Amazing Views at Hole-in-the-Wall Campground
Back in April (4/7 -4/13), we camped at the Hole-in-the-Wall campground in the Mojave National Preserve. I didn’t have a lot of expectations for this place, only that it seemed like a good location to camp for a few days on our way to Joshua Tree. The sunset on the first night was amazing!!! The views from this campground were beautiful! We ended up staying two extra nights because we loved it. We highly recommend the Hole-in-the-Wall campground. Don’t have time to read this now? Pin it for later!
Tip! Don’t Follow Google Maps
One important thing about the Hole-in-the-Wall campground is, do not follow Google maps! Otherwise, you are going to be disappointed. You want to enter the campground from the South off I-40. Do not enter from the North as Cedar Canyon Rd becomes an unpaved, dirt washboard road, and it is over 10 miles to the campground!
Luckily I read about this beforehand so we entered from the South. I talked to one couple that unfortunately entered from the North and she said it was miserable. The next day we decided to go for a hike on the other side of the preserve so we had to drive this dirt road with our Jeep and honestly it was not fun even in the Jeep. 10+ miles takes a long time at 5-15 mph and the rough ride was tiring. You do not want to drive this way with your RV unless you love the sound of everything in your cabinets rattling to pieces and crashing into each other! :)
Ring Loop Trail
The next morning, we started walking on the short Hole-in-the-Wall Nature Trail to the Hole-in-the-Wall Information Center. From there we did the 1-mile Rings Loop Trail. We started from the left of the parking lot, so that this way we climbed up the metal rings mounted in the rocks. If you start the hike from the right of the Information Center you have to climb down the rings which seemed like it would be more difficult to us. We highly recommend the Rings Loop Trail as the trail was easy and climbing the rings was fun, if awkward.
Penguin climbing up Ring Loop Trail
Another day, for a longer hike, we went to the Hole-in-the-wall Nature Trail, to the Rings Loop Trail, and then we hiked part of the Barber Peak Loop Trail back to the campground. The one thing that stood out on the Barber Peak Loop Trail was all the burned trees. My guess is this was damage from the Dome Fire in 2020 which devastated 44,000 acres of the world’s largest Joshua tree forest. Very sad!
Rock Spring Loop Trail
The Rock Spring Loop Trail was an easy one-mile loop, and the hardest part about this trail was the drive to get to it. The washboard, dirt road was slow going so give yourself plenty of time to get there. This trail starts at the Rock House which had an interesting story.
The Rock House was built by Bert Smith in the late 1920s when he returned to the U.S. after fighting in World War I. He had been exposed to poison gases and had scarred lungs. He built this house to try and regain his health and only expected to live a short time. He ended up living in the Rock House for 25 years.
In 1981, Carl Faber set up his art business in the Rock House. Four-wheel drive trips were really popular during this time so he took advantage of the traffic driving through to sell his art. Now there is nothing inside the Rock House but it is almost 100 years old and still standing.
Another area of interest on this trail was Rock Spring. There was no water in it during our hike but we did learn Rock Spring has been a crucial water source throughout history. It was used by native tribes, early explorers, the U.S. Army, and settlers crossing the unforgiving Mojave Desert.
Visit the Amboy Crater
60 miles from the campground is the Amboy Crater. The Amboy Crater is 250 feet high and 1,500 feet in diameter. It is also in one of the youngest volcanic fields in the U.S., with the most recent eruption of Amboy Crater being approximately 10,000 years ago.
You can view the Amboy Crater from the shaded scenic overview, which is nice because it gets hot! If you visit October thru April you can hike the Amboy Crater. It is roughly a 3-mile hike from the parking lot including the one-mile circumference of the crater cone. Due to the extreme heat hiking is not recommended after April. There are signs saying you could die hiking in the summer from heat exhaustion. We hiked on 4/10 and got lucky with a decent breeze, but it was still very uncomfortable on some parts. If it was any hotter or if there was no breeze it definitely would have been tough to finish the whole hike.
On your way to Amboy Crater, you pass the iconic Roy's Motel and Café on U.S. Route 66. This used to be a motel, café, gas station, and auto repair shop, but now they only have snacks, souvenirs, and gas. It was a popular location that has been used in movies, music videos, and commercials. It’s not a bad place to take a break from driving and briefly look around.
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