Wall Street Mill Hike – Joshua Tree National Park

The Wall Street Mill is an easy, quick hike in Joshua Tree National Park and along with the mill, features some old abandoned cars and other artifacts along the trail. The Wall Street Mill is considered to be the best-preserved gold mill in the park, and is on the National Register of Historic Places. This guide will tell you what you need to know about hiking to the Wall Street Mill in Joshua Tree National Park. And no, if you’re looking for Gordan Gekko, he ain’t here.

Wall Street Mill Hike – Details

Trailhead location: There are two trailheads for the Wall Street Mill Hike. The easiest one to find – and the one my sister and I used – is in the same parking lot as the Barker Dam. The other trailhead will shave off .6 miles of your hike (round trip) – it’s located on the Queen Valley Road, which is unpaved.

Length: Easy 2.4 miles round trip, out and back, with 88ft of elevation gain

Terrain: Flat, but parts are very sandy.

Hiking to the Wall Street Mill in Joshua Tree National Park

We hiked this trail in July – not an ideal time to be hiking in the desert by any means, however, this is a quick, short hike, so if you insist on hiking in the desert, it’s one of the better choices since it only takes about 40 minutes round trip. Why did we chose this hike? I really wanted to do the Barker Dam hike (which was why we pulled into the trailhead parking lot) but being that it was July, the dam was dried up, so what’s the point? So we settled on Wall Street Mill. Plus, I like the name. We only saw one other hiker on the trail during our time here.

This hike is just…ok. It’s not the most exciting hike in the world by any means but it’s decent enough hike to stretch your legs. The Wall Street Mill hike would be an excellent choice for families, since it’s short, easy, and the artifacts along the way would keep children engaged.

Remember to pack extra water and sunscreen as there is not a lot of shade. The scenery on the Wall Street Mill hike is classic Joshua Tree, with the trees themselves showing up everywhere.

As you’re hiking, you’ll first come across an abandoned homestead – this is the Wonderland Ranch. You can take a spur trail to get closer to the ruins, but we decided not to do this. Next up, you’ll see this weathered rust bucket of a car.

The majority of the trail is hard-packed sand, however there is a sandy wash you’ll need to traverse, which has the thick, soft sand – this is probably the most difficult part of the trail, as you’ll have to trudge along. And you’ll get dirty (Look at my shoes in the picture above – they were black!)

Keep going on the trail and you’ll see an old windmill, decaying in the desert sun. And finally, you’ll come upon the main attraction – the mill area. The remains of the Wall Street Mill is pretty small and won’t take too long to explore. Everything is barricaded off, so don’t think of climbing inside.

You will find shade up by the mill – we found a nice spot and enjoyed a quick snack before we headed back down. All in all, this took us about an hour round trip to complete the hike.

Wall Street Mill Hike – Final Thoughts

Pros:
Quick, easy hike
A bit off-the-beaten path – most people at the trailhead are hiking to Baker Dam.

Cons:
Very sandy when you get to the wash
There are better hikes in Joshua Tree National Park – but this is a good one if you’re short on time, or want to kill some time.