West Fork Falls — a seasonal waterfall barely 340 feet from the Trading Post lot, the most accessible falls in the Indian Canyons; best after winter and spring rains.
Before you head down into the palm oasis, there's a little bonus right here that most visitors walk straight past. Just off the parking area — barely three hundred and forty feet, a two-minute stroll — is West Fork Falls, one of the most accessible waterfalls in the whole Indian Canyons. It's a seasonal falls, so it puts on its best show after the winter and spring rains, when snowmelt and runoff come down off the San Jacinto mountains and spill over the rock; in the dry heat of late summer it can slow to a trickle or hush up altogether. But when it's running, it's a lovely, unexpected thing — cool water and a little burst of green in the middle of the desert, and proof of the hidden creeks that keep this whole oasis alive. If you can hear water when you step out of the car, it's well worth the few steps over to look before you start the main walk.
