Walking Wild & Free

Quail Colorful Canyon Loop 1

Quail Colorful Canyon Loop

Quail Colorful Canyon Loop 1

Quail Colorful Canyon Loop

Exploration of two unnamed canyons in the Quail Mountains with narrows and colorful rocks.

Total Distance: 4.8 mile loop	Elevation Gain: 793ft. (2,204ft. to 2,965ft.)
Difficulty: Moderate	0-5 Mile Difficulty: Strenuous
View Rating: 5.0 out of 5.0 stars5.0	Author’s Rating: 3.0 out of 5.0 stars3.0
Visitor Rating: (Click to rate) [Total: 0 Average: 0]	Visitor Difficulty Rating: (Click to rate) [Total: 0 Average: 0]
Pets: No	Horses: Yes
Best Seasons: November-April	Special Permits: None (do not go south into the Fort Irwin Military Reservation)
Water Availability: None	Overnight Options: Dispersed camping permitted
Trailhead Amenities: None	Crowd Factor: Solitude
Trailhead Access: 2.0 4×4 appreciated, though high clearance may be ok in dry weather
Uses:	Trail Surface:
Features:	Hazards:

Mile-by-Mile: Quail Colorful Canyon Loop

0.0 Owl Hole Spring Road crosses a small arm of a wash (2,214ft.). Walk due south toward the Quail Mountains. Keep your eyes open for wild burros that frequent the area. You will be heading for some colorful hills at the base of the mountains. (35.674718°, -116.751398°)

0.5 Wash begins to narrow (2,333ft.). After about 0.4 miles, the wash will begin to become more defined and less of a floodplain; it will then veer slightly southwest. Follow the wash. Colorful canyons will begin to be visible after 1.3 miles. (35.667273°, -116.752063°)

1.5 Mouth of first colorful canyon (2,599ft.). Turn left (south/southeast) to follow a wash into the mountains. Just after the turn, you can optionally explore an out-and-back wash on the left up into the colorful rocks. Keep walking up the wash which fairly quickly becomes a canyon. Rocks of various colors showcase on the hillsides, especially white rock above darker rock. The canyon bottom may be difficult to navigate, as it is littered with boulders and smaller rocks. Occasional narrows make the hike even more fun. (35.655612°, -116.759479°)

2.0 Dryfall (2,810ft.). The dryfall is fairly easily navigated. Keep walking upcanyon. A short distance beyond the dryfall, the canyon seems to split; take the main right fork. (35.649876°, -116.756092°)

2.1 Amphitheater (2,846ft.). The canyon more or less ends in a large amphitheater, breaking into multiple smaller washes. The amphitheater showcases many colorful rocks. Unless you’d rather do the hike as an out-and-back trek, turn left to climb east and then southeast up the ridgeline and down into the next canyon to the east. (35.648659°, -116.755420°)

2.3 Second colorful canyon (2,863ft.). Turn left (east/northeast) to follow the canyon downstream. The hillsides are so colorful, they’re reminiscent of Artist Palette along the Badwater Road. Further down the canyon, the walls are colorful, and there are some impressive rock formations. (35.647923°, -116.752920°)

3.3 Mouth of second colorful canyon (2,461ft.). Continue walking down the wash. (35.658165°, -116.750572°)

4.1 Flood plain/turn northwest (2,246ft.). Turn and walk north-northwest to return to your vehicle. (35.667595°, -116.743909°)

4.8 Road crosses a small arm of a wash (2,214ft.). (35.674718°, -116.751398°)

History & More

Quail Canyon does not have an official name. In fact, in searching for it recently, Google was unable to find anything about it. Someday, I’d love to go out and explore it for myself. The canyon is named after the Quail Mountains in which it is located.

The colors in the badlands and rocks of Death Valley are formed from a mix of minerals, most of which are different forms of iron that have oxidized when exposed to the air. In general, Yellow Rock = Limonite, Purple Rock = Hematite, Red/Orange Rock = Hematite, and Green/Blue Rock = Chlorite or Nontronite.

Download Route Map

Driving Directions

The road begins along the Owl Hole Spring Road, 17.9 miles from its beginning at the junction with the Harry Wade Road. It is located 6.7 miles west of the Randsburg Road Junction.