Where Water Meets Rock: Spectacular Murray Canyon Desert Waterfall

Hiking Distance: 4.25 miles

Elevation Gain: 538 feet

Water + Rock = Beauty

Today's Murray Canyon to Seven Sisters Waterfalls hike is located in Indian Canyon which is part of the Aqua Caliente Reservation. It's a great opportunity to experience the beauty of these lands and appreciate why they are so important for the people of the Aqua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians. Below is an aerial map with the trail highlighted in green.

Information about Aqua Caliente Tribe and Reservation

Since time immemorial, the Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians has called the Palm Springs area home. Archaeological research shows the ancestors of the Tribe have occupied Tahquitz Canyon for at least 5,000 years, mirroring the migration stories of the Agua Caliente people. Additional archeological research shows ancestors of the Tribe have occupied the site of the Agua Caliente Hot Mineral Springs for more than 8,000 years.

The Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians have inhabited the Palm Springs area since ancient times. Studies indicate that their ancestors have lived in this region for over 8,000 years, and the Indian Canyons, consisting of Andreas, Murray, and Palm canyons, continue to be highly significant culturally within the Coachella Valley.

Initially, the Cahuilla territory covered approximately 2,400 square miles in Southern California. In ancient times, they established complex communities in the Palm, Murray, Andreas, Tahquitz, and Chino canyons, all benefiting from plentiful water sources. They gathered indigenous plants and seeds for sustenance, medicinal purposes, and crafting baskets, as well as cultivated crops such as melons, squash, beans, and corn.

As outsiders discovered the Coachella Valley's potential, the tribe found their ancestorial homelands disrupted. To encourage the railroad, the U.S. government subdivided the Palm Springs area into one-mile-square sections, granting the Indians every other section while the Southern Pacific Railroad emerged as the primary beneficiary of this land agreement. In 1876 and 1877, the U.S. Federal Government deeded in trust to the Agua Caliente people only 31,500 acres for their homeland. Approximately 6,700 acres of this total are situated within the city limits of Palm Springs. The remaining parcels are scattered across the desert and mountains in a checkerboard pattern, as illustrated in the map below.

While visitors since the early 1900s have seen Indian Canyons only as a hiking destination, for the Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians, it’s their ancestral home. From mountain-fed streams, lush palm groves, and seasonal waterfalls, the Indian Canyons has long been an oasis of natural beauty and resources, providing the Tribe with an abundance of raw materials to not only survive but to thrive.

Hiking into Murray Canyon

In March, during Paula and Scott's visit, we completed the hike and it is clear from these photos that the Murray Canyon located at the base of the San Jacinto Mountains receives more rainfall than other areas in the valley. The first 3/4 miles of the trail traverses a broad, sandy wash that despite being fully exposed is covered in lush plant growth.

Encelia, commonly referred to as brittlebush, were in full bloom. These plants among the most prevalent and easily noticeable wildflowers in the Sonoran Desert; providing a golden-yellow blanket for the desert in March.

Bright yellow daisy-like flowers on long stalks hover well above the leafy stems. The plant has thick, woody branches with silver-gray or blue-green two inch velvety leaves. The bush grows to five feet tall and can spread up to five feet wide. It tends to form a mounded shape.

It wasn't long before we came across a palm grove at the mouth of Murray Canyon. These Washingtonia filifera or California fan palm are the only palm native to the western US, where they tolerate hot summer and freezing winter temperatures. Like other palms, filifera is not actually a tree but rather a 'monocot' putting them in the category of grasses. They can reach heights of up to 59 feet and spans 10-20 feet in width, with a lifespan of 80-250 years. What sets these palms apart from others in California is that their when the palm fronds die they remain attached and form a wide skirt around the trunk.

Desert fan palms are such an enigma. Their range is limited to the hottest, driest North American desert but unlike most other desert plants, they have not adapted to surviving a hot and dry environment. Rather than deep roots that search for hidden seams of moisture, their roots are relatively shallow extending only 8-12 feet. They exist because they are restricted to locations where earthquake faults bring an uninterrupted supply of groundwater to or near the surface, in this case Murray Canyon Creek.

The creek also sustains honey mesquite bosques, which are dense clusters of mesquite trees. These bosques are typically located at the edges of palm oases and desert riparian zones. Unlike fan palms, honey mesquite trees have evolved to thrive in desert environments. They possess a deep root system that can reach water at least 40 feet and as much as 200 feet or more below the surface and can extend 50 feet beyond their canopy.

Not only did desert fan palms and honey mesquite serve as important food sources for the Cahuilla, but these plants also supplied wood for fuel, materials for building their domed homes known as kish, and tools.

It's All About the Water

Early on, there were several simple water crossings.

However, in 2019 when we last hiked in Murray Canyon, the creek was flowing at much higher levels. Here a few photos from that hike.

Back to today's hike. Soon the wide sandy path was replaced with a narrow trail winding through the bottom of the canyon.

There were additional water crossings throughout the hike.

Granite boulders, which long ago broke free from the canyon walls, formed a ledge that we climbed to reach a small waterfall.

It's not easy taking photos for a hiking blog.

After the waterfall stop, we continued following the ledge up canyon.

There was one final tricky water crossing, however, we all managed to avoid getting wet.

Twenty minutes after the first waterfall, we reached the end of the trail.

A short sandy path led to Seven Sisters waterfall.

Despite making several stops to take photos, we reached the waterfall in just 90 minutes.

Despite the cold water, we were determined to enjoy the pool.

You only live once so I decided to take a 'waterfall shower'.

Here are a few photos from the hike back to the trailhead.

Imagine going on a desert hike and not seeing a lizard. This male desert spiny lizard is commonly found in the Sonoran desert of Southern California. An adult male can grow up to 5-6 inches in length. These lizards adjust their internal temperature by changing color so they are darker during cool times, which allows them to absorb more heat from the sun, and become lighter during warm times so they reflect more solar radiation. The desert spiny lizard also uses camouflage so it is not so easily seen by predators.

We chose Murray Canyon hike to Seven Sisters Waterfall as Paula and Scott's first desert hike because it showcases the beauty of Indian Canyons where water brings life to the typical dry and seemingly barren desert. Where the green plants bring a splash of green to the brown desert wash and canyon walls. One hike down but two more classic hikes remaining including an off-trail hike to the highest rock arch in Joshua Tree National Park and the epic Painted Canyon- Ladder Canyon hike in the Mecca Wilderness.