After attending Alt Summit, my friend Sally and I spent an extra day in the Palm Springs area. One of our major bucket-list items was to do the Ladder Canyon hike at Mecca Hills Recreation Area. It was quite a drive from our hotel in Palm Springs, estimated around 40 minutes. The drive went by quickly and we soon found ourselves driving for miles on an unpaved desert road. Once we arrived, we headed off into the canyon, only to figure out that we went into the ropes canyon instead of the ladders.
We explored the ropes canyon for awhile (until it got too narrow for us to feel safe), and took care of some special photos (will share later, promise!). Once we regained our direction, we headed into the Ladder Canyon hike. My nerves were completely gone from being in the ropes canyon, but the ladders were still extremely fun. We made it to the last ladder, the fourth, before turning around and heading back. We didn’t have time before dark to do the full loop and didn’t want to get stuck out in the dark.
The drive back revealed that we were much closer to the Salton sea than we thought, and I’m a little sad we didn’t get to stop there. Next time!
Mecca Hills Recreation Area
Painted Canyon Road
Mecca, California
Have you been hiking in slot canyons before? Were you scared?
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