I had vaguely heard about The Salton Sea and first visited it after a hiking trip in Joshua Tree National Park in 2013. I visited it again in 2025 when we started spending time in late winter each year in Palm Springs, to escape the cold of the East Coast.

The Salton Sea is the 2nd largest saltwater lake in the US - just behind the Great Salt Lake.  Unfortunately, the Salton Sea is no longer the vacation and resort destination it was envisioned in the 1940's and 1950's.  Only a couple hours from Los Angeles, the Salton Sea was going to be the resort hangout of the stars.  And for awhile it was.  

But today, it is a dying, polluted lake that is getting more toxic each day.  It is surrounded by white sand beaches (crushed fish skeletons) and the skeletons of resort towns like Desert Shores and Bombay Beach.  They aren't completely deserted and people still live there.  But the 1,000 people that live in these resort towns are surrounded by the skeletons of houses, roads, and parks.  Grand avenues that lead nowhere, street signs in the middle of the desert, and a fire station standing alone - that is the image of the resort towns around the Salton Sea.   

The Salton Sea - Revisited

It’s 2025 and we warm ourselves in La Quinta, a beautiful resort area at the foot of the Santa Rosa Mountains, noted for its Spanish architecture and lush landscaping. Forty miles away by distance but a million miles away in identity are the Salton Sea communities. Twelve years after first seeing them, I couldn't wait to go back. I expected the area to be almost non-existent, given what I saw on my first visit. But, I was surprised… not only were these communities still there, on the edge of existence, but they looked like they were maybe even a bit more vibrant. Certainly not less! I plan to revisit this area each time we are nearby.

My First Visit

My first visit was day in 2013 after a hiking trip in Joshua Tree National Park. We wandered around the many communities of the Salton Sea. While in Desert Shores we spoke to the bartender of the local VFW.  Now in her late sixty's she told us about her youth and how she waterskied across the entire width of the Salton Sea - on three separate occasions!  She was quite proud of her accomplishment, she enjoyed talking about her youth, and most importantly of all - she saw Western Shores and the Salton Sea for what it meant to her.  I think she had a very different picture of it than we did.  She then directed us to Bombay Beach and the Ski Inn... home of the "best burger on the Salton Sea".

Bombay Beach Art Ruins

There is a fringe arts festival held each year by word of mouth in Bombay Beach along the Salton Sea. The art installations can take weeks to complete and they are left in place… for people to see… to weather… and to evolve. It was surreal walking among these art “ruins”. The creativity and imagination are amazing to see. And while we were there, one or two new installations were just being started.