Parking
Use the small lot at the Pine City Trailhead, at the end of Desert Queen Mine Road. The access road is unpaved, and the lot is shared with Pine City hikers.
Overview
About Desert Queen Mine Trail
Why go
- Old shafts, machinery, and wooden mining remains make this a history-focused walk.
Heads up
- Little shade, and route-finding gets harder near the mine.
Desert Queen Mine Trail is a roughly 1.5-mile out-and-back from the Pine City Trailhead at the end of Desert Queen Mine Road. Allow about 1 to 1.5 hours. It is a short, relatively easy desert walk to old mine shafts, machinery, and weathered wooden remains. Expect a small descent and climb into a gully near the mine, with little shade along the way.
Parkwolf’s verdictThe mine is the payoffMap & elevation
The route
Loading the Joshua Tree map
Full mapElevation4,331–4,459 ft
Plan your hike
Before you go
Parking
Safety
5 active Joshua Tree alerts
- ClosureOasis of Mara Trail closed past the OasisThe Oasis of Mara Trail is closed past the Oasis due to a heavy flooding event; do not continue beyond the Oasis. Check current park conditions before visiting.Official details
- ClosureSR 62 and US 95 closed by floodingFlooding has closed portions of SR 62 and US 95; avoid the closed segments.Official details
The highest, rockiest slopes around here are a summer buffet for grizzly bears.
Joshua Tree Tour Guide
Your drive to Desert Queen Mine Trail, narrated.
Parkwolf is a GPS audio tour guide for Joshua Tree National Park. As you drive, it chimes in with what’s ahead: hidden gems, upcoming stops, history, geology, and wildlife, right through your car’s speakers.
See the Joshua Tree audio tourRecorded for this trailhead
Desert Queen Mine from Pine City Trailhead0:00 / 0:28
“The Pine City trailhead is coming up, with a short hike to Desert Queen Mine.”
Plays as you drive up to this trailhead in the Parkwolf Joshua Tree Tour Guide.
More stories near here in the app
- Lucky Boy Loop: Mine Remains and Desert Wildlife
- The Toad’s Borrowed Pool
- The Rock Inside the Crack
- Split Rock: A Short Stop or Longer Loop
- 89 audio storiesacross Joshua Tree’s roads, triggered by GPS as you drive
- Wildlife heatmapsfor Bighorn Sheep, Golden Eagle, Desert Tortoise, and 13 more
- Works offlinemaps, 60 trails, 64 places, and audio download before you lose signal
- CarPlay readysimple controls built for the drive
“Fantastic app with many points of information… It’s great to just turn on while you’re driving and it gives you an audio tour of the national Park. We love it!!!!”
Trail guide
Hiking Desert Queen Mine Trail
Take the mine branchThe first third of a mile is fairly level.
The first third of a mile is fairly level. At the fork, the overlook is a shorter turnaround; continue past a small stone building and down into the gully for the mine. Return the same way for the distance above. Published estimates range from about 1.5 to 1.8 miles, likely reflecting different return choices. This route stops at the mine. The separate four-mile Pine City hike uses the same parking area but heads farther northeast; Eagle Cliff Mine and the Boulder House are longer extensions. Carry an offline map around the forks.
Leave the mine as you find itSeveral old shafts and pieces of mining equipment remain around the site.
Several old shafts and pieces of mining equipment remain around the site. The path can be hard to follow near the mine, so take time to check the junctions. Many openings are gated or sealed and are dangerous to enter. Stay outside closures and leave the historic remains in place.
Plan around desert exposureThere is little shade. Bring water and food, and try to avoid the hottest part of the day.
There is little shade. Bring water and food, and try to avoid the hottest part of the day. Pets are not allowed on Joshua Tree hiking trails; trained service animals are permitted.
Wildlife
Wildlife in Joshua Tree
129 sightingsBighorn SheepMost seen around 6 PMSighting map
15 sightingsGolden EagleMost seen around 10 AMSighting map
413 sightingsDesert TortoiseMost seen around 8 AMSighting map
275 sightingsCoyoteMost seen around 6 AMSighting map
47 sightingsBobcatMost seen around 6 PMSighting map
32 sightingsMule DeerMost seen around 6 AMSighting mapSighting maps show where each species has been reported across Joshua Tree. Wildlife moves, so no sighting is guaranteed.
