• Thousand Palms Oasis California Photography

Thousand Palms Oasis – California Photography Spot

UPDATE: JAN, 2026 – This area provides a unique opportunity to experience nature at its finest. We photographed this location and are sharing all the details you need, along with some images.  Be sure to check the hours and days of operation before your visit. You could definitely get some dynamic images at this location.

Article is not AI generated. We traveled here showing Pamela Goodyer and her camera.

Thousand Palms, CA. Photography

The Center for Natural Lands Management (CNLM) manages an extensive and diverse preserve in the Coachella Valley, known as the CNLM Thousand Palms Oasis Preserve (CNLM Preserve). This Preserve is approximately 880 acres in size and is on the northern edge of the Indio Hills. From the Preserve offers, you can see the Little San Bernardino Mountains from the edge of Joshua Tree National Park.

It’s a good 20-minute walk or more to the oasis, so be sure to bring water for hiking in the heat. The office is really cool. It’s an old rustic cabin with lots of neat things inside.  Follow the wooden walkways out to the trail to the incredible oasis. Don’t go off the path and around the back as we did. We got yelled at, sort of. I tend to explore. There was a gate, and it was open. So..

WHAT TO KNOW ABOUT THOUSAND PALMS

Read all the basics before you go.

WHAT IS THE BEST TIME TO GO?

The best time to go is based on the weather. This area gets extremely hot, so you have to use your judgment.

HOW LONG TO PHOTOGRAPH?

Depending on what you’re going to photograph, you can spend a few hours to half a day here. If you like macro photography, you can spend quite a while at this location.

IS THERE OTHER PHOTOGRAPHY NEARBY?

We would pair this up with other locations for the day. You can stay busy photographing here for a few hours. An excellent idea is to take a trip to downtown Palm Springs for lunch after a morning shoot. There is another oasis in downtown Palm Springs, but you can hike that one all day long. It’s huge. It’s called Indian Canyons. It’s too much to do both in one day, so a two-day trip would be better.

HOW DO I GET THERE?

For your GPS

29200 Thousand Palms Canyon Rd, Thousand Palms, Ca

HOW BUSY DOES IT GET?

Each time we were here, there weren’t very many people. They have a small parking lot, so big groups should be aware of that.

RESTAURANTS, CAMPING & WEATHER  – SEE BELOW

Thousand Palms Photography Information

SHUTTER PRIORITY

If you have moving subjects, you will want to shoot in shutter priority to assure your shutter speed is high enough to have your subject in sharp focus. For people walking by, approximately 1/250th of a second is appropriate, and adjust your ISO accordingly. If they are running fast, increase your shutter speed to about 1/500th of a second. A fast bird flying by would be shot at about 1/1000th of a second. If it’s a bright sunny day, go as high as  1/1200th of a second. Remember, the higher your shutter speed; the less light comes into the camera. It should not be an issue outside during daytime hours. For More Details, see our Shutter Priority Page.

MANUAL MODE

You have moving waters here. You can do your long-exposure running and milky water shots. You will have to use a tripod for this effect. Your settings will vary depending on the lighting and your neutral density filter. You will shoot in manual mode for the milky waters. ISO is always 100 or as low as your camera will allow. The aperture is f22. Your shutter speed will be the only variable depending on the light. Roll your shutter speed until your meter reads zero. (In the center)  Use your shutter release or your 2-second timer to prevent camera movement when exposing. You will want at least a 2-second exposure for milky water. If you don’t have a neutral density filter, you may not get more than 1/15th of a second in the sun. 

If you don’t have a neutral density filter, you can buy one here. We highly suggest you do not go anywhere without one. It makes all the difference between lifeless images and outstanding, dynamic images.

APERTURE PRIORITY

Aperture Priority is often used to blur the background of your images and control your depth of field (how much from the subject to the background is in focus). For more information on this – see our Aperture page 

ISO

The higher you set it, the more light comes in when exposing an image. The higher the number, the more digital noise, so if possible, stay below 800. If you need to go higher to get the shot, you can use Topaz Denoise to filter out the digital noise later.

THOUSAND PALMS INFORMATION 2026:

Entrance Fees: None. 
The parking area at the Visitors’ Center is small, so plan on carpooling or bringing a smaller vehicle as the lot is not well-suited for RVs and campers. Large groups should call ahead.

November 1, 2025, through April 30, 2026

Wednesday – Sunday 7 am to 5 pm.
Simone Pond is closed for the winter.

There is no public access to the Thousand Palms Oasis or its trails outside of the Preserve Hours posted above. Please be out of the Preserve by closing time.

The trails at Pushawalla and Willis Palms are open every day.

They do not have different Holiday hours.

  • There is currently no admission fee, however, we do appreciate donations. The Preserve is owned and managed by a nonprofit organization (Center for Natural Lands Management).
  • The Visitors’ Center is permanently closed.
  • Our bathrooms will be open during regular hours as posted above.

HOTELS:

The Westin Mission Hills Resort Villas, Palm Springs

71777 Dinah Shore Drive, Rancho Mirage, California 92270 – Phone: (1)(760) 328-595

This is our pick for where to stay. We loved the grounds at this location. We didn’t stay only because we have a brother right down the street. We get lucky sometimes. We went here and did some photography on the grounds, though. It was that nice. It’s much more affordable in the summer months.

Homewood Suites by Hilton Palm Desert

36999 Cook Street, Palm Desert, California, 92211, USA TEL: +1-760-568-1600 FAX: +1-760-568-1608

 RESTAURANTS:

There is no food out this way so be sure to bring snacks and water in your backpack.

CAMPING:

Cathedral Palms

35901 Cathedral Canyon Dr
Cathedral City, CA 92234-7260
(760) 324-8244

Cathedral Palms on Cathedral Canyon Dr in Cathedral City, CA is in the Beach California section(s) Rv (Recreational Vehicle) Parks And Campgrounds.

 Area Weather: Click here for the weather at the Oasis.

At my own expense, I offer all of this to you: a humble tribute to Mother Gaia. I hope that you will spread my art and message to others, uplifting and inspiring their souls.

May my works guide photographers illuminating their path toward creating dynamic and impactful images that show the raw beauty and essence of life in all its transcendent glory. —Pamela Goodyer

Heart Heart DONATE

Protect the authenticity of art by supporting us, ensuring AI doesn’t dominate the art world.

error: Content is protected !!