Hole-in-the-Wall / Rings Loop
Mojave National Preserve · near Essex · California Desert
Hiking
At a glance
- Difficulty
- moderate
- Route type
- loop
- Distance
- 1.5 miles
- Elevation gain
- 150 ft
- Time needed
- day
- Best season
- Oct–Apr
Permits and booking
- Permit required
- No
- How the permit works
- Free NPS; visitor center + campground on site. Graded dirt (Black Canyon Rd). Leashed dogs allowed.
- How hard the permit is to get
- 0 of 5
What is here
- Features
- Iron ring-bolt climbs · Banshee Canyon 'Swiss-cheese' tuff · Wind-carved pockets · Barber Peak backdrop
Worth knowing
- Dogs
- Allowed
- Good for a first timer
- No
Hiking detail
- Intl tip
- The rings involve real down-climbing on rock — skip it if you're uneasy with heights or hiking with small kids; you can view the canyon from the top instead.
The guide
A short, thrilling loop that descends into Banshee Canyon by climbing down two sets of iron rings bolted into the rock, through…
In the Guidebook
Everything above is yours for free. The written guide to Hole-in-the-Wall / Rings Loop — what it is actually like, and what we would tell a friend before they went — comes with the Guidebook.
Getting there
- Coordinates
- 35.044, -115.398