Parking
Start at the Lost Horse Mine Trailhead off Keys View Road. Vehicle parking and a vault/composting restroom, including accessible facilities, are listed at the trailhead; parking capacity is not confirmed.
Overview
About Lost Horse Loop
Why go
- Preserved stamp mill and mining machinery at the route’s main destination
- Broad views across Lost Horse Valley
- The full circuit offers more walking than the mine-only out-and-back
Heads up
- Very little shade on a strenuous route
- The full loop adds several open miles beyond the mine
Lost Horse Loop is a strenuous 6.3-mile circuit from the Lost Horse Mine Trailhead off Keys View Road. It climbs toward the historic mill, then makes a wider circuit through open slopes and Lost Horse Valley before returning to the same start. The mine is the obvious payoff; the extra miles are for the larger desert walk, not just another way back from the mine. Allow three to four hours. Published figures range from 6.2 to 6.5 miles; this mapped line includes the short trailhead access and rounds to 6.3. A separate 4-mile option goes to the mine and returns by the same corridor.
Parkwolf’s verdictIs this the hike for you?Map & elevation
The route
Loading the Joshua Tree map
Full mapElevation4,577–5,072 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 Lost Horse Loop, 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
Lost Horse Mine and Its Stamp Mill0:00 / 0:26
“Up ahead is the Lost Horse Mine trailhead, for a hike to a surviving timber stamp mill. Choose the four-mile out-and-back for the mine, allowing two to three hours and about five hundred fifty feet of climbing.”
Plays as you drive up to this trailhead in the Parkwolf Joshua Tree Tour Guide.
More stories near here in the app
- A Packrat's Time Capsule
- Crystals in the Granite
- The Underground Dam Behind an Oasis
- Stubbe Springs: A Full Day from Juniper Flats
- 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 Lost Horse Loop
Climb to the millThe first leg follows an old mining road converted to trail and rises toward the mine.
The first leg follows an old mining road converted to trail and rises toward the mine. Expect rough, rocky ground and very little shade. The surviving timber stamp mill and rusted machinery make a striking stop. Look from outside the fence: the old structures and mine workings are unstable, and historic objects must stay where they are.
Make the full circuitPast the mine, the route continues around low hills and across a broad, open stretch before…
Past the mine, the route continues around low hills and across a broad, open stretch before turning back toward the trailhead. The loop adds several miles of desert scenery, but the mine is the main built landmark. Some longer route descriptions add a Lost Horse Mountain side trip and reach about 6.8 miles; this 6.3-mile line follows the named loop without that extension.
Plan for heatThe full loop is listed as strenuous and is not a hot-weather hike.
The full loop is listed as strenuous and is not a hot-weather hike. With so little shade, distance and sun matter more than the modest climb suggests. Bring enough food and water for the full outing and sort out sun protection before leaving the trailhead.
Trailhead and wildlifeStart at the Lost Horse Mine Trailhead off Keys View Road.
Start at the Lost Horse Mine Trailhead off Keys View Road. Vehicle parking and a vault/composting restroom, including accessible facilities, are listed there; no water or food service was confirmed. Dogs are prohibited on park trails except the paved Oasis of Mara walk, so pets cannot come on this loop. Desert bighorn sheep sometimes use the rocky terrain nearby; keep a respectful distance if you see one.
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.
