Palm Springs & the Deserts - California - page 1655

In Blair Valley, this 2-mile round-trip trail skirts boulders covered in Native American pic-
tographs and also offers a nice view of the Vallecito Valley. Take the Blair Valley turnoff
on County Rte S2, and continue on the dirt road for about 3.8 miles to the turnoff for a
parking area reached in another 1.5 miles.
Elephant Tree Trail HIKING
( MAP GOOGLE MAP )
The rare elephant trees get their name from their stubby trunks, which are thought to re-
semble elephant legs. Unfortunately only one living elephant tree remains along this
1.5-mile loop trail but it's still a nice, easy hike through a rock wash. The turnoff is on
Split Mountain Rd, about 6 miles south of Hwy 78 and Ocotillo Wells.
Split Mountain Wind Caves HIKING
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Four miles south of the Elephant Tree Trail, on Split Mountain Rd, is the dirt-road turnoff
for Fish Creek primitive campground; another 4 miles brings you to Split Mountain, where
a popular 4WD road goes right between 600ft-high walls created by earthquakes and
erosion. At the southern end of this 2-mile-long gorge, a steep 1-mile trail leads up to del-
icate wind caves carved into sandstone outcrops.
Blair Valley HIKING
( MAP GOOGLE MAP )
In the west of the park, about 5 miles southeast of Scissors Crossing (where County Rte S2
crosses Hwy 78), is Blair Valley, known for its Native American pictographs and morteros
(hollows in rocks used for grinding seeds). The valley and its hiking trailheads lie a few
miles east of County Rte S2, along a dirt road. Over on the north side of the valley, a
monument ( MAP GOOGLE MAP ) at Foot and Walker Pass marks a difficult spot on the
Butterfield Overland Stage Route. In Box Canyon ( MAP GOOGLE MAP ) you can see the
marks where wagons had to hack through the rocks to widen the Emigrant Trail.