Bighorn's Neighboring Canyons Close January 1, and This Year the Sheep Are Off Schedule

The electronic warning signs are back on Highway 74. In June, after a car hit a ram, the City of Palm Desert put up signs warning drivers about bighorn sheep, then removed them a few weeks later. In October the sheep started crossing the highway again, most often across from the Santa Rosa and San Jacinto Mountains National Monument Visitor Center, and the city put the signs back up, according to the Bighorn Institute's October 2026 update.

That stretch of road runs below the hills that Bighorn Golf Club is named for. It also passes the parking lot for two canyons the public can enter for only three months a year. Carrizo Canyon and Dead Indian Canyon open on October 1 and close on December 31. The sheep set that schedule, so the five weeks after Thanksgiving are the last chance to walk into either canyon until next October.

A Reserve With a Three-Month Door

Carrizo Canyon belongs to a state preserve, so the rule comes from the state. The California Department of Fish and Wildlife's page for the Carrizo Canyon Ecological Reserve lists the reserve as closed January 1 through September 30. The page says the state bought the land to protect a historic water supply for Peninsular bighorn sheep, and the Fish and Game Commission made it an ecological reserve in 1978.

Friends of the Desert Mountains, the nonprofit that runs docent programs at the Monument, lists both Carrizo Canyon and Dead Indian Canyon as bighorn sheep habitat, open October 1 through December 31. In April 2025, KESQ reported that both canyons close to everyone from January through September for lambing season. In the same report, Friends of the Desert Mountains explained that sheep see dogs as predators and may leave their feeding and watering sites when dogs are around, and biologist Aimee J. Byard warned that sheep that get used to dogs could leave lambs slow to react to coyotes.

The Bighorn Institute says Peninsular bighorn lambing usually runs from January through June. The public window sits just before it, in the last quarter of the year.

This Fall, the Lambs Came Early

This year the sheep did not wait for January. Through October, the Bighorn Institute recorded new lambs in the northern Santa Rosa Mountains. It counts this as a double-lambing event, meaning a ewe gave birth twice in one calendar year. The Institute calls this extremely rare and knows of no other place where it happens. This is the fifth such event it has recorded in that range since 2005.

Most of the earlier events came in years with above-average rainfall and extra forage. This year had been dry until an October tropical storm, so the Institute says the fall lambs were a surprise. Other ewes are showing signs of pregnancy, and the Institute expects more lambs.

For scale, the Institute's July 2026 update reported a two-day count at waterholes near Rancho Mirage on July 8 and 9. Volunteers counted 65 sheep, 18 of them lambs. The same update estimated about 140 adult sheep across the northern Santa Rosa range. Taken together, this fall has more young sheep in the range than usual, more sheep coming down to Highway 74, and a canyon season that ends December 31 regardless.

Two Canyons, Two Different Mornings

Both hikes start at the Art Smith Trailhead lot. It sits about 100 feet up the southwest side of Highway 74, just past the driveway to the Visitor Center. From there the two canyons ask different things of a hiker.

The Dead Indian Canyon hike is listed on the Friends' November 2026 calendar. Friends rates it easy, mostly level or gently uphill, and suitable for anyone who enjoys walking. The program covers the canyon's geology and the chance to see Peninsular bighorn sheep and other desert wildlife.

On a self-guided visit, Carrizo has a fork. The trail directory describes a sandy wash that enters the canyon past a lone palm tree and reaches a junction at a large boulder. To the right is a dry waterfall. To the left is a scenic overlook, which requires scrambling over an 8-foot dry waterfall and then turning right immediately. The directory rates the route moderate, at 2.0 miles with 392 feet of gain. The December Carrizo docent hikes note full sun for the whole walk.

Both docent hikes have the same requirements:

• At least 2 liters of water and a snack
• Closed-toe shoes
• No dogs
• Recommended: sunscreen, a hat, hiking poles and a long-sleeve shirt

Reservations open two weeks before each hike. That puts booking for December 6 around Thanksgiving weekend and booking for December 20 around December 6, the morning of the first Carrizo walk.

The Calendar From Here to December 31

The canyon dates overlap with the busiest stretch of the year at the Living Desert Zoo and Gardens, a short drive down the hill. WildLights 2026 runs from 6 to 9 p.m. on select nights, with last entry at 8:30 p.m. Daytime visitors have to leave by 5 p.m. before evening entry starts at 6. In order, the dates are:

1. Sunday, November 22. Dead Indian Canyon docent hike, 8:30 a.m.
2. Monday, November 23. WildLights preview night for Living Desert members.
3. Tuesday, November 24. WildLights opens to the public. Public nights are November 24, 25, 27 and 28, then December 4 and 5, 10 through 12, 17 through 24, and 26 through 30.
4. Thursday, November 26. The Monument Visitor Center is closed for Thanksgiving.
5. Sunday, December 6. Carrizo Canyon docent hike, 8:30 a.m.
6. Thursday, December 10. Jingle Pups night at WildLights. People and dogs each need a ticket.
7. Thursday, December 17. Adults-only night at WildLights.
8. Friday, December 18. Pride Night at WildLights.
9. Sunday, December 20. Carrizo Canyon docent hike, 8:30 a.m.
10. Thursday, December 24. The Visitor Center closes at 2 p.m.
11. Friday, December 25. The Living Desert and the Visitor Center are both closed.
12. Wednesday, December 30. Last night of WildLights.
13. Thursday, December 31. The Visitor Center closes at 2 p.m., and the canyons have their last open day of the season.

Jingle Pups is the one dog event on this list. The Bureau of Land Management says dogs are not allowed on most Monument trails. The Living Desert asks for tickets for both people and dogs that night and recommends booking ahead, because every special night has limited capacity.

WildLights tickets are $25 general admission, $23 for members, $20 for children ages 3 to 17, and free for children under 3. A daytime-plus-evening bundle costs $64.95 per adult and $49.95 per child. Returning displays include the Giant Present, a 30-foot Christmas tree, the Tunnel of Lights and a G-scale train. Parking at the zoo is free but can fill up. Overflow parking is on Portola, Haystack and Buckboard avenues.

The Visitor Center is open Friday through Sunday, 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m., according to the Bureau of Land Management. Its two paved lots hold 52 cars between them. Every Highway 74 visit on this calendar, whether to the canyons, the Art Smith Trailhead or the Visitor Center, passes the spot where the Bighorn Institute has seen sheep crossing most often this fall.

What Stays Open After January 1

Once the canyons close, the trails nearby follow their own schedules. The Friends directory lists the Art Smith Trail's First Oasis route as a 4.5-mile moderate out-and-back from the same trailhead lot. The upper section of Bump & Grind, past the gate, is listed as closed February 1 through April 30 every year. The Bureau of Land Management says the Monument's lower-elevation trails are best from November through April, and it posts trail status on its Monument page.

The Carrizo Canyon Ecological Reserve reopens next October 1.

The desert hills above Highway 74 are part of what makes a Bighorn address what it is, and they belong in any honest picture of the home. For a private consultation on property in and around Bighorn Golf Club, or a property tour timed around a morning in the canyons, contact Craig Chorpenning.