Head east on CV Link from Palm Desert Civic Park and the path ends at Cook Street, beside Palm Desert High School. Pick it up again on the other side of Indian Wells and it begins at Washington Street in La Quinta, then runs 16.02 miles to Airport Boulevard in Coachella. Indian Wells sits between those two ends. Anyone on a bike, on foot or in a golf cart who wants to cross the city does it on city streets.
This year the gap came back up for discussion, and the City of Indian Wells said publicly that it is interested. The regional agency that built the path has now put numbers on the possible routes. What came out of that work is a much smaller question than "a route through town." It centers on about 250 feet of the Whitewater River channel near Point Happy, and on whether that strip ever goes to a City Council vote.
Where the path picks up on either side
CV Link officially opened in November 2025. It is 40 miles of multimodal pathway through Palm Springs, Cathedral City, Palm Desert, La Quinta, Indio and Coachella, built mostly along the Whitewater River stormwater channel. For Indian Wells, the Central Valley segment in Palm Desert and the East Valley segment in La Quinta are the two closest.
| Access point | Where it is | Restrooms listed by CV Link |
|---|---|---|
| Bump n' Grind access | Painters Path behind Desert Crossing Shopping Center, off Highway 111 and Fred Waring Drive, Palm Desert | Yes |
| Palm Desert Civic Park | 43900 San Pablo Avenue, Palm Desert | Yes |
| Cook Street end | Next to Palm Desert High School, the eastern end of the 5.44-mile Central Valley segment | Not listed |
| Washington Street start | La Quinta, the western start of the 16.02-mile East Valley segment | Not listed |
The two Palm Desert locations come from a 2026 Coachella Valley Independent trail guide, and the restroom list comes from the official CV Link map page. Farther east, the map also lists restrooms at North Jackson Park and Sierra Vista Park.
The rules are the same on every segment. The CV Link FAQ allows bicycles, e-bikes, electric scooters and low-speed electric vehicles, golf carts included. Bikes, e-bikes, golf carts and other LSEVs have a 20 mph limit. Scooters and boards are capped at 15 mph. Some other basics:
- Dogs are welcome on a leash and under control.
- Keep right and pass with care. Most stretches have a separate decomposed granite path for pedestrians.
- The path has no posted hours, and solar-powered LED lighting runs along it and at access points.
- On public roads, golf carts and other LSEVs have to meet California Vehicle Code requirements, and each city can add its own rules.
The last point affects anyone who drives a cart from an Indian Wells driveway to either end of the path. That trip is on city streets, not on CV Link, so the street rules apply. If you're unsure whether your cart is street-legal, check with the City or a qualified professional. This post is general information, not legal advice.
Why the path goes around the city
The gap goes back to decisions made a decade ago. On September 17, 2015, the Indian Wells City Council held a long special meeting on CV Link. It formally opposed the routes CVAG was studying along Highway 111 and along the Whitewater River channel, which runs through the Indian Wells Golf Resort. According to CVAG's CV Link City Gaps history, the general managers of Hyatt Regency Indian Wells Resort & Spa and Renaissance Indian Wells Resort & Spa sent the mayor a letter backing the project as "an amenity we could market to our guests."
In November 2016, Indian Wells voters approved Measure H. It requires another vote of the electorate before the Council can approve CV Link within the city. In May 2017, CVAG's Executive Committee certified the environmental impact report and adopted a route that left out Indian Wells. CVAG then shelved further design work inside the city.
That history explains the two dead ends. It also explains why the Washington Street end matters so much, which comes up again below.
What changed in 2026
At CVAG's Transportation Committee meeting on April 6, 2026, Indian Wells Mayor Toper Taylor said there was some interest in the city in revisiting CV Link. He explained the shift to KESQ's I-Team in a June 2026 report: "I think what's changed is we have a younger population, a more active population, but with that said, some of the key issues still remain." The same KESQ story said city leaders know that bike riders, walkers and golf cart drivers reach the city limits from both La Quinta and Palm Desert and then have to ride in traffic. It also mentioned the Tennis Garden as one destination a connection could serve.
KESQ reported that city leaders named Highway 111, Fred Waring Drive and Hovley Lane east to Washington Street as possible routes. Councilmember Greg Sanders told the station the city had "put the ball into CVAG's court. Show us some alternatives, and there may not be an acceptable alternative." Taylor said the city was waiting for CVAG's ideas, and added that the city's wide streets and sidewalks might mean it doesn't need the path at all.
What CVAG's ten options show
CVAG answered with a list. In its August 31, 2026 Transportation Committee packet, staff released an initial analysis by consultant CR Associates covering 10 options between Palm Desert and La Quinta. Eight run on streets, one follows the Whitewater River, and one is a no-build option. Each option was scored on four things: fewer conflicts with vehicle traffic, rough cost, how direct the route is, and how much it could cut vehicle miles traveled.
| Option | Route | Score | Rough cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| 9 | Whitewater River, to Point Happy | 28 | $16.90 million |
| 1 | Highway 111, Cook Street to Washington Street | 26 | $7.09 million |
| 5 | Washington, Miles, Highway 111 | 15 | $19.34 million |
| 6 | Washington, Miles, Warner, Fred Waring | 15 | $22.09 million |
| 10 | No build | 15 | $0 |
| 2 | Highway 111, Eldorado, Fairway | 14 | $6.22 million |
| 3 | Washington, Fred Waring | 14 | $26.00 million |
These are CVAG's preliminary, high-level scores. Nothing has been designed or approved. Still, the two highest-scoring routes are the same two corridors the City Council opposed in 2015. Option 2 ties for the lowest score shown here, but it is the cheapest on-street route, at $6.22 million in CVAG's rough estimate.
The route around the city's edge, Hovley Lane to Washington Street, had drawn support from the Indian Wells City Manager. CVAG dropped it early. Between Palm Royale and Hovley, Washington Street is too narrow to add bike facilities without removing a traffic lane, and CVAG called that infeasible given current and projected traffic. The staff report concluded: "the only effective way to close the gap between La Quinta and Palm Desert would be to create a route that traverses Indian Wells for at least some portion."
Under Measure H, any route inside the city would go to Indian Wells voters before the Council could approve it. CVAG has said that decision belongs to the city.
The 250 feet at Washington Street
The smaller question is at the La Quinta end, and it was raised years before 2026.
The East Valley segment ends at street level on Washington Street, which carries fast traffic. In 2019, La Quinta asked Indian Wells to let it annex a small piece of the Whitewater River channel near Point Happy, a piece unlikely ever to be used for anything else. With that land, La Quinta could work with CVAG on an undercrossing at Washington Street in place of the street-level end. The city's legal counsel concluded that such a vote would not violate Measure H. In June 2019, the Indian Wells City Council voted 3-2 to deny the request. The undercrossing is still a concept. It has no funding and no construction schedule.
In 2026, CVAG met with the city managers of Indian Wells and La Quinta, and the boundary adjustment was discussed again as the top safety priority at that end of the path. In a statement to KESQ, CVAG Executive Director Tom Kirk described it as "a 250-foot boundary adjustment at Washington Street that its own attorneys previously concluded would not violate Measure H." The August staff report said that even without CV Link inside Indian Wells, "plenty of cyclists and pedestrians use City streets," and that the agencies share an interest in making the Washington Street connection "as safe and accessible as possible."
The boundary adjustment is the only item here that needs no new route through Indian Wells and no citywide vote. It is also the piece that would change the La Quinta end of the path, where riders now meet Washington Street at street level. As of CVAG's September 2026 update, Indian Wells staff had not brought the boundary adjustment to the City Council for a vote.
If whether a cart or bike can reach CV Link from your door matters as you compare streets and clubs in Indian Wells, Kimberly Oleson can walk you through where each community sits relative to the Cook Street and Washington Street ends. Work with Kimberly.
