Indio has been described as “the City of Festivals". It is the foundation for cities in eastern Coachella Valley consisting of Coachella, Mecca, Salton City and Thermal. It is situated at the eastern end of Palm Springs after La Quinta on the Highway 111 corridor.
It is in fact one of the oldest cities in the Coachella Valley starting out as a railroad town and the central point for the Southern Pacific Railroad’s trek between Yuma, Arizona and Los Angeles.
From just a railroad tow, it emerged rapidly to an agricultural center particularly because of certain characteristics such as its arid climate, year-round sunshine and the ability of local farmers to attain irrigational water through artesian wells and later through the Coachella Valley’s branch of the All-American Canal.
Agriculture is what drives its economy especially in crop production with a variety of products such as bell peppers, onions, and citrus. Indio is quite famous for its production of dates from date palms transplanted from the Middle East with the date fields of the Eastern Coachella Valley producing about 95% of the dates consumed in the United States.
Indio also has a History Museum with amazing collections of early city buildings. The Museum has substantial information on the history of the entire Coachella Valley as well as the early history of Indio and the impact of agriculture on its growth.
In Indio, there is no dull moment as the city has some of the best live entertainment venues and festivals in the Coachella Valley. It is fact recognized globally for its music events. One of such is “The City of Festivals”. Indio is home to various exciting venues such as the Riverside County Fairgrounds and the El Dorado and Empire Polo Grounds where standard festivals such as the yearly Indio International Tamale Festival and the Riverside County Fair & Date Festival are held.
In 1999, the Golden voice’s Coachella Valley Annual Arts & Music Festival (also commonly known as Coachella or Coachella fest) began at the Empire Polo Grounds. The event 's popularity and size is on the increase every year. Events like the Stagecoach, California's Country Music Festival every spring are held at the Empire Polo Grounds. In 2012, California's Country Music Festival in fact had its first sell-out.
Furthermore, Indio has an ever increasing number of gated communities to meet the various needs of specific real estate populations some of which include active adult communities, luxury RV and motor coach owners and golf enthusiasts.
Indio is also home to the Desert Shores Resort which has beautiful lagoons with fountains, waterfalls and rich open spaces that give a wonderful view of the surrounding valley. Most communities in the Indio area have golf and country club amenities including Heritage Palms Country Club, Indian Springs Country Club, and Sun City Shadow Hills providing entertainment and relaxation to active adults. This is one of the reasons why people purchase a variety of homes in Indio. Indio also has some outstanding country clubs and exquisite home developments such as Bridge at Jefferson, Desert River Estates, Mountain Estates, Shadow Lakes Estates, Sonora Wells, Shadow Ranch, Talavera, and Terra Lago.
