Imagine a place where a mountain rises 10,000 feet above your trail, where you can hike lush desert oases amid a foreboding desert landscape, where you can explore verdant canyons with waterfalls, where rare bighorn sheep stare down upon you as clinging to sheer cliffs, where you can traipse past the homes of movie stars and by ancient Native American ruins. The place is real: It's called Palm Springs and the Coachella Valley.

With the valley and surrounding mountains covering hundreds of square miles, how can you ensure that you experience its many natural wonders? That's what "Day Hiking Trails of Palm Springs and the Coachella Valley" answers, as it explores more than 30 popular trails and what you'll see on them. Links are included to printable, detailed 8.5" x 11" maps.

Let's start planning your hike!

ROB BIGNELL is an avid backpacker who's been hiking with his son for more than a decade. Together, they've scaled summits almost two miles high, crossed America's driest deserts, and walked beneath soaring, 20-story trees. Bignell is the former Opinions page editor of Palm Springs' The Desert Sun newspaper.