Rancho Casa Blanca

My mate and I were wonderfully surprised when driving cross-country from Cali enroute to Florida to find this well-appointed Spanish-inspired resort-like oasis smack dab in the middle of the desert, near Indio (yeah, home of Coachella). With a lot of places already booked up, we got lucky to snag a spot here to pull up for the night. 

With my bright yellow 28’ Penske moving truck following my buddy driving the SUV and our camper, we stood out like a soar thumb. But that just made for interesting chatter with the retiree community that mostly inhabit this spread. Shuffleboard anyone?! 

Basically, like just about everything here in Three Palms/ Palm Spring Desert, this is a snowbird hot spot where it fills up between October– March, so when we were there, it wasn’t as busy as it usually is. There’s a ton of amenities here: golf, tennis, pickleball, shuffleboard, bocci ball, billiards, water aerobics, weekly hikes, yoga, wood carving, cards, bingo (no surpise at all!), banquets, dances, barbeques, ice cream socials, live entertainment and even a Tiki Hut bar! 

For RV’s and campers, there’s all the basic hook-ups: electrical, water and sewage. Each spot has a decent-sized pull-in driveway that’s evenly paved, is accompanied by a picnic table and then there’s BBQ grills spread throughout. 

My biggest tip here, as you are passing through, is to make the most out where you are at – right at the front door step of Joshua Tree National Park. If you haven’t been – it should be on your bucket list. It’s vast, desolate and humbling. It’s more than an Irish band’s album title. It is a place for introspection, reflection and connecting with the cosmos (which, I know, sounds loopy… but only to folks that haven’t been there). 

Oh, last tip– don’t touch the little pricks on the actual Joshua Trees – trust me, they hurt! 

Happy Camping!