Joshua Tree Park "Hidden Valley" 4 - panoramio.jpg
David Balmer · CC BY 3.0

Turtle Rock–The Hat, 3 rocks is an 8.2-mile out-and-back near Panorama Heights, CA. The route passes Pretzel Rock and Turtle Rock before reaching The Hat at the turnaround, 4.1 miles in. It climbs 379 ft. It scores 82/100 on the Ambleway Wildness scale: genuinely wild.

Elevation

0 mi4,042 – 4,203 ft8.7 mi

Getting there

Trailhead: Unnamed 34.04063, -116.18510
Nearest town Panorama Heights, CA

Directions

AMBLEWAYwww.ambleway.com

Turtle Rock–The Hat, 3 rocks

8.2 mi · ▲ 379 ft · 2 hr 55 min

Elevation 4,042–4,204 ft

Out & Back

Trailhead: 34.04063, -116.18510

Weather Sep 20: sunrise 6:32 AM · sunset 6:46 PM

Toilets at the trailhead · Parking lot at the trailhead

  1. Start at the trailhead, heading E.
  2. 1 miTurn right onto Keys Ranch Road, heading S.
  3. 0.4 miTurn right, heading SW.
  4. 0.5 miTurn left, heading SW.
  5. 50 ftTurn right, heading SW.
  6. 50 ftBear right, heading S.
  7. 0.1 miTurn right, heading NW.
  8. 0.6 miBear right, heading S.
  9. 300 ftBear right, heading S.
  10. 0.3 miBear left, heading S.
  11. 1.2 miPass Pretzel Rock.
  12. 50 ftPass The Hat.
  13. 100 ftTurn right, heading E.
  14. 50 ftReach Turtle Rock, then turn around and head back the way you came.
  15. 100 ftTurn left, heading E.
  16. 1.3 miBear right, heading NW.
  17. 0.3 miBear left, heading E.
  18. 250 ftBear left, heading N.
  19. 0.6 miTurn left, heading NE.
  20. 0.1 miBear left, heading E.
  21. 50 ftTurn left, heading E.
  22. 50 ftTurn right, heading E.
  23. 0.8 miTurn left, heading E.
  24. 0.9 miArrive back at the trailhead.

Each distance is the walk from the previous step. Tap a step for a map of its junction.

Trail surface

10% dirt90% unspecified

Weather

Sunrise 6:32 AMSunset 6:46 PM

Sunset

The best sunset spot on this hike is 0.9 mi in (~22 min). Leave by 6:03 PM for the 6:46 PM sunset. Back at your car by 7:21 PM, after dark — bring a headlamp.

More sunset hikes nearby

Good to know

  • Toilets at the trailhead
  • Parking lot at the trailhead

Other ways to reach this destination

More from this trailhead