For a unique vantage point of the Split Rock area of Joshua Tree National Park, and a glimpse at several old mines, try out the Lucky Boy Vista hike. The dirt road to the trail head is well maintained (my Saturn sedan handled it fine), and the trail itself is an easy 2.5 miles round trip.
This trailhead is one of the special places in the park where you can see both Mt. San Jacinto (left) and Mt. San Gorgonio (right) – the two highest peaks in Southern California.The trail out to the vista is nothing special. This rickety gate is one of few landmarks. My hike in early February yielded very little wildlife, apart from a few lizards and ravens. I do believe I heard a hawk or eagle coming from the Desert Queen Mine area.Near the crest are a series of sunken pits and shafts — the remnants of the Eton Mine projectIt would be a good idea to obey this sign.With a binoculars or a flashlight, you can see part way down into a couple of these shafts. Just don’t get too close.The vista point has a great panoramic view of the Split Rock and Jumbo Rock area of the park.Look carefully and you may even spot Skull Rock. Can you find it toward the bottom left, near the group of people scrambling on rocks nearby?
(When we lived in the Joshua Tree area, I loved hiking and blogging about new places I’d explore. At some point, I changed my blog address, and some of those posts were lost. I’m working on recovering them and adding them back in as fresh content on this site. This one was originally posted February 5, 2016.)
Pinch Of Clay 