Painted Canyon / Ladder Canyon Hike

From the south entrance to Joshua Tree, we drove down Box Canyon Road to the dirt Painted Canyon Road. At the end of the road, we hiked the trail through an amazing slot canyon. Some areas were pretty narrow and there were numerous ladders, some wood with worn rungs and some new aluminum ones.

Larry at the bottom of the painted canyon.

A cool place to hide between some boulders. Any snakes in there?

The entrance to the slot canyon which nature has tried to conceal with rock slides. We climbed up and over the huge rocks anyway.

Looking down the ladder we just climbed.

A look ahead in the canyon.

Looking up the canyon walls.

Looking straight up at the narrow ribbon on sunlight.

Looking down at where we just were. You can almost hear water rushing between the rock walls.

A side canyon looks inviting, but we stay on our path.

We finally reached the top. We take a few minutes to enjoy the view, before clamoring back down.

A look over our shoulder at the painted canyon, as we head back home.