Ladder Canyon / Painted Canyon
DETAILS:
Location: Mecca Hills Wilderness Area. (approximately 50 miles SE from Palm Springs)
Directions: (From Los Angeles) 10E > SR-86S > Right onto 62 Ave. > Left onto Grapefruit Blvd. > Left on to Fourth St. > Right onto Hammond Rd. > Left onto 66th Ave. > Left onto Painted Canyon Rd.
Depending on when you leave from LA and traffic, this drive will take you anywhere from 3 to 4 hours.
Painted Canyon Road (approximately 5 miles to the Ladder Canyon trailhead parking area) is a very rough gravel/dirt road. 4WD is definitely recommended, but the road is manageable with a 2WD vehicle if that’s your only option. Just be mindful of recent weather conditions that might impact this road.
Hours of Operation: Sunrise to sunset.
Parking: Free parking at Ladder Canyon trailhead parking lot.
The parking lot is a huge dirt area in front of the trailhead. So getting a parking spot should not be an issue on most days.
Numerous sites have noted the occasional car burglary. So please be mindful of this and avoid keeping any valuables in the car, or out of plain sight.
Time Commitment: The trail through Ladder Canyon into Painted Canyon is approximately a 5 mile clockwise loop which took us 3-4 hours to complete at a moderate pace. Then there are multiple side and alternate trails along the way (especially at the summit between Ladder Canyon and Painted Canyon) that will add to your time in the canyons.
Trail Details:
As its name would suggest, you will need to ascend and descend multiple ladders (6 by our count) in order to complete the trail. I’ve also read on other sites that there may be one or two more ladders depending on which specific route you take. Most of these ladders are easy to navigate, one or two (like the first ladder into the canyon) can be bypassed by scrambling up the terrain next to the ladder, and a couple are a little more harrowing depending on your fear of heights. But make no mistake, if you have any concerns about ladder climbing then unfortunately this trail is not for you. With that being said, we witnessed plenty of children and seniors handle the ladders without issue. A final note on these ladders; they are maintained by private citizens, not by any sort of official governing body, so you’re using them at your own risk, and they can be damaged or even missing at any point. On the day we went, each ladder was sturdy and in good shape.
In regards to weather, it’s important to remember that this trail is in the desert! By late spring into the summer, temperatures can definitely exceed triple digits. So plenty of sunscreen and water is an absolute must. Conversely, winter months can bring heavy rain and flash-flooding that can wreck havoc on road and trail conditions. And high wind is possible any time of year. So please watch the extended forecast when planning a trip to the area.
In regards to elevation, the trail is pretty flat outside of the ladders you’ll have to traverse. The only real elevation you’ll encounter is your ascent out of Ladder Canyon and your descent into Painted Canyon (or vice versa should you take the loop counter-clockwise).
The trail is technically dog-friendly (depending on how large your dog is), but navigating the ladders will obviously be an issue. A dog carrying backpack of some sort would be required if you elect to bring a dog safely, and even then, I probably wouldn’t recommend any dog over 20 lbs.
In the final scenes of Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, Indy must venture into the vaulted canyons of Hatay in order to obtain the Holy Grail and save mankind for a third time. Being a Stephen Spielberg production, money was of no consequence, so they could afford to shoot these climatic moments in the ancient city of Petra in Jordan. But had their budget been a little tighter, Ladder & Painted Canyons would have provided a worthy alternative.
These two separate canyons are connected by a five mile looped trail that you can take in either direction. Between these two canyons, you’ll be greeted with a gamut of terrains; slot canyons that require tight maneuvering, elevated ridges that offer views for miles of the craggled topography, arched canyon walls that come in hues that hardly seem natural, and of course, the ladders! Combine these all together and you have one of the most memorable hikes you’ll ever encounter.
I’ve laid out as many details as I could think of above, provided links with step-by-step trail instructions from those far more knowledgeable below, and organized the slideshow in a linear manner (given that you take the trail clockwise) to give you an overview of what you’ll encounter from start to finish which should hopefully give you a good sense of what to expect. So the only question now is - what are you waiting for?!
