Community Trips
some of this text from Hiking in Palm Springs:
Painted Canyon, in the heart of the hills, exhibits many mineral
deposits in hues of rose, pink, red, purple and green. The canyon runs
in a general north-south direction, and is distinguished by sandy
washes sprinkled with Ironwood, Smoke Trees, and Palo Verde. Keen eyed
wildflower enthusiasts will also find the rare Mecca aster, a lilac
tinted bloom resembling a daisy. Along the rim of the canyon and...
Just exploring the slot canyons before the actual hike
This is hike number 4 from the book: "140 Great Hikes In and Near Palm Springs". It is a really good book of hikes in the area (The Mecca Wilderness). We had done hikes 1 through 3 two years before. Hike number 4 is just as good, if not better for we did not see anyone all day. We parked at the Painted and Ladder Canyon trail head and walked back down...
Distance: 4.9 miles Elevation gain/loss: 819 ft / 729 ft Moving time: 2:03 Moving speed: 2.4 mph
This is actually 2 days hiking in the canyons around Painted Canyon off of Box Canyon Road between the Salton Sea (the town of Mecca) and highway 10. Photogenic slot canyons and hills form a maze of washes from centuries of erosion. Painted Canyon Road is dirt the 5 miles to the trail head, but well maintained and any car can easily drive it despite the washboarding. The middle trail is called...
Loop hike up Ladder Canyon and down Painted Canyon.We started hiking up Painted Canyon and were immediately greeted by the endemic Mecca Aster in bloom on the eastern wall of the canyon.Less than half a mile up the canyon, we took the left fork into Ladder Canyon and immediately entered the narrow world of the slot canyon. The Canyon opens up and splits as it rises through the mud hills. We followed...
