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Greater Palm SpringsEmpire Polo Club, Coachella and Stagecoach, Acrisure Arena, date farms.

Indio, California

Festival city and date farms

Indio, California

Indio is the largest city in the Coachella Valley and its working heart: a city of roughly 90,000 people, surrounded by date palm groves and vegetable fields, and home to the Empire Polo Club, where Coachella and Stagecoach take place every April. Outside those weekends it is an unpretentious, genuinely good place to eat and the most affordable place in the valley to sleep.

Visiting Indio?

Enter your dates and we'll help plan the trip — hotels, events during your stay and what to do nearby.

The festival grounds

The Empire Polo Club sits on the southern edge of the city. For three April weekends it becomes one of North America’s major music festival sites; the rest of the year it hosts polo matches, food events and the occasional concert. Festival-weekend hotel rates in Indio run three to five times normal and sell out the previous autumn.

Dates and agriculture

Indio grows most of America's dates. Shields Date Garden has been selling date shakes and running its famously odd film about date pollination since 1924, and the surrounding groves and roadside stands are open through the harvest months. The National Date Festival takes over the fairgrounds every February with camel races and an Arabian Nights pageant that has run since the 1940s.

Food

This is the best Mexican food in the valley, by a distance - family taquerias, birria, mariscos and bakeries clustered along Highway 111 and in the older downtown grid. Fantasy Springs Resort Casino adds a showroom, bowling and several restaurants on the eastern side of town.

Where to stay

Indio holds most of the valley's mid-range and budget chain hotels along the I-10 corridor, plus a growing number of short-term rentals aimed squarely at festival crowds. It is a practical base if you are attending an event and a genuine value base if you are not.

Events

What's on in Indio

All city events

Where to stay

Indio hotels

Food & drink

Where to eat in Indio

El Mexicali Cafe II

Mexican · Indio · $$

The second location of Indio's beloved El Mexicali Cafe, named one of the best Mexican restaurants in the United States by USA TODAY in February 2026. The menu centers on the family's famous chiles güeritos — yellow chiles stuffed with shrimp — alongside ceviches, seafood plates and Mexican classics. Happy hour runs Monday–Friday 3–6pm.

El Tapatio

Mexican · Indio · $

Family-owned and operated by Maria and Ruben Garcia Sr. since 1987, El Tapatio grew from a small taqueria into a full-service Indio restaurant. Everything is freshly prepared to order — the kitchen asks for a little patience, and the traditional plates are worth it.

Tacos Gonzalez

Mexican · Indio · $

No-frills taqueria with al pastor off the trompo and long weekend lines. Tacos Gonzalez is a Mexican spot in Indio. Prices sit in the budget range — easy for a quick, cheap meal. Worth knowing: tacos, cash-friendly. Served here: breakfast, lunch, dinner, late-night food. Hours: Daily 9am-10pm. There is a patio. Kids are comfortable here. Dogs are welcome on the patio. Best for quick, cheap and very good.

Tacos Gonzalez
PatioOpen lateDog friendly

Jackalope Ranch

American · Indio · $$$

An enormous ranch-styled restaurant with waterfalls, patios and a mesquite grill. Jackalope Ranch is an American spot in Indio. Prices sit in the upper-mid range. Served here: brunch, lunch, dinner. There is a patio. Kids are comfortable here. Best for groups, festival weekends.

Jackalope Ranch
PatioBrunch

Shields Date Garden Cafe

American · Indio · $$

Date shakes, date-crusted salmon and a garden patio inside the historic date farm. Shields Date Garden Cafe is an American spot in Indio. Prices sit in the mid range. Served here: breakfast, brunch, lunch. There is a patio. Kids are comfortable here. Best for date shakes, lunch stop.

Shields Date Garden Cafe
PatioBrunch

El Mexicali Cafe

Mexican · Indio · $$

Indio institution since 1981, famous for chiles gueritos - shrimp-stuffed yellow chiles - and full breakfasts. A must-stop before or after festival weekends.

Things to do

Sights and activities in Indio

Neighborhoods

Where to base yourself in Indio

Indio Polo District
The polo fields and festival grounds south of Indio, home to Coachella and Stagecoach.
North Indio & Fantasy Springs
The casino, bowling and concert corner of Indio just off Interstate 10.
Downtown Indio
Indio’s civic and cultural center, convenient for local restaurants, public events and the Empire Polo Club.

Guides

Indio guides

Indio

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