CVAG describes CV Link as 40 miles of multi-modal pathway across six cities. On the ground it is three separate rides that share a name, a 20 mph speed limit and a leash rule for dogs. This is the path's first full season since the official opening in November 2025. Over the next three years, every construction project that affects it lands in the same kind of spot, the underpasses where a road crosses the Whitewater River channel. The gaps between cities are well known. The closures coming at these crossings are about to matter more.
Three rides sharing one name
CVAG's project page lists three open segments for walking, running, biking and low-speed electric vehicles. All of them are open day and night.
West Valley, 19.63 miles. It runs from the Palm Springs Visitor Center at 2901 N. Palm Canyon Drive to Date Palm Drive in Cathedral City, mostly on the Chino Wash and Whitewater River levee. A spur follows Tahquitz Creek, branching at Dinah Shore Drive and running through Demuth Park to North Riverside Drive. The Cathedral Canyon Access Point at 35688 Cathedral Canyon Drive is the main entry point in the middle of the segment.
Central Valley, 5.44 miles. This Palm Desert stretch mixes on-street lanes with Whitewater River path. It starts at the Bump & Grind trailhead at 72-440 Painters Path, behind Desert Crossing Shopping Center, and ends at Cook Street by Palm Desert High School. Palm Desert Civic Park at 43900 San Pablo Avenue is also an access point. The Bump & Grind trailhead and Civic Park both have restrooms.
East Valley, 16.02 miles. It runs from Washington Street in La Quinta to Airport Boulevard in Coachella, mostly along the south side of the channel through Indio. Its grand-opening stops last November were at Promontory Point, 80200 Vista Grande, North Jackson Park, 43-200 Town Street, and the Avenue 52 Access Point, 86546 Avenue 52. North Jackson Park and Sierra Vista Park have restrooms.
The three lengths add up to just over 41 miles. The breaks fall in two places. The first is between Date Palm Drive in Cathedral City and Painters Path in Palm Desert. The second is between Cook Street and Washington Street.
Why the breaks fall where they do
In September 2026, CVAG published its own account of the missing links. The original idea dating to 2011 was a valley-wide spine that also reached Desert Hot Springs, Rancho Mirage and Indian Wells. According to CVAG, those three cities were left out of the first phase largely because their councils at the time pushed back. Because the report comes from the agency that built the path, the reasons are best read as CVAG's description of a long regional debate.
Each gap now stands differently.
- Rancho Mirage. Voters approved advisory measures on CV Link in 2016, plus a measure requiring a ballot vote before any future council could take the issue up again. CVAG says it has received no formal request from the city to revisit the project.
- Indian Wells. In November 2016, voters passed Measure H, which requires voter approval before the council can approve building CV Link within the city. In 2026, Mayor Toper Taylor publicly said there was interest in revisiting the path. CVAG then looked at 10 options between Palm Desert and La Quinta, and the two it ranked highest ran along the Whitewater River and Highway 111. As of CVAG's report, city staff had not brought the first step, a boundary adjustment at Washington Street, to a council vote.
- Desert Hot Springs. In September 2025, CVAG authorized up to $130,000 for an alternative route analysis. At least five alternatives are under review, and the analysis is set to wrap up in 2026. The routes have to deal with the Union Pacific Railroad and Interstate 10 crossings.
The Washington Street boundary item explains a feature East Valley riders already know. CVAG's report describes the La Quinta end as an at-grade terminus on a fast-moving street. An undercrossing there would need a small piece of channel land that sits inside Indian Wells near Point Happy, and CVAG calls fixing that terminus the highest-priority safety issue. Where the path cannot pass under a road, users end up crossing it in traffic. The same problem is behind every closure on the calendar below.
The Ramon Road underpass, and what replaces it
The underpass beneath Ramon Road is a recent addition. KESQ reported in August that it was opened after the station's late-2025 reporting on the lack of a connection between the north and south sides of the path at Ramon. It will close for the whole Ramon Road Bridge widening project over the Whitewater Channel.
KESQ described the planned detour as follows. It runs through the Dream Homes neighborhood and crosses the San Luis Rey and Ramon intersection, then the Lawrence Crossley and Dinah Shore intersection, before rejoining the path near the Dinah Shore Bridge. Bike safety advocate John Siegel told the station it is the same route he and many other cyclists used before the crossing was built. Palm Springs City Engineer Joel Montalvo explained why the underpass cannot stay open during the work:
"So the contractor wants full control of his construction activities. We're going to be demoing. We're going to be doing major construction, renovation underneath the structure itself."
The start date has already moved. CVAG's June update and the city's September 18 project page both said fall 2026. On September 24, Palm Springs said construction is expected to begin this winter. As of September 30, the project was still in contractor bidding, and no contractor or contract price had been named. In August, KESQ reported a projected cost of $50 million to $70 million and roughly two years of work. The finish date depends on the source. The cities' June announcement says December 2028, and CVAG says 2029.
Coachella moves first
On the east end, the timeline is firmer. On September 21, the Coachella City Council awarded a $48,709,821.10 contract to Riverside Construction Company Inc. to build the Avenue 50 Bridge. The bridge will replace the low-water crossing over the Coachella Valley Stormwater Channel, which floods regularly. Groundbreaking is scheduled for October 15.
Phase one realigns Tyler Street and moves CV Link beneath the new structure, with a temporary connection to the existing signalized intersection at Highway 86. CVAG says the path at Avenue 50 will close for the length of the project, with a posted detour, and puts completion in 2028. No street-by-street detour had been published as of early October. When the bridge is finished, the East Valley segment will have a grade-separated crossing at a spot where water currently runs over the road.
The crossing calendar through 2029
| Crossing | Segment | Expected start | Expected finish | Effect on CV Link |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Avenue 50, Coachella | East Valley | Groundbreaking Oct. 15, 2026 | 2028 | Closed at Avenue 50, with detour |
| Ramon Road, Palm Springs and Cathedral City | West Valley | Winter 2026–27, still in bidding Sept. 30 | Dec. 2028 per the cities, 2029 per CVAG | Underpass closed, detour through Dream Homes |
| I-10 and Monroe Street, Indio | East Valley | January 2027 | 2029 | Closed under Monroe Street, with detour |
Both East Valley closures overlap starting in January 2027. That segment already has a record of partial closures. For the Tour de Palm Springs on February 7, 2026, the City of Indio closed the path from Fred Waring Drive to Airport Boulevard from 5 a.m. to 5 p.m. while other segments stayed open. KESQ called the ride the path's first major test since its official opening.
The next addition is also in the east valley. The Arts and Music Line will add about nine miles of protected bike path along Avenue 48, Van Buren Street, Hjorth Street, the La Quinta Evacuation Channel and Dillon Road. It also includes six miles of connecting bikeways serving 11 schools. Construction is scheduled for 2027.
Planning a ride this season
- Check CVAG's map and notices at coachellavalleylink.com before riding near Avenue 50 or Ramon Road. The Ramon Road start has already moved from fall to winter.
- For an uninterrupted West Valley ride before the Ramon work starts, the Tahquitz Creek spur and Demuth Park connect to the main levee route at Dinah Shore Drive, which is also where the planned detour rejoins the path.
- For group rides, Great Outdoors has listed a 20-mile CV Link ride for October 5 starting at Tahquitz Creek Golf Resort, with a route through the Ramon underpass.
- Plan restroom stops at Bump & Grind, Palm Desert Civic Park, North Jackson Park or Sierra Vista Park.
Path access is becoming one of the questions buyers ask about valley homes, especially homes near Cathedral Canyon, Demuth Park or North Jackson Park. If you're thinking about selling a home near one of these access points, Team Michael Keller Williams Luxury can show you how location and planned construction like this factor into its price. Request your free home valuation.
