The Wall Street Mill is an abandoned gold mill in Joshua Tree National Park, built in 1933 by Bill Keys. His handiwork shows up all over this corner of the park, including Keys Ranch. The mill is the best-preserved two-stamp gold mill of its kind in the California desert, and the walk out to it is one of my favorite easy hikes in Joshua Tree.
You reach it on the Wall Street Mill Trail, a flat 2.4-mile out-and-back that passes rusted-out cars from the 1930s and 1940s along the way. The ridgelines above the trail are a reliable place to spot desert bighorn sheep, especially early in the morning.
Know before you go
- Distance: 2.4 miles round trip, out and back.
- Difficulty: Easy. Flat, sandy desert terrain, no scrambling.
- Time needed: About 90 minutes including time at the mill.
- Trailhead: Shares the Barker Dam parking lot off Park Boulevard, ~12 miles from the West Entrance.
- Best time of day: Early morning before crowds and heat, or after 2 PM.
- Park fee: $30 per vehicle (7 days) or the $80 America the Beautiful pass.
- Bring: A gallon of water per person, sturdy boots, sun protection.
- Restrooms: Vault toilets at the Barker Dam trailhead. No water on the trail.
Getting there
The Wall Street Mill trailhead shares a parking area with Barker Dam off Park Boulevard, about 12 miles from the West Entrance Station. The lot is large but fills up by mid-morning on weekends. Get there before 9 AM or wait until after 2 PM.
From the parking area, follow the signs for Wall Street Mill (not Barker Dam, though you can loop them together). The trail is a 2.4-mile out-and-back on relatively flat terrain. It is sandy in places, so hiking boots beat sneakers.
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What to expect on the trail
The hike takes most people about 90 minutes round trip, including time to explore the mill site. The trail passes through classic Joshua Tree landscape with scattered boulders, desert scrub, and the occasional Joshua tree standing alone against the sky.
Along the way you will pass several rusted-out vehicles from the 1930s and 1940s. They sit in the desert like they were left mid-drive, which is basically what happened. Bill Keys ran this mining operation from 1933 until his death in 1969, and he did not believe in cleaning up after himself.
The mill itself is a two-stamp gold mill, meaning it used two heavy iron stamps to crush ore into powder for gold extraction. The structure is remarkably intact for something that has sat in the desert for 90 years. You can still see the stamps, the ore chute, and the concrete foundations.
The history most people miss
People treat this like a quick there-and-back trail and rush through it. Slow down. The historical context is what makes this hike special. Bill Keys was a complicated figure who homesteaded in Joshua Tree and eventually went to prison for killing a neighbor in a dispute over a road. The story of this mill is wrapped up in the whole messy history of desert mining and water rights in the American West.
Also, keep your eyes on the ridgelines. This area is one of the better spots in the park for desert bighorn sheep. They tend to appear on the rocky slopes above the trail, especially in the early morning hours.
Photography tips
The mill photographs best in the late afternoon when the warm light hits the rusted metal and weathered wood. The contrast between the decaying human structures and the timeless desert is striking. A 35mm or 50mm lens works well for the mill itself. Go wider for the landscape shots along the trail.
The rusted vehicles along the trail are worth stopping for too. Get low to the ground and shoot up through the broken windshields toward the sky for something different.
Fees and 2026 reality
Joshua Tree charges $30 per vehicle, valid for 7 days, or you can use the $80 America the Beautiful annual pass. There is no extra fee for the mill or the trail. Summer afternoons here routinely climb past 100°F with no shade on the trail, so save this walk for early morning or evening from June through September. Carry at least a gallon of water per person. Once you’re thirsty, you’re already dehydrated. Check the park’s official site for current road and trail status before you go.
Wear boots if you have them and watch for cacti, especially the cholla (the jumping cactus) that has a way of snagging feet and legs.
Nearby stops
Barker Dam shares the same parking lot and is a 1.3-mile loop, so you can easily do both in a morning. Hidden Valley is a 5-minute drive south. Skull Rock is about 10 minutes east on Park Boulevard.
Plan the rest of your trip
For maps, seasons, camping, and the rest of the park’s headline stops, start with our Joshua Tree National Park guide. It’s the single place we keep our park planning up to date.
The Joshua Tree film
Our Joshua Tree film is the culmination of nearly a month spent exploring the park. We chose Joshua Tree for its unusual landscape, the boulder piles, colorful cactus fields, wide desert expanses, and the Joshua trees themselves. It was shot entirely in 4K.
What to Bring to Joshua Tree
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