Hole-in-the-Wall Area Trails

Something for Everyone

North

5505ft

1678m

B A R B E R P E A K

O P A L I T

E

C L I F F S

B A N S H E E C Y N

& T H E R I N G S

BARBER PEAK LOOP TRAIL

BARBER PEAK LOOP TRAIL

M

DI HILLS TO HOLE- NI -THE W- ALL TRAIL

RINGS LOOP TRAIL

BARBER PEAK

& MID HILLS TO HOLE-IN-THE-WALL TRAILS

Black Canyon Road

Wild Horse Canyon Road

Trails temporarily

follow four-wheel

drive road

Spur trail to

Wild Horse

Canyon Road

Trails temporarily

follow four-wheel

drive road

HOLE-INTHE-WALL

NATURE

TRAIL

Hole-in-the-Wall

Information Center

Hole-in-the-Wall

Campground

Trailhead

Parking Area

Picnic Area

Interpretive Trail

Four-wheel-drive road

Four-wheel-drive road

Unpaved 4-wheel-drive

road and hiking trail

Hiking trail

Unpaved

2-wheel-drive road

Paved road

Unpaved

4-wheel-drive road

To Mid Hills via 

Mid Hills to 

Hole-in-the-Wall 

Trail

To

Mid Hills

To

Essex Road &

Interstate 40

To

Black 

Canyon 

Equestrian

& Group 

Campground

To

Mid Hills

Mojave National Preserve National Park Service

U.S. Department of the Interior

Mojave National Preserve

With four hiking options to choose from, Hole-in-the-Wall is a great place to begin a hike. Trailheads are located at the information center, picnic area, and along Wild Horse Canyon Road. For 

more information, talk to the ranger on duty at Hole-in-the-Wall Information Center or call 760 

928-2572 or 760 252-6104.
Hole-in-the-Wall 

Nature Trail

1⁄2-mile round-trip

Trailheads: Hole-in-the-Wall Information 

Center and south end of Hole-in-the-Wall Campground.

Learn to identify desert plants on this easy 

hike that connects the Information Center and 

Campground.

Barber Peak Loop Trail

6-mile loop

The trail connects to other 

routes (see map). 

Trailheads: Hole-in-the-Wall Picnic Area & 

Hole-in-the-Wall Campground.

This trail showcases the Mojave’s dramatic 

geology. One mile north of Hole-in-the-Wall 

Campground, a viewpoint offers scenic vistas 

in all directions, including nearby Table Top 

Mountain, an easily recognizable landmark for 

travelers heading west across the desert more 

than a century ago. A stone staircase skirts 

volcanic ash deposits known as tuff, while the 

Opalite Cliffs glisten like diamonds among the 

rocks. About 1 mile of the trail follows a dirt 

road, which is also the same route as the southern portion of the Mid Hills to Hole-in-theWall Trail (see below).

Caution: Dirt roads and cattle trails criss-cross 

the route. Pay attention, watch for signs, and 

follow along on the the map.

Rings Loop Trail

 1-mile round-trip

The trail connects to other 

routes (see map). 

Trailhead: Hole-in-the-Wall Information Center 

parking area.

About 1⁄4 mile along the trail, look for faint 

petroglyphs on rocks to your right. Feel free to 

take pictures but please don’t touch or disturb 

the rock art. Then, discover how Hole-in-theWall got its name as you enter Banshee Canyon. 

Resembling Swiss cheese, the walls of the canyon invite further exploration, but be careful 

where you put your hands and feet. Climb out 

of Banshee Canyon to the picnic area with the 

help of metal rings mounted in the rock. Return 

to the Information Center on a short dirt road. 

A hiker ascends narrow Banshee Canyon using metal 

rings embedded in the rock.

Mid Hills to 

Hole-in-the-Wall Trail

8 miles one-way

The trail connects to other 

routes (see map).

Trailheads: Entrance to Mid Hills Campground, 

and about 1 mile west of Black Canyon Road on 

the south end of Wild Horse Canyon Road.

The route, a combination of hiking trails and 

sections of dirt roads, works especially well if 

you have two vehicles or are planning to camp 

overnight along the trail. From Mid Hills, the 

trail descends 1,200 feet to Hole-in-the-Wall 

through a maze of washes decorated with barrel and cholla cacti. The charred skeletons of 

juniper, pinyon, and yucca remain from the 

2005 Hackberry Fire, though many small shrubs 

and wildflowers have returned to the area. 

Nearing Hole-in-the-Wall, the white deposits 

of the Opalite Cliffs sparkle in the sunlight. 

The world’s tallest yucca, over 31 feet tall, grew 

near the southern section of the trail until it 

blew over in 2008, but there are many possible 

contenders for that title among the remaining 

yuccas. 

Caution: Dirt roads and cattle trails criss-cross 

the route. Pay attention, watch for signs, and 

follow along on the the map. Trail crosses a 

grazing allotment, so you may see cattle along 

the way.

Tall Mojave yucca grow among a mix of cactus at the 

southern end of the Mid Hills to Hole-in-the-Wall Trail.

Volcanic ash deposits create colorful cliffs north of 

Hole-in-the-Wall Campground.

EXPERIENCE YOUR AMERICATM