Trail Review: Barker Dam & Wall Street Mill, Joshua Tree
Trailhead: Barker Dam Trail, Twentynine Palms, CA 92277
Parking: Parking lot at Barker Dam Trailhead or nearby street parking. Joshua Tree does have a $30 entrance fee. More about the park fees HERE.
Distance: 1.6 miles loop for Barker Dam, and 3 miles out & back for Wall Street Mill (Over 4.6 miles total if doing both)
Barker Dam and the Wall Street Mill trails are technically two different trails. However, Barker Dam is really more of a nature walk that stays relatively flat the whole time and only comes in at about 1.6 miles. Right next to it and accessible from the same parking lot is the Wall Street Mill trail which is still fairly flat but comes in at about 3 miles total. You can do either one separately but I recommend doing them together if you have the time because neither take that much time or effort.
Barker Dam, because of it's ease, is an extremely family-friendly trail and therefore the most populated trail we did on this trip (a little too crowded for covid times if you ask me...). Since it is so popular, the parking lot was very much full when we arrived but we got lucky and were able to snag a spot on the side of the road about 0.5 miles away. That means we added about a mile to our overall journey just because of parking but that's not included in the above mileage.
The Barker Dam trail starts off to the left of the bathrooms in the parking lot. The first section is completely flat and kind of narrow. We actually ended up walking just off the path to the left amongst the foliage to avoid the other people because of how narrow it was. It did get a little harder to avoid people once it got to the rocky section, though, as there wasn't any open space on either side of the trail.
A short distance into the hike, you'll be at the fork in the road for the loop. We didn't even notice it at the time and just continued straight like everyone else was doing. There is, however, the option of doing the loop counterclockwise but you do have to be on the lookout for the turn off. Otherwise, you'll just be going clockwise like everyone else.
Once in the rocky part of the trail, if you want to be adventurous, you can veer off and scramble up some rocks for a different (and more secluded) view. In my opinion, this was the best part of Barker Dam. It gets you away from the crowds and it actually required a little bit of agility. We could see a number of people throughout the hike who had gone off the trail and climbed up some rocks. Some areas are a harder climb than others so make sure to pick an area that seems doable for you.
Eventually, we continued on the actual path and made it to the actual Barker Dam. I don't know when this area would actually have water but it certainly didn't when we were there. Nevertheless, there is a stone structure that is meant to hold the water back and create a reservoir. It was a very popular spot for photos despite the lack of liquid.
After the dam, you'll finish the loop in a more traditional Joshua Tree setting: flat and full of joshua trees! There is an option to follow the path to an area called the petroglyphs. Feel free to explore that if you've got the time, but at that intersection, we went left and continued the loop back to the parking lot.
From the parking lot, the Wall Street Mill trail starts to the right of the bathrooms. It's another relatively flat trail. There is some way of making it into a loop but we couldn't find the route to take once we were at the mill, so we ended up just doing an out and back. On the way to the mill, there are some fun landmarks to explore including some old, rusted out cars, a windmill, and even a gravestone from a shootout (The gravestone is a replica though, because of damage done to the original).
About a mile and a half in, you'll reach the mill. It's fenced off but easily viewable, and there are some information plaques if you want to read about the history of the mill. It's definitely a cool area to explore and you'll find more old cars nearby as well.
When you're done at the mill, head back the way you came (or try to find the loop trail...)!
Bottom Line: Two flat and easy trails in Joshua Tree National Park. They are short enough and close enough to be done together. Barker Dam is more family-friendly and therefore more crowded.
Barker Dam:
Wall Street Mill:
Note: the Google Map is not showing you the path from the parking lot that starts to the right of the bathrooms. It is showing you an alternate option which is to follow the road to a second parking lot and start the trail from there.
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