Cabot's Old Indian Pueblo and Museum

About this museum

Cabot Yerxa was an eccentric visionary, and his creation reflects that in every handmade corner. Over more than two decades, Yerxa - a Bohemian intellectual, prospector, and self - taught builder - constructed a 35 - room pueblo - style structure in the desert outside Desert Hot Springs, California, using salvaged materials, found objects, and sheer stubborn determination. He called it Cabot's Pueblo, and today it stands as Cabot's Old Indian Pueblo and Museum: one of the most singular historic sites in the Coachella Valley, perhaps in all of Southern California. The building is an architectural marvel in the truest sense - not polished or symmetrical, but deeply personal, shaped by one man's hand over decades and filled with his collection of Native American art and artifacts. Rooms open onto other rooms in unexpected directions; the scale shifts as you move through the structure; the desert light comes through windows at angles Yerxa calculated himself. Tours bring the space to life, explaining Yerxa's biography - his time in the Klondike gold rush, his years as a desert homesteader, his friendships with local Cahuilla people and with figures from the arts world - alongside the history of the artifacts on display. Visitors rate the experience at 4.5 stars from more than 706 reviews, consistently praising the uniqueness of the structure and the quality of the guided tours. The museum is open Tuesday through Sunday, with morning hours Tuesday through Saturday from 9AM to 4PM and afternoon hours on Sunday from 12PM to 4PM. Located at 67 - 616 E. Desert View Avenue in Desert Hot Springs. Admission is free. Cabot's Pueblo is the kind of place that rewards curiosity - the less you know going in, the more surprised you will be.