Dates, the oblong fruit of the date palm—a tropical tree native to the Middle East and Northern Africa—began to be cultivated in Southern California around the turn of the 20th century. While rapid development has limited the industry over the decades, the Coachella Valley still produces the vast majority of the United States’ dates, and has been the site of the National Date Festival every February for 70-plus years (incidentally, there’s also a popular International Tamale Festival every December, reflecting the area’s huge Hispanic population). Though they’re high in potassium, fiber, and B-complex vitamins, dates are inherently sweet, with the creamier varieties tasting downright decadent when fresh.
In short, eating local dates is a must in the Coachella Valley. Here’s where to try them.
Where: Since 1924, Shields Date Garden (80-225 U.S. Hwy 111, Indio), the retail store of a local date grower in Indio, has been a date mecca within a date mecca. It’s just as known for its continually playing 15-minute film, Romance and Sex Life of the Date, as it is for its wide variety of all-natural California dates, delicious date shakes, other fresh and dried fruits and fruit bars, kitschy souvenirs, and on-site cafe. There’s also a garden path winding past a host of biblical statues.
When: Daily, 8am-2pm
Order: Whatever you fancy, as you have free range to sample lots of different kinds here, including creamy honey dates, thick halawi dates, nutty deglet noor dates, and the medium-sweet “Blondes” and “Brunettes,” hybrids developed by Floyd Shields in 1927 that are sold exclusively here. We liked the plump, dark-brown medjool dates ($10 per pound)—deliciously moist, sweet, and creamy—and the super soft, juicy, and sweet yellow barhi dates ($10 per pound), rounder in shape and meatier inside around a small pit; a mix of these two are pictured above.
Good to know: Between 8am and 2pm, the garden patio café serves breakfast and lunch, with menu items that use dates in pancakes, omelets, salads, and burgers in addition to the always-available shakes.
Alternatively: Sadly, the other historic date grower and shop around here, Oasis Date Gardens, closed in 2024. But there are other family-owned date farms you could stop by and buy dates from when available, such as Leja Farms (52500 Van Buren St., map) in Coachella, and you’ll certainly find local dates at any farm stand or grocery store in the area.
Updated: May 2025
