Anything good near palm springs?

[promethean_spark]

My inlaws rented a large house in palm springs for July 3-7 for a multi-day party. Are there any scenic cactus habitats near there I could visit within an hour or so?

It looks like it's going to be HOT so short morning hikes or vehicle accessible areas are the only options.

[Subverted]

I think that Joshua Tree should be just about an hour away from Palm Springs, there are some cool cactus groves there - or at least there were when I was last there. I had heard something about them moving a road and also a large number of cacti. Anza Borrego might be worth a visit but I cannot really think of anywhere that is known for cacti there...I havent spent much time in that area.

Other than that...I dont really have any suggestions. Be careful out there!

I was out there a couple weeks ago and was reminded of why I always travel with plenty of water/beverages in my car. I had a blowout while on a small road in the middle of the desert. It was not exactly pleasant changing the tire with no shade in sight but I had plenty of water so I wasnt in danger.

[CoronaCactus]

Just outside of town, right near (and right under) the aerial tramway on route 111 headed towards I10 there are some valleys with lots of plants. Stick to the first few valleys right near the tramway and just past the last set of houses, any further than that and there aren't many plants. There's a long raised gravel road, the 2 valleys to each side of that are your heavy hitters for plants. If you locate the valley with what looks like houses used to be there (Palm trees look out of place) you can hike all the way up and into the mountains. Lot's to see up there, however, not many different species.

Fero. acanthodes, Ecer. engelmannii v. armatus, Cyl. echinocarpa and bigelovii, O. basilaris and Dudelya sp.

BTW, if you hike under the tramway, you'll need to park at the top or the bottom and wander. They are really strict about parking along that road, almost got towed one time

[promethean_spark]

Awesome, thanks! Sounds perfect for a morning walk since it's so close! I'll be back w/ pics.

[promethean_spark]

I checked out the tramway area, but there were 'no trespassing' signs and a security car driving the area constantly - plus it was hot to be doing much walking.
However there was a good population of F. acanthodes within a block of the house we were staying at (very south end of palm-springs). There were also a couple chollas in the mix. I think the two pictures are different species since one has red spines and the other white. Not sure.
These feros seem to like to grow where there's a view, I never found them on non-sloped areas. There were some young ones about, so the population looks healthy.