Overview

The El Dorado Wagon Road Trail is a 3.0-mile one-way hike that follows an old wagon road that once connected Searchlight and Nipton. The trail parallels Highway 164, but at a respectable distance, as it runs through a forest of Joshua Trees on nearly level terrain inside the southern boundary of Wee Thump Joshua Tree Wilderness Area.

This is a point-to-point trail that runs between two trailheads. As such, hikers can walk in either direction, but here the trail is described as running westward. With two vehicles, hikers can walk the trail point-to-point. Otherwise, hikers can walk all the way out and back, making a 6-mile route, or just walk part way out, turn around, and walk back making for a shorter route.

This is a nice, easy trail in a scenic area, but louder vehicles on the highway can be heard, so it isn't the purest of wilderness experiences.

Link to map.

Watch Out

Other than the standard warnings about hiking in the desert, ... this is a fairly safe hike. There are many cactus and other things with sharp points, so be careful walking around.

While hiking, please respect the land and the other people out there, and try to Leave No Trace of your passage. This hike goes into Wilderness, so pay particular attention to respecting the land. This hike runs off-trail where nobody will find you, so be sure to bring the 10 Essentials. Cell phones might work, but don't count on it.

Getting to the Trailhead

This hike is located in the Wee Thump Joshua Tree Wilderness Area, about 1 hour south of Las Vegas, just west of Searchlight. From town, drive south on Highway 95 to Searchlight. From downtown Searchlight, turn right onto Highway 164 (Joshua Tree Highway) and drive west for 11.1 miles to Spirit of Wilderness Road. Turn right and follow the road about 100 yards to the turn-around loop at the end. Park here; this is the Spirit of Wilderness Trailhead.

The Hike

From the trailhead (Table 1, Waypoint 09), the trail squeezes through the highway fence and heads north across a broad wash. The use-trail is faint and obscured by hikers wandering in the wash, but for the Wagon Road Trail, hikers should walk straight across the wash (175 ft) to the berm on the far side. Staying in the wash, turn right and walk east (35 ft) looking for where the use-trail turns up the bank and onto the higher ground beyond. The trail up the bank is visible from the trailhead, but it is hard to see; it is, however, just a bit right of straight across the wash, so don't go too far east looking for it.

The use-trail cuts climbs the wash bank, then resumes heading due north, but for the first few yards, it remains faint. Before long, however, a well defined use-trail becomes apparent.

At about 140 yards out, the use-trail reaches the trace of the old wagon road (Wpt 08), which is marked with two carsonite trail signs. In this stony soil covered with Blackbrush, the old road is quite obvious.