The Canyon is called Indian Canyon because it is owned and maintained by the Agua Calilente band of Cahuilla Indians. There is a fee to enter the canyon and the hiking club leads many hikes in the area. The creek that runs through it is named Palm Canyon Creek after the more than 3,000 Washingtonia filifera or native fan palms that grow there. The Cahuilla used to live in the canyon and there are several villiage sites. It used to be a route to Anza, Temecula, and San Diego but the road has been closed for some time. Here are some of the place names:
Andreas Canyon: Named after Captain Andreas, chief of a small nearby Indian band. He grew grapes and peach trees in the canyon.
Indian Portreo: Portreo mean pasture in Spanish. This area was the site of an Indian Village and it looks like it would be a good place to keep live stock. The geographical features would make it hard for any animals to wander away.
Murray Creek: named after Welwood Murray, a native of Edinburgh, Scotland. He ran a small health resort in Palm Spring and had water rights to the canyon that he had to relinquish by order of the Commission of Mission Indian Affairs.
Hermits Bench: The parking for the canyon and the trading post/gift shop are on the bench. An eccentric man named Billy Pester had a palm shack on the bench around 1918. He would wander around wearing a robe and sandals and was willing to pose for pictures.
Little Paradise: A year round Spring about seven miles from the trading post. Travelers could always count on water at the spring.
Mad Women Spring: There is a cabin at the spring that was apparently built by Frank Wellman a local cattleman. Supposedly Frank Wellman and another man left their wives there for a few days while they went hunting. The wives were mad. The cabin was renovated by our own Jeff Morgan. Some of the material was carried up to the site by helicopter.