024 @ 9:01pm
      Feb 24, 2024

      Routes with this trail

      more »
      titledistance
      Palm Canyon Epic to Palm Desert27 miles
      Palm Canyon Super Epic37 miles
      Palm Canyon Epic to Palm Desert27 miles
      California to Canada Section 5- Palm Springs32 miles

      Links

      28 Reviews & Comments


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      Videos

      more »
      youtuber MTB Riding The Palm Canyon EpicPart 5 | Palm...
      10:18 | 360 | Apr 28, 2023 , La Quinta
      youtuber Palm Canyon Epic Mountain Bike Trail 2025 PCE
      36:00 | 33 | Mar 24, 2025 , La Quinta
      youtuber Palm Canyon Epic Mega Guide | Part 1: Opening DH
      6:36 | 1460 | Feb 5, 2019 , La Quinta
      youtuber Palm Canyon Epic Mega Guide | Part 2: Ridgeline
      11:03 | 761 | Feb 17, 2019 , La Quinta

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