Centuries ago, the ancestors of the Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians settled in the Palm Springs region, developing advanced and enduring communities within the Indian, Tahquitz, and Chino Canyons. Visitors can still find traces of these ancient settlements: rock art, petroglyphs, house pits, stone foundations, reservoirs, trails, and food processing areas.

Archaeological research has confirmed that Tahquitz Canyon has been continuously inhabited for at least 5,000 years, highlighting its importance to Cahuilla culture. The Cahuilla called the area Sec-he, meaning boiling water, a reference to the natural hot mineral springs that still flow today. When Spanish explorers arrived, they named the site Agua Caliente, or hot water. Eventually, the name "Palm Springs" was adopted, honoring both the native Washingtonia filifera palm tree and the famous mineral springs.

The hot aquifers are heated to temperatures up to 150ºF by geothermal forces thousands of feet below the earth’s surface. Wellness resorts and spas have long sprung up along this natural feature, including in the 1930s when Al Capone set up next door to Bubbling Hills Ranch in what is now famously known as Two Bunch Palms.