Indio: Where to Stay, Eat and What to Do

Indio sits at the east end of the valley, about 25 minutes from Palm Springs on I-10 and ten minutes from La Quinta. Most visitors arrive for one of three reasons: Coachella and Stagecoach at Empire Polo Club, the Riverside County Fair and National Date Festival in February, or a cheap base for a golf week further west.

Where to stay

Hotel supply in Indio is limited and skews to reliable chains, which is exactly what you want during festival weekends when Palm Springs rates triple. Fantasy Springs Resort Casino is the only full resort in town — a real pool, several restaurants, a bowling alley and a concert venue that books national acts year round. Holiday Inn Express & Suites Indio is another option on Indio Springs Drive. Both require transportation to Empire Polo Club; allow extra time for festival traffic and check current shuttle arrangements before booking.

Where to eat

Jackalope Ranch is the special-occasion room — a huge ranch-style building on Highway 111 with a mesquite grill and a patio built around water features. Ciro's has been doing red-sauce Italian and thin-crust pizza for decades and is the safe family choice. For the food Indio is actually known for, go to Tacos Gonzalez for al pastor and carne asada, and the Shields Date Garden Cafe for a date shake and a sandwich under the palms.

What to do

Shields Date Garden is the classic stop: 17 acres of date palms, a farm store and the famously earnest film about the romance of the date. The Coachella Valley History Museum, with its 1909 Indio Schoolhouse and separate 1926 Smiley-Tyler Adobe House, covers the Cahuilla, the irrigation boom and the farm-labor history the resort cities skip. Empire Polo Club plays actual polo on Sunday afternoons in season, which almost nobody outside the valley knows.

Practical notes

Indio runs a few degrees hotter than Palm Springs and has fewer shade trees. Highway 111 through town is slow with lights; take I-10 if you are covering distance. During Coachella and Stagecoach, expect road closures around Monroe and Avenue 50 and plan an extra 45 minutes for anything.

Plan the museum visit

The Coachella Valley History Museum guide covers campus highlights, seasonal opening days, admission and dated free Community Days. Check the actual date before adding the museum to an Indio meal or date-garden outing.