Top of Bump & Grind Trail opens to hikers for first time in 10 years
The Coachella Valley Conservation Commission (CVCC) announced Friday morning that the top of the Mirage Trail is being opened to hikers. Officials said this is the first time in 10 years hikers will be allowed to access the upper portion of the trail, commonly known as the Bump and Grind because of its unique decent.
The California Department of Fish and Wildlife partnered with CVCC to open the area to hikers.
The top of the trail will be open for nine months and close again on February 1, 2017 for the lambing season of the Peninsular bighorn sheep, officials said in the release.
The gates were opened on Friday.
“The Bump and Grind is an important asset to our community, and I appreciate that we had so many agencies at the state and local levels come together on a win-win solution,” said Rancho Mirage Councilman Richard W. Kite, who is chairman of the CVCC. “With the gate open for most of the year, we
can provide hikers a chance to enjoy the trail’s majestic vistas and still ensure that the bighorn sheep
remain undisturbed during the crucial lambing season.”
Officials said the Bump and Grind is one of the Coachella Valley’s most popular trails, and estimates indicate that as many as 200 people use it daily. The three-mile trail has an elevation gain of nearly 1,000 feet, providing hikers with beautiful views of the Coachella Valley.
The last mile of the trail is located in the Magnesia Spring Ecological Reserve. That portion was closed
by the CDFW in 2006 as mitigation for creation of new trails and because it encroached on habitat that
the endangered bighorn sheep use for lambing and rearing, officials said in the release.
According to the release, in 2012, Governor Jerry Brown signed Assembly Bill 880, which was authored by then-Assembly members Brian Nestande and V. Manuel Perez. The legislation authorized the CDFW to determine seasonal openings and closures of the trail that would not conflict with the sheep’s need to use the area.
AB 880 also outlined the need for a local agency to assume complete responsibility for fencing, signage
and educational material.
“The opening of the Bump and Grind is an important milestone for the community, especially those of us
who appreciate being able to hike in our mountains,” said Katie Barrows, Director of Environmental
Resources for CVAG. “It’s now incumbent on all of us to show we can use the trail responsibly, so that
educational signs don’t suffer graffiti and – most importantly – so the bighorn sheep can prosper.”
The CVCC also committed to spending at least $100,000 by January 1, 2018 to monitor the Peninsular
bighorn sheep. About $60,000 has been allocated, and the funding has been used for bighorn sheep
genetic and health studies, coordination of habitat vegetation monitoring and field monitoring – all of
which is consistent with the Coachella Valley Multiple Species Habitat Conservation Plan. The remaining
$40,000 is expected to be allocated during the 2016-17 fiscal year, officials announced Friday.
