Silver Bell Mine Trail

This informal 1.4-mile out-and-back crosses open desert to two historic wooden ore bins on a rocky hillside. It is a worthwhile, unusual mining-history stop if you are comfortable navigating faint ground and climbing a steep, loose slope; allow about an hour. The stored route represents the shorter approach to the tipples, not the separate Silver Bell–El Dorado loop. Published estimates range from about 1.4 to 2 miles round trip, so check the route and distance before setting out.

From the Pinto Basin Road pullout, the approach crosses open scrub and stony, nearly level ground. Accounts describe roughly half to three-quarters of a mile before the old track and hillside; there is no consistently clear, marked trail. The final climb is steep and rocky, with loose footing and cactus nearby. The route is fully exposed, and wayfinding is part of the effort.

Two weathered timber ore bins remain on the slope, with old mine workings nearby. Look from outside: do not enter shafts or adits or climb the historic structures, which may be unstable and can contain dangerous air. From the rise above the bins, the basin and surrounding desert open out; it is a good place to frame both structures against the landscape.

Silver Bell is one of roughly 300 mines once active in Joshua Tree. The name is misleading: accounts describe gold production in the 1930s, lead in the 1940s and copper in the 1950s, with little or no silver. The mine closed around 1962. At the roadside, the park marks a transition between the Mojave and Colorado deserts; creosote, desert lavender and bladderpod are among the shrubs in this area.