Hole-in-the-Wall Rings Trail at Mojave National Preserve

Hole-in-the-wall Rings Trail at Mojave National Preserve is one the funnest hikes we have done in California with kids. A true adventure!

We have visited Mojave National Preserve several times and been in different sides of the area. They all look a bit different and definitely have different things to offer.

This time we ended up coming to the area from one of the southern entrance as we were on our way back from Arizona to California. We suddenly noticed that we had a free afternoon in our schedule, and decided to stop and find a hiking trail.

We found Hole-in-the-Wall Rings Trail which seemed like a perfect choice for us since we only had couple of hours. Since we were hiking with kids we didn’t want to do anything too difficult… or that’s what we thought!

This ended up being one of the most memorable trails we have done in California with kids but it definitely wasn’t as super easy. I would recommend it to bigger and more adventurous kids, and they will probably have a blast. But it can be challenging with smaller ones or with those who are not used to climbing.

What is Mojave National Preserve?

While the Mojave desert is a large area stretching all the way from California to Nevada, Utah and Arizona, Mojave National Preserve is smaller. It is located in California, between Los Angeles and Las Vegas.

Mojave National Preserve is in between two major highways. Thousands of people pass by, driving on Interstate 15 to Las Vegas every day, and on the other side there is Interstate 40 which leads to Arizona. Yes, it is THAT I-40 which used to be Historic Route 66 back in the day.

The preserve was established in 1994. It is known for its sand dunes and volcanic cinder cones. One of the most popular places to visit in the park is its beautiful lava tube situated in the middle of the area.

There are a few different entrances to Mojave Preserve, but not many services inside the park. So make sure to bring enough water and food for your stay, and make sure that you have enough gas.

The Visitor Center in Mojave National Preserve is located in the middle of the park. It is called Kelso Depot and it is in an old railway station which was originally built in 1924.

There are no trains going through the park anymore even though the tracks are still there. The building was renovated in 2005 to serve as a visitor center and it is very nice. There is a small museum in it and some picnic tables outside.

At the other entrance off the I-40 they have a smaller Information Center where visitors can stop to get maps and other information. There are two campgrounds in the area.

Even though the main roads in the park are paved, there are many gravel roads and some of them require a 4 wheeler. It is good to plan ahead which areas to explore and look at the alerts on the Mojave National Preserve website.

And it’s of course always a good idea to speak with the park ranger who can give the latest information about road conditions.

People come to Mojave to hike, camp and climb. Many say that it is one of the best places to photograph the night sky and stars. I would love to camp in Mojave someday and feel the night time desert vibes.

Nature at Mojave Desert

Mojave Desert nature is very versatile due to the elevation changes. They have anything from sand dunes to desert riparian zones and areas with different kinds of scrubs.

Many special plants grow in Mojave, like Joshua Trees and Cholla cacti. At the spring time beautiful and colourful desert flowers will be in bloom. It is actually not that far from Joshua Tree National Park so the nature looks somewhat similar in places.

On our hike I tried to count how many different cactus species we ran into but at some point I lost the count.

There are also many kinds of animals in the desert. We were hoping to see some desert tortoise or bighorn sheep, but we were not lucky enough to see either of those. The bighorn sheep typically lives up in the mountains, so seeing them down in the desert is not common. But I tried to look up as often as I could with no luck.

Mojave is also home to mountain lions and bobcats, but they are mainly out at night time.

While hiking the Mojave Desert you should be wary of where you step or put your hands, since there are a lot of snakes in the area. For example, the Mojave Green is the most venomous rattle snake in the world!

They do usually move away when they hear people walking around, but while hiking through Banshee Canyon we had to climb over rocks and stick our hands in various holes in order to make our way up. It doesn’t hurt to be careful while in the desert!

Where to stay while in Mojave National Preserve

There are two campgrounds in the Mojave National Preserve area and also some undeveloped campsites for RV’s. Both Hole-in-the-Wall Campground and Mid Hills Campground are first-come, first-served so no reservations are required.

The closest towns offering accommodations are Barstow and Needles. For example Best Western Desert Villa Inn in Barstow is not too bad. Needles has a lot more to choose from, and Best Western Colorado River Inn would be our pick. We have also stayed in Hamptons Inn in many places and it has always been nice.

HIKING THE HOLE-IN-THE-WALL RINGS LOOP TRAIL

This time we arrived at Mojave from the south as we were driving along Interstate 40. We stopped at the Information Station for a short time to get some information about the trails and to use the restroom. Then we headed to the Hole-in-the-Wall Rings Loop Trail which started from the parking lot.

I later noticed that in the AllTrails app that I like to use, it gives this trail other names too, like Rings Loop Trail, Hole-in-the-Wall Trail or Hole-in-the-Wall Rings Trail.

There is also a short trail leading to the campground called Hole-in-the-Wall Nature Trail. According to the ranger the Rings Loop Trail was suppose to be a 1.5-mile (2,4 km) easy round trip and great for kids. So we headed out with our daughters.

Most of the trail was in fact very easy. It was a smooth sandy path that led to an area of rocks with petroglyphs. We stopped to look at them and to take some photos.

Later I tried finding more information about the petroglyphs, but there wasn’t much I could find. They do think that the petroglyphs are thousands of years old though, but I guess there is no information about who originally made them.

The best petroglyphs we have seen were at Petroglyphs National Monument in New Mexico and in Norway.

As we continued along we soon saw a herd of horses. The trail went all the way inside their paddock, so we didn’t think they were wild. They stood there further away just minding their own business and enjoying the sun, and they didn’t seem to care about the hikers – until we came along that is.

I guess it’s really true, that a horse can really recognise horse people, since as we walked in, they started walking toward us. And I just LOVE horses! They were so very friendly and seemed to be interested in possible treats in our pockets. We chatted with the horses a little bit and then continued the trail.

After we circled around the hill, we arrived at Banshee Canyon and now we had to get through it back to the Informations Station parking lot.

What we saw in front of us was quite stunning. It was a wall full of holes formed by erosion. They were everywhere, from top to bottom. At certain places we were able to access them and some were big enough for us even sit in them. Then some of them were just very tiny.

It was obvious why this part of the Mojave was called Hole-in-the-Wall. We stopped for a while to take some photos and to look at the holes in the rock.

After that, the trail got a little tricky and I questioned why we were told by the ranger that it was kid friendly. At first our girls had fun jumping from one rock to another, but the path got more difficult as we went along and we had to start carrying our smaller daughter. And then… a wall full or rings!

At this point, I realised that I should have mentioned to the ranger specifically that our youngest one is only 3 years old. There was no way she could climb up herself, when even our 8-year old was quite nervous about it.

Because our original plan was never to stop at Mojave in the first place we had not done any research about the trails beforehand. We simply just trusted the ranger when he said that the this trail was suitable for kids.

We looked at the rings for a while and weighed our options. Either we would try to get up somehow or we would have to walk the whole trail back around. And we knew that we were actually really close to the parking lot already, so going back didn’t sound like a fun option either.

We decided to go forward and climb the rings. Our 8-year old went up first and it went well for her. Then it was my turn. When I was up, my husband climbed as far as he could while carrying our toddler and then handed her over to me, and I pulled her up. Yay! We made it!

I was so happy until I realised that this wasn’t all. There was another set of rings ahead of us which looked even harder. There was a brief moment of despair when I wasn’t sure we could climb up any more rings, but I also knew that going back down on the rings wasn’t an option either. We were stuck!

Now we had to really encourage our older daughter to go up because she started getting scared. We promised her that we would be right behind her and would give her a push up. And again she did very well.

Finally we were all able to get up even though it was a little challenging. Wow, what an adventure! And we were right: our car was right around the corner waiting for us.

I have to wonder a little why this trail is generally said to be suitable for kids. It is definitely not suitable for kids of all ages. Or even for adults who are not comfortable climbing.

It was also mentioned that it’s good for dogs. And yes, some dogs seemed to be able to climb just fine but not all of them. There were two bigger dogs afraid of the rings and we helped the owners to get them up. Heavy built dogs are for sure not able to climb up.

It should be clearly mentioned that for example small kids or parents with baby carriers might not be able to finish this trail. But I have to admit, for bigger kids and for adults in good shape, this trail can be a lot of fun.

Now that we look back, we will remember this as a great adventure and that we were able to accomplish something.

*I have noticed that the trail description in AllTrails and NPS site has been later changed into moderate.

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So this was our experience of the Hole-in-the-Wall Rings Trail at Mojave National Preserve. It was definitely a day that we wont soon forget.

Hiking with kids can be challenging at times but it is so much fun. We have made so many wonderful memories on different trails and been hiking in amazing places like on a living volcano in Hawaii, in a cave in Nevada and in redwood forest in Yosemite.

Here are our tips for hiking with kids.

Mojave National Preserve is beautiful and it has a lot to offer for hikers. I feel like it is one of the most underrated park units in California. When our kids get a little bigger we will come back for sure to explore the area more!

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