Keys View

Keys View is a drive-up overlook on the crest of the Little San Bernardino Mountains, facing the Coachella Valley. The ridge drops nearly a mile to the valley floor, so the scale is the whole point. Keep this one if you want a broad view over the desert basin and the fault that cuts through it. The drive from Park Boulevard down Keys View Road takes about 20 minutes.

Upper and Lower Keys View are two parts of one stop. From the upper lot, a paved 0.25-mile loop gains about 25 feet and adds ridge-top angles, wayside signs and a topographic map. The lower viewpoint is a 0.1-mile paved walk with little elevation change. The upper path is steep and may be difficult for wheelchair users; the park points visitors with mobility concerns toward the lower area.

Start at the far left with the Salton Sea, then sweep right: the Santa Rosa Mountains sit behind Indio, San Jacinto Peak rises behind Palm Springs, and San Gorgonio Mountain stands farther right. The peaks top out at about 10,800 and 11,500 feet. In exceptionally clear air, Signal Mountain in Mexico is a possible 90-mile sighting, but don't plan the visit around it.

The southwest side of the ridge falls nearly a mile into the Coachella Valley. The San Andreas Fault runs across the valley below and is visible from the overlook. It stretches about 700 miles from the Gulf of California to the Mendocino Coast, so this is a good place to grasp the scale of the fault as more than a line on a map.

Sunset draws visitors, and the upper lot can fill then. If evening color is your goal, arrive early enough to find a space and stay for the changing light. The ridge can be windy and cool, so bring a layer. The vault toilet by the upper lot has no running water, and no food service is listed at the overlook; bring water and a snack if you need them.

Walk the upper loop for a ridge-side angle, then keep a strip of rocky slope in the bottom of a wide shot so the valley's depth reads. A Joshua tree near the path can anchor a closer frame against the distant mountain wall. Haze can flatten the far ranges, so the nearer folds of the Little San Bernardino Mountains still make a strong subject when the horizon disappears.