When meetings wrap up and attendees are in need of some fresh air, many planners call Desert Adventures (760.340.2345; www.red-jeep.com), a Palm Desert-based special events company, for a hefty dose of the great outdoors.
Celebrating its 20th anniversary this year, Desert Adventures regularly takes groups out for Jeep tours of the Palm Springs region, and its fun gathering spot, Old Mining Camp, sits directly on the San Andreas Fault.
The camp is a mock town complete with places to practice cattle wrangling, take old-fashioned photos (with elaborate costumes to help make images look more authentic), find fortunes by panning for gold, stargaze with a high-powered telescope, and even warm oneself by a blazing bonfire. It is a perfect spot for groups ranging from 20 to 1,000 attendees.
“It is a very authentic replica of the way the old mining camps were that spread through California in the Gold Rush days,” says Mary Dungans, president and owner of Desert Adventures. “This area is filled with old gold mines, and the San Andreas Fault keeps bringing things up to the surface.”
The Old Mining Camp is located on private land on the north side of the Coachella Valley, about 15 minutes from down-valley resorts, making it a nice change of pace from the hustle and bustle of the conference room
“It is unincorporated Riverside County and is totally private, so there are no sound or time limitations,” Dungans says, adding that the majority of their business comes from corporate groups. “We are in the unique side of the desert.”
In addition to transporting groups into the Wild West with cattle wrangling and stargazing, the camp also has a large barn with picnic tables, buffet stations, a bar, and even a stage. The barn is perfect for concerts, award ceremonies, dinners, and hoedown dance parties.
“We use [the Old Mining Camp] for breakfasts and lunches,” Dungans says. “Groups also like it for sunset cocktails and sunset dinners.”
In between roasting s’mores and panning for gold, Desert Adventures can also take groups out into the mountain darkness for a moonlight Jeep tour.
“We can show them the real, true desert,” Dungans says.
After attendees load into the back of a Jeep, experienced guides take them through the nooks and crannies of the desert, pointing out everything from wildlife to native vegetation.
If groups are more interested in daytime tours, Desert Adventures is happy to oblige.
“We bring the Jeeps to hotels and pick them up there,” Dungans says, adding that often when grown-up meeting attendees see a semi-circle of Jeeps waiting in their hotel’s parking rotunda, they excitedly start running toward them, thrilled by the adventure to come. “From that moment, they put on their kid hat again.”
When not hosting the masses at its Old Mining Camp or giving Jeep tours, Desert Adventures entertains groups in a multitude of other ways.
The company takes groups to the re-created Cahuilla Indian Village for events and also offers several team-building programs.
One option is to take groups out on a Jeep scavenger hunt, in which participants have a list of items to find in the desert and must take Poloraid photos of each thing to bring back. According to Dungans, when groups can’t find certain items, they often get hilariously creative.
“We’ve told groups that they have to take a picture of a wild animal, but sometimes animals aren’t out that day, so they have to make due,” she says. “I’ve seen some funny stuff.”
Additional offerings include GPS Jeep rallies, chili cook-offs, hiking tours, and biking tours along the fault line.
“A lot of groups seek out those things that make a destination unique,” Dungans says, emphasizing how important it is to see what the desert has to offer when visiting Palm Springs. “It would be like going to Yellowstone National Park and not seeing Old Faithful. [Groups love] going out and exploring the desert and feeling the power of nature. They love really understanding and seeing that unique part of the world.”
