Date Oasis Garden, Thermal, California

Southeast of the Palm Springs and Palm Desert areas in the Coachella Valley is the Date Oasis Garden . This is a 92 year old 175 acre working date palm ranch that specializes in the wonderful Medjool variety as well as many others. At their store you can taste over a dozen different dates, read about the history of the ranch, purchase dates and other gifts, and enjoy their famous date milkshakes. The store is nearly surround by the fields of palm trees which makes for a very tropical and relaxing feel. This ranch is also one of the largest providers of date palm trees around the world. We learned that all the varieties that they grow are originally from Iraq, Iran or Northern Africa. It turns out that countries in the middle east now are purchasing trees from Date Oasis Garden to reestablish groves that have been eliminated due to wars. Who knew that the Coachella Valley played such a role in the world's palm dates? If you like dates or want to try them for the first time, then we recommend a visit to the Date Oasis Garden.

Tip! We learned after our visit that there are free milkshake coupons in the Date Oasis Garden's tourist brochure, so watch for them tourist information stands.