The Hole in the Wall Ring Trail is a short is a 1.5 miles loop trail around a hill top and through a slot canyon in the Mojave National Preserve. The trail it self is well marked and very easy going, with the exception of 1/4 mile at the north end, through a slot canyon. Rings are bolted into the rock to serve as hand holds and give the trail its name.
Following the Hole in the Wall Ring Trail from the visitors center south, the trail circles a hill in showcases various plants and cacti in the area. The trail starts off fairly sandy and remains so until about the time you reach a large rock covered with petroglyphs. You can spends hours trying to decipher the message left by our Native American community who live in the area long ago.
Leaving the petrogplyph rock behind, the trail travels through a meadow towards the slot canyon and near the Banshee Canyon primitive campsite. This area in the spring time is very beautiful with a green valley floor from the low green grass spurred on my a recent spring rain.
As you leave Banshee Canyon behind, the walls being to narrow down into a slot canyon. As you hike into the slot canyon the walls continue to narrow until you reach the points you can touch each side of the Canyon at the same time. The final push of the hike is about a 50 foot elevation gain and some of the elevation gain is accomplished via the ring hand holds bolted into the wall.
