Wall Street Mill, Joshua Tree CA


• 5-star hike
• 2.4 mile out-and-back
• Easy difficulty | Gain 95 feet
• Twentynine Palms, CA | Joshua Tree National Park
• Driving Directions: Trailhead


Abandoned mining equipment from the depression era.

We'd recommend the trail to Wall Street Mill as the best short trail in the park. Take a picturesque stroll between rocky outcroppings along the flat desert floor, passing historic ruins of mans' attempts to live in and off this arid landscape.

The one mile out-and-back trail leads you past a windpump, an argument leading to a shoot-out, and ultimately to a small preserved depression-era stamp mill. Local prospectors would commission Bill Keys' stamp mill to crush and grind their rocks into a slurry using a two-step process, so it can be separated into gold and mine tailings.

On the route you'll happen across a modern metal replacement for a stone monument that was originally placed here and is now in the Joshua Tree park museum. The monument was placed in this location by the mill owner Bill Keys as a warning, after an altercation and shooting over a property dispute. The law sentenced Keys to five years imprisonment but later received a full pardon.

Wall Street Mill


Wall Street Mill 5★
2.4 mi, Out & Back, Easy, Gain 95 ft
Trailspotting Map at AllTrails

At the mill site you can also check out other historic equipment and a motor vehicle rotting away in the desert sun. More derelicts can be found on your return trip just to the north of the main trail - we've included a detour to these in our trail map. While you're out here in the desert, keep an eye out for wild bighorn sheep that roam the area.

This is a very popular hike, so we'd suggest making it a first priority in the park. We'd also recommend combining this with the Barker Dam Nature Trail hike that leads off from the same parking lot.


A metal monument to a desert showdown.


Ruins of a desert dwelling.


Workings of the stamp mill. From the park's interpretive sign.

Tangents:
• External Links: Official, Public Map at AllTrails
• Facebook Group: Comment on this article

Joshua Tree Best Hikes
Trailspotting reviews the Best Hikes of Joshua Tree National Park all in one place.

LA Best Hikes
Explore the natural side of tinseltown with Trailspotting's Best Hikes of Los Angeles.

Yosemite's Best Hikes
Epic scenery and adventures await. Trailspotting's Best Hikes of Yosemite National Park is a great place to start.
More Trailspotting:
Hiking · Rail Trails · All · Fire Towers · Covered Bridges | California · Hawaii · New Hampshire · Massachusetts · Southwest · Vermont | About · Bike Route Maps · Hiking & Biking Gear · YouTube Channel |  Subscribe 

Presented free of advertising. Share trails safely and respect posted signs. Information here is provided without warranty and users are responsible for their own actions and for validating all information. All content copyright © 2005-2023 Stuart Green. All rights reserved. More by this author at Library of Realities.com.