hikespeak

For an exciting 2.2-mile hike on an undeveloped trail through a colorful canyon, make your way to Rainbow Canyon, located south of Blair Valley in Anza-Borrego Desert State Park. A bit of scrambling is required on this hike, to climb several sloped dry falls within the canyon. This hike has 300 feet of elevation gain between the trailhead and the turnaround point, with plenty to see along the way. ...Read more.

For a brief period at the start of America's involvement in World War Two, this area was heavily mined for its high-grade calcite, a mineral then used to make bomb sights. This approximately 4-mile long expedition follows an old mining road into the Santa Rosa Mountains, crossing a narrow ravine with slot canyons that hikers may explore to add variety and excitement to this trek in Anza-Borrego Desert State Park. ...Read more.

Simply named The Slot, this narrow siltstone canyon provides one of the most exciting hikes in Anza-Borrego Desert State Park. This 0.8-mike trek is capped off with a passage beneath a gravity-defying rock span. This short hike has just 100 feet of elevation loss, but the memory will be much more profound. The Slot lacks a defined trail marker. From the parking area, look for footprints leading down into the ravine below. ...Read more.

Contact Mine was in operation at the start of the 20th century, extracting gold and silver from the mountains south of Twentynine Palms, California. A hundred years of desert decay have left the mine rusty but recognizable. The old road to the mine is worn down and eroded, now just a little-used hiking trail. This 3.95-mile round trip trek ascends 700 feet up a wash, a canyon, and an old road to a mountainside mine site that offers a glimpse into the mining history of Joshua Tree National Park. ...Read more.

Devils Kitchen Trail is located near the south end of Colorado National Monument at the bottom of rugged No Thoroughfare Canyon. This 1.2-mile hike ascends 225 feet to visits an intriguing rock formation on the side of the canyon where tall boulders have enclosed a rock grotto. No Thoroughfare Canyon Two junctions are along the way and the path gets faint toward the end, so follow the directions on this one. ...Read more.

Monument Canyon Trail is six miles long in one direction, dropping from Rim Rock Drive across Monument Canyon to a second trailhead on the eastern edge of the park. Three and a half miles (and 850 vertical feet) from the top, the trail passes Independence Monument, the largest freestanding rock formation in the park. A popular hike along Monument Canyon Trail is a 7-mile out and back from Rim Rock Drive to Independence Monument. ...Read more.

Coke Oven's Trail shares a trailhead with Monument Canyon Trail and the collection of rock domes can be visited as their own destination or as a side attraction on a longer trek into Monument Canyon. The hike to Coke Ovens is one-mile round trip with 180 feet of elevation loss. From the turnout along Rim Rock Drive, begin hiking east into the canyon. ...Read more.

Otto's Trail is one of the shorter hikes along Rim Rock Drive in Colorado National Monument. Like Window Rock Trail, this 0.75-mile stroll descends gradually to a cliff overlooking Monument Canyon. The view showcases Independence Monument, the tallest freestanding formation in the canyon, and a point of fascination for visitors dating back to the first park supervisor, John Otto, for whom this trail is named. ...Read more.

Across the road from the park visitor center (and Canyon Rim Trail) is Alcove Nature Trail. This track is set back from the canyon rim, which limits views of the great landscape. What this trail offers instead is an informative hike with numbered markers that coincide with entries in a guide booklet. The entries describe plants and animals in the park as well as the geological history. ...Read more.

For a view of Praying Hands, Independence Monument, and the other statuesque monoliths in Monument Canyon, take a stroll along Canyon Rim Trail. The track crosses the canyon rim between Saddlehorn Visitor Center and Book Cliff View, and is a great way to begin your visit of Colorado National Monument. The trail is half a mile one-way or one mile round trip. ...Read more.