Painted Canyon Trailhead — Attraction in Coachella

Painted Canyon is an incredibly beautiful and chaotic canyon from the geology of the nearby San Andreas and Painted Canyon faults. The hiking is fun and can be a bit adventuresome. I did both the Ladder and Roped slot canyons in early March 2020 and have a few comments. If just hiking the Canyon, expect lots of sand and gravelly surfaces. If you do the Ladder slot canyon, it is rated moderate by some group. The four ladders ( three up, one short five or so feet down) are in pretty good repair and easy to climb. The hike through the slot is fun, but carry water for the hike on the ridge and back down the Canyon. The start of the slot is a bit over a quarter mile up Canyon from the TH, and well marked with a maybe 20' stone arrow pointing to the trail up the rocks. Its about a five mile round trip, and many of the trail junctions encountered are marked with the stone arrows. On weekends, the Ladders can get crowded. Kids have done the ladders, but be safe. Dogs? Nope.

The Roped slot canyon is also rated moderate, but I think it should be Strenuous. The start is a hundred yards or so up the Canyon from the TH, but not marked - I think for good reason. There are five roped sections - the first and the fourth are pretty short and easy. The second and third have a more complicated climb and will be an effort for many people. The fifth and last is maybe 20' vertical with some footholds to use. This section will definitely be strenuous for most people. I did not have problems with it, but I was a climber in younger days and some techniques made it easier. I doubt young children can do it safely. One of the issues I can see is people having some trouble on the lower ropes and getting to the last one and thinking "Yikes!". Changing your mind and getting back down the other ropes would not be easy. Also consider the pack will be taken off at least once in the narrow slots, and I think there are three chockstones that you have to crawl under/around to get through. The Roped slot can be a real adventure.

Unfortunately the BLM does not provide trail maps at the TH to use - there is a map on the interpretive panel to take a photo of with your phone, but it is fairly complicated and not labeled. I met one group with the phone photo who went up the Ladders, but took the wrong turn and were going down the Rope canyon instead of back to the main Painted Canyon to get back to the TH. They would have figured it out at the 20' drop off, but it would have meant hiking back up the hill. My recommendation is get a map online and carry a copy, and definitely follow the stone arrows.

Three other comments might help. Regular cars can get to the TH, despite the four wheel drive sign at the turnoff to Painted Canyon. In bad weather, that might change. I also would not get off the main road - I needed four wheel drive to get out of the loose sand just off the road. Finally, the only toilet in Painted Canyon is on the left as you are going up, and is not at the TH, but about a mile below the TH....

Absolutely amazing hike!!! We loved all of the diverse geological features. The slot canyon with the ladders was my favorite part. Here's what we did:

Drove along the 5-mile gravel road in my Mazda 3. Bumpy for sure, but we got there! Entered the hike and took the loop clockwise. This direction means you'll ascend most of the ladders. (If you go counterclockwise, you'll descend them.) There is a big arrow made of rocks pointing to the left towards what looks like a rock slide. Scrambled over those rocks and found the first ladder. It is the only ladder with very low clearance. (Had to take my backpack off to crawl through.) Followed the ladders up through the beautiful slot canyon. Followed the main trail up to the top of the canyon. To us, it was very clear which was the main path. There was one that branched off to the left, I believe this would be the wider option for the loop. Walked along the top of the canyon, took pictures, had snacks. At the top of the loop, we descended again into the wider canyon. Although there are other canyons that branch off, the main one is very well-marked. We continued down until the canyon that branches off towards the East. (Towards your left if you are doing the loop clockwise.) Here, there was a very tall ladder to enter this side canyon. We climbed that and found two more ladders. One was a bit tricky to climb. The last one was a wooden ladder. We didn't go far past this ladder, because we wanted to get back. Turned around and went back to the main canyon. There are a few ladders you descend going this direction near the end of the loop. One ladder also has a rope that you can use to help get down. Happy and entertained, we returned to our car.

The whole hike took us 4.5 hours, but that was because we often went off the trail to explore and climb, and we stopped a lot to take pictures. You could definitely do this a lot faster. It was hot, in the 90s, but the dry weather + the shade + the wind made this very comfortable. I took 3 liters of water but only drank about 2. I think my friend was similar.

Afterwards we went down to the International Banana Museum and checked out the Salton Sea. It was a very fun and...

We hiked this on the last days of summer at around 11 am and though temperatures were in the 90's, there was a good amount of shade all throughout. The hike is about an hour from Palm Springs and very close to the Salton Sea. I suggest a visit to the Salton Sea, especially to Bombay Beach, while you're there for the hike. This also isn't very dog-friendly due to the ropes and ladders.

A very important thing to pay attention to is path of the trail because there are no more markers after you start the hike. I took a picture of the map at the trail head, but did not complete the loop (ropes) trail because we went off course a bit to the right (ladder trail). I would like to come back to complete the ropes trail, but what we saw was well worth it with the visually stunning views and picturesque terrain formations. If you have ever been to Zion National Park, this in many ways feels like a mini version of it! We climbed about 5 ladders before turning back and all of them were very stable and well-secured. However, you should always proceed with caution and practice patience. The ladders trail took us about 3 hours and was around 5 miles from start to finish.

I highly recommend you come in a truck or SUV, because the drive up the 4 mile unpaved road was a very slow one. When we were leaving (and after thinking we beat the need for a more capable vehicle), my trusty car got stuck in the gravel of the parking lot. Amazingly, even though we didn't see a single soul on the hike, 2 hikers were finishing up the hike and came to help us push our car out of the gravel.

Since this is a moderate hike you really just need a good amount of water, good hiking shoes, and some sunscreen. Totally worth checking out if you are tired of basic LA...