>> Back to Joshua Tree NP - Careys Castle -- Joshua Tree NP - Careys Castle: Hiking Trail Guide
9 miles
1400 feet gain
5/10
Indio ,CA (92202) 113.69 miles from you Weather Map
Do not attempt this trip if you do not have good route finding skills, good map and compass skills and/or a GPS. Although, I wouldn't have needed any of these to get there, it was easy to follow, just take precautions. It could be easy to get turned around in canyons.
Drive 4 miles east of Chiriaco Summit and exit Hayfield Road. Make a left and head toward the mountains. At 1.1 miles, turn slightly left onto a bumpy dirt road marked by a sign that says "Private." Follow for 1.7 miles, turn left at the fork and at .1 miles there is a parking area on your right.
Follow the wash along the mountainside. Follow it past the first canyon and turn right into the second larger canyon at 1.2 miles. There were ample footprints to follow on my trip. Most of the difficult decisions were ducked. I thought about knocking them down, but I didn't. Take the easy way and follow the footprints.
To the north is a road and a mine. I looked but did not find Carey's Cave.
This is a so-called "secret" hike. Although from the number of footprints and people signing the register, one might wonder just how such a "secret" got to be so publicized.
Patty Furbush mentions the castle in her book, but she does not mention the route to get there. I found it by looking at the topo maps - it is clearly marked. Then I used my GPS and plotted some waypoints. I then looked online and confirmed my suspicions. No one posts clear directions or GPS coordinates, but they do give directions to the parking area and a general idea of the route.
I will not divulge specifics either, but leave it to you to find this "secret" for yourself. Please leave it the way you found it. This magnificent piece of history has existed in the desert for 60+ years, and as someone on a blog put it, "This isn't the kind of place you want all of Southern California to go to!"
If you go and can not find it, I would be happy to help out, but I will not give out specifics.