Highway 33’s Wild Palm Grove – The Legacy of Wheeler Hot Springs' Mexican Fan Palms after 135 Years!

Nestled within a rugged canyon landscape along California’s Highway 33 stands a grove of majestic palms—each a silent memoir of a bygone wellness resort, now reclaimed by time and terrain.

These are Washingtonia robusta, or Mexican fan palms—towering, fast-growing non-natives that were intentionally planted to evoke an exotic escape. Though Wheeler Hot Springs’ spa, cottages, and pools are long gone (demolished by about 2019), the palms remain: a striking contrast to the native oak and chaparral that surround them.

While W. robusta offers dramatic height and tropical flair, California’s own Washingtonia filifera is more stout, fire-resilient, and deeply rooted in native ecosystems. These palms at Wheeler choose spectacle over ecology—symbols, perhaps, of early 20th-century resort glamour—and now stand as living monuments on a road less traveled.

Discover the secret palms of Wheeler Hot Springs, rising like tropical sentinels in the midst of Los Padres National Forest’s rugged chaparral and oak-draped canyons. These Washingtonia robusta—Mexican fan palms—are a vivid reminder of the region’s resort-era past.

Why Palm Trees at Wheeler?

These palms aren’t native to the wild terrain of Wheeler Springs. Rather, they’re remnants of the historic Wheeler Hot Springs resort, which flourished from the late 1800s through the 1990s. Resort operators intentionally planted exotic palms to evoke a tropical escape in the heart of the mountains.

A Los Angeles Times article from 1993 described the setting as “savage, muscular, Guatemalan”—lush in winter, steep and unstable—yet incongruously home to palm trees among chaparral and oak.
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Wheeler’s resort infrastructure is gone—demolished around 2019—but the palms endure, a living echo of the past..

Washingtonia robusta vs. Washingtonia filifera

Washingtonia robusta (Mexican fan palm)

Taller and slimmer, reaching 25–30 m (80–100 ft)
Wikipedia
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Narrow trunk, typically with reddish petiole markings. Rapid growth and cold hardiness (down to about –8 °C / ~17 °F) make it a favorite for fast and dramatic landscaping.

Washingtonia filifera (California fan palm)

Stouter trunk, somewhat shorter—up to 18–25 m (60–80 ft). Leaves display fine, thread-like fibers and a pure green petiole with yellow edges.

Exceptionally cold, fire-adapted, and historically significant to indigenous cultures in the desert oases.



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