USFWS · California

Coachella Valley National Wildlife Refuge

Coachella Valley National Wildlife Refuge is a 3,709-acre (15.01 km2) protected area in Riverside County, California's Coachella Valley. It lies within the unincorporated community of Thousand Palms, just north of Palm Desert. The refuge contains the majority of critical habitat for the Coachella Valley Fringe-toed Lizard within the Coachella Valley Preserve.

From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

National Wildlife Refuge3,602 acresUSFWSCA
Official page at U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service ↗
Coachella Valley National Wildlife Refuge
Photo by U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, in the public domain, from Wikimedia Commons.
1 fire
active
Green · 45 mi from the center · 55 acres
Interagency incident data as of 2026-11-01
Incident details ↓

Facts

Where each comes from ↓
DesignationNational Wildlife Refuge
Managed byU.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
StateCalifornia
Size3,602 acres
FWS regionRegion 8
Center point33.80° N, 116.32° W
Night skyBright skies nearby (Black Marble reading 164)

Boundary map

1 outline

Boundary, simplified to about 0.005 degrees

The outline is the agency boundary simplified for display, so small parcels and inholdings may not show. The agency page has the authoritative map.

Weather by month

NOAA climate normals →
Weather by month near Coachella Valley National Wildlife Refuge50°60°70°80°90°100°January: 0.65 inches of precipitationFebruary: 0.59 inches of precipitationMarch: 0.32 inches of precipitationApril: 0.07 inches of precipitationMay: 0.02 inches of precipitationJune: 0.00 inches of precipitationJuly: 0.05 inches of precipitationAugust: 0.26 inches of precipitationSeptember: 0.13 inches of precipitationOctober: 0.15 inches of precipitationNovember: 0.19 inches of precipitationDecember: 0.49 inches of precipitationJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecJanuary: 58.6°F averageFebruary: 62.2°F averageMarch: 68.5°F averageApril: 74.5°F averageMay: 81.2°F averageJune: 89.2°F averageJuly: 94.1°F averageAugust: 93.8°F averageSeptember: 88.7°F averageOctober: 78.1°F averageNovember: 65.5°F averageDecember: 57.0°F average0 in0.5 in1 inTemp °FInches
The line is the average temperature and the bars are average precipitation at Indio Fire Stn, 9 miles from the center point at 21 feet below sea level, station USC00044259 in the NOAA monthly climate normals for 1991 to 2020. Precipitation totals about 3 inches a year.

Large units span more than one climate. The station stands in for the center point, and the outer parts of the boundary can be warmer or colder.

Fire nearby

Within 50 miles · as of 2026-11-01
  • Wildfire
    Green

    45 mi from the center point · 55 acres

Distance is to the reported incident point, not the fire edge, and is measured from the center of a boundary that may be many miles across. Check the agency page for closures.

Explore

Nearby on the other atlases

National Park System units within 30 miles · Park Atlas
National Park · 28 mi
Joshua Tree National Park
National Register listings within 15 miles · 34 in all · Register Atlas

Landmarks are listed first, then by distance from the boundary.

Guidebooks for California

We earn a small commission if you buy through these links. It does not change what we list.

  • Moon Southern California Road Trips
    Ian Anderson, 2020
    Find at Bookshop.org
  • Walkabout Northern California
    Tom Courtney, 2019
    Find at Bookshop.org
  • Backpacking California
    Wilderness Press, 2019
    Find at Bookshop.org

Titles come from Open Library's catalog, matched by subject heading or by title.

Reference

Questions people ask

How big is Coachella Valley National Wildlife Refuge?

3,602 acres.

Source: How acreage is computed

Who manages Coachella Valley National Wildlife Refuge?

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

Source: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

What state is Coachella Valley National Wildlife Refuge in?

California.

Source: How states are assigned

How do I get to Coachella Valley National Wildlife Refuge?

A point inside the boundary is at 33.797° N, 116.325° W. Joshua Tree National Park is 28 miles away. The official page carries directions and the office address.

Source: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

Is there a fire near Coachella Valley National Wildlife Refuge right now?

1 active incident within 50 miles as of 2026-11-01, the nearest Green at 45 miles. Distance is to the reported incident point, not the fire edge.

Source: Fire nearby

Which national parks are near Coachella Valley National Wildlife Refuge?

Joshua Tree National Park (28 mi). Park Atlas has fees, hours and alerts for each.

Source: Nearby on the other atlases

Are there historic places near Coachella Valley National Wildlife Refuge?

The National Register has 34 listings within 15 miles, including Bates, Miles C., House and Kenaston House.

Source: Register Atlas

Sources

  • Boundary, name: the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service refuge boundary layer.
  • States and territories: computed by intersecting the boundary with Census state polygons and coarse outlines of the territories and outlying islands. A place is listed when it holds at least one percent of the area. A boundary that touches no outline is listed under the nearest one.
  • Acreage: geodesic area of the published polygon. The agency’s official acreage can differ where the boundary includes water, easements or inholdings.
  • Photograph: the image Wikidata records for this refuge (Q5137614), the item linked to its Wikipedia article. Author and license come from the file page on Wikimedia Commons.
  • Description: Coachella Valley National Wildlife Refuge on Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0. The article was accepted because its title contains this unit’s name.
  • Campgrounds: the Campsite Atlas index of federal campgrounds, matched to this boundary at build time.
  • Night sky: NASA Black Marble (VIIRS, 2016 composite) sampled at zoom 6 around the center point.
  • Weather, alerts, air quality, river flow and earthquakes load live in your browser from NWS, AirNow, USGS and iNaturalist when you open the page.