Painted Canyon and Ladder Canyon Hike, Mecca, California

I can’t remember how we found out about Painted Canyon and Ladder Canyon hike exactly, but it looks fun. So, we decided to make a day out of it. After all, it’s close to Bombay Beach, Salvation Mountain, and Slab City, our favorite abandoned places. This hike was surprisingly awesome. It was more challenging than I initially thought. However, the slot canyon, colorful mountains, and unusual geologic formations, combined with all the strategically placed ladders definitely make it worth every second. Parts of this hike will make you feel like you are almost on another planet. It is definitely an adventure that we highly recommend!

Note: Please make sure to respect this beautiful place and the surround areas. Always practice LEAVE NO TRACE. This means no loud music, no graffiti and pack out what you pack in! Please help us protect this place for generations to come!

Stats

Where

Painted Canyon and Ladder Canyon Hike Trailhead
Painted Canyon Rd, Palm Desert, CA 92260
33°37’08.7″N 115°59’57.8″W

Parking

Parking is a big sandy area, right in front of Ladder Canyon trailhead.

Restroom

There is no restroom

Fee

Free

Weather

Distance

5-mile loop

Elevation Gain

560 ft

Level

Intermediate because of climbing up/down the ladders

Time:

3-4 hours

Pet-friendly

We wouldn’t recommend bring your pups though.

Ideal Weather

Springs and Winters are the best. It gets very warm here. Go early if you go in summer. Beware of snakes. Avoid this hike if there have been recent rains or it is raining. Flash floods can occur in the slot canyons and valley.

Ideal Time

We recommend going in the morning. It’s cooler and give you more time if you feel like extending the hike longer.

Video

About the Area:

The Mecca Hills were formed by the convergence of the North American Plate and the Pacific Plate along the San Andreas Fault. The geologic formations of Mecca Hills are one of the most unusual of their kind in the world. Layers of eroded rock, some over 600 million years old, have been pushed up and overturned by the activity of the San Andreas Fault system. Painted Canyon, in the heart of the hills, has 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. It is also home to the rare Mecca aster, a lilac tinted bloom resembling a daisy.

The Adventure

Getting to Painted Canyon and Ladder Canyon Hike Trailhead

You can find Painted Canyon and Ladder Canyon Hike on Google maps by typing in the name, the address, or the coordinates above. It is located in Mecca, California. Be sure that you have plenty of gas. You will be heading out into an area that is a little ways from civilization. There is a fair amount of traffic coming through the area, but it’s not the kind of place that you would want to break down.

Once you turn from Box Canyon Road onto Painted Canyon Road, it is a 4.7 mile trip down a dirt road that takes you to the trailhead. 4WDs vehicles are recommended, although you can get away with regular cars. The road is a mixture of wash board and deep sand. The trailhead for Painted Canyon and Ladder Canyon Hike is at the end of the road. There is a good size dirt parking lot at the cul-de-sac. You can’t miss it. From the parking lot, the trail starts on the right, through the rock barrier. This is a loop hike.

The First Part of the Hike: Ladder Canyon

About 0.5 miles from the parking lot, you’ll see an arrow made from a pile of rocks on the valley floor. It’s pointing at a pile of big boulders on the left. This is the start of the loop for Painted Canyon and Ladder Canyon Hike. You can go either way. We prefer to go left first, through the rock slide.

Under that pile of big boulders, there is a short ladder, tucked underneath an enormous Indiana Jones-sized boulder. There is a small opening at the top. I didn’t have any problem since I’m tiny. Dustin had to take off his hiking bag to be able to crawl through. You can go around by climbing on the side. Be careful, there are a lot of loose rocks.

Keep in mind, these ladders had been here for who knows how long, some of the rungs were broken. Make sure you take extreme caution when climbing on them. Some of the ladders were creaking and bowing under us, but none of them seemed extremely dangerous.

After this first ladder, it is a short walk to another rockslide. To continue the trail, there are two options. You can go right and carefully walk along the narrow ledge through the gap between the boulders and the rock wall. Second option is to go straight and climb up the well-worn path. Once on top, there is a ladder for you to climb back down.

The third ladder is right around the corner of the second one. It is also he most picturesque of all the ladders (in our opinion anyway). There is a rung missing on this ladder so watch your step. Immediately after the third ladder is a short steep scramble up to the top. It’s not as bad as it looks. Just make sure to wear shoes with good traction.

After this, you’ll enter a beautiful slot canyon. This is my favorite part of the hike. It is definitely not as colorful as Antelope Canyon, but super cool nonetheless. You will have to climb up one more ladder to get out of the slot canyon.

Going Up to the Ridge Line

Once you get out of the slot canyon, you’ll encounter another split in the road. Either way will get you to where you need to go. We went right. There are a lot of loose rocks and tons of dry brush, so watch your step. It would be very easy to roll your ankle on some of these rocks. There is no shade on this part of the trail as well. It might be a good idea to go through this part in the morning to avoid the heat. It got a little warm for us and we did the hike in January.

Next, you will make your climb up a couple of hundred feet above the valley floor. The view from up here is quite spectacular as you can see the Salton Sea in the back, along with the colorful mountains on a clear day. The mountains look exceptionally beautiful in the evening light as the colors are more vibrant.

Once you reach the top of the hill, you’ll come to an intersection. You’ll want to go right but don’t hesitate to head off to the left for a couple of photos. Going left will take you to a ledge overlooking the canyon that you just hiked through, as well as some larger mountains in the background. The view is amazing.

To continue on this hike, follow the trail toward the radio tower. As long as you going toward the radio tower, you should be fine. One you get near the radio tower, the trail actually leads to the right down the hill, towards the valley floor. There are piles of rock stacks on your left, marking the turn. There is a steep hill right before you get down to the valley floor. If need to, you can sit down and scoot down on your butt.

Hike Through the Wash

Once you get down to the valley floor, you’ll see the rock barrier and an arrow pointing to the right. Follow the arrow at this point, don’t cross over the barrier. The valley provides a very welcome bit of shade. We were excited to be able to get out of the sun and the heat. Make sure you bring a lot of water for this hike. It may not be a very long or strenuous hike, but you will be a long way from civilization, so it is best to err on the side of caution. We saw several people on the trail with a single 12 oz. bottle of water. Most of them looked like they were regretting that decision.

This is a nice area to stop for a quick lunch. There are so many beautiful, colorful and shiny rocks down here. You will almost swear that some of the rocks have been painted. I mean green rocks? That’s something you don’t see every day! Some of the walls have incredible texture and patterns. You can tell that some of the walls of the canyon were molten rocks at one point due to their complex, swirling designs.

As long as you follow the valley floor, you won’t get lost. Towards the end, you’ll come up to another split in the road, stay on the right, toward the wider open trail. I’ve seen people come back from the other path, but I believe it is a dead end.

You have two more ladders to go, you will be climbing down this time before you reach back to the first split in the trail. These two ladders are a little bit sketchy going down. As you can see from the picture, you have to slide down the super smooth rock a little bit before reaching the top rung of the ladder. It’s not hard but it is tricky. Again, be careful.

Once you get down the ladders, it is smooth sailing to your car. Once you finish with Painted Canyon and Ladder Canyon Hike, you can always either head over the Bombay Beach, Salvation Mountain, or Slab City and East Jesus for more adventures. Another slot canyon in Southern California that worth checking out is the Slot Canyon trail in Anza Borrego. If you’re in Anza Borrego, don’t forget to spend some time exploring the awesome giant metal sculptures there.

These are the gear that we personally use and find them helpful for this particular adventure. Don’t forget to check out our Recommended Gear section as well.

adventure gear

Good hiking shoes are recommended on these adventures. Vy uses the Merrell Women’s Moab 2 hiking boots

Dustin’s shoes are Targhee III Waterproof

There isn’t a lot of shade in the desert. Make sure to use lots of sunscreens! We use eco-friendly, reef-safe sunscreen, Stream2Sea SPF 30.

Face sunscreen is also important. We love these tinted, organic All Good Organic Sunscreen Butter.

You should always bring plenty of water. Vy loves the Camelback L.U.X.E.

For shorter hikes, the Patagonia Women’s Nine Trails Pack 18L is perfect to hold water and your essentials.

Sedona can get very cold in the winters and springs. We love our packable Patagonia Puff Jackets! You can get Vy’s version here, and Dustin’s version here.