Minerva Hoyt (Minerva Hoyt Trail)
in California · centroid 69 mi from Riverside
The Minerva Hoyt Trail is an out-and-back hike to the Hidden Valley picnic area. It is 3 miles roundtrip with 100 feet of elevation gain. From the parking lot, the trail follows an old road before it takes a sharp right towards Hidden Valley.
The hike goes through a valley of Joshua trees with excellent views of unique rock formations and mountains in the distance. It can be combined with the 1-mile Hidden Valley Nature Trail to create a 4-mile “lollipop” loop. The trail is named after Minerva Hoyt, the founding force behind Joshua Tree National Park.
She lobbied congress and President FDR to preserve the area. Her efforts helped the park become designated as a National Monument in 1936. It later became a National Park in 1994. After abundant winter rains, this trail offers a vibrant springtime display of wildflowers.
- States
- California
- Trail type
- National Park trail
- Centroid nearest city
- Riverside, CA · 69 mi · ~2.0 hr drive
- Centroid coords
- 33.9948°, -116.1638°
About Joshua Tree National Park
This trail is inside Joshua Tree National Park, a national park managed by the U.S. National Park Service. Conditions, road status, trail closures, and reservation requirements are published on the park's NPS page — check it before driving in, especially in winter or during major weather events.
Entrance fee: $30 per vehicle (verify current rate on the park page). An America the Beautiful annual pass ($80) covers entrance to all NPS units.
Official NPS trail page: https://www.nps.gov/places/minerva-hoyt-minerva-hoyt-trail.htm
Park homepage: https://www.nps.gov/jotr/index.htm
Plan your hike
Maps + permits: long-distance trails like this often require permits for through-hiking, backcountry camping, or specific sections (especially in National Parks). Check with the maintaining organisation listed above and the relevant land manager before booking travel.
Water + supplies: water sources vary seasonally on most U.S. trails. Carry a filter and consult current trail-condition reports — through-hiker journals (PCT-L, AT Reddit, etc.) and the maintaining organisation publish regular updates.
When to go: hiking seasons vary widely with elevation, latitude, and snowpack. Through-hikers traditionally start the AT in March-April (Springer northbound) and the PCT in late April (Campo northbound). High-elevation western trails (CDT, JMT, Wonderland) generally aren't passable until July.
If you've hiked Minerva Hoyt (Minerva Hoyt Trail) and have current notes (water sources, trail closures, permit changes), tell us at /contact — we update pages as we learn.
Stay nearby
Other trails within 50 miles
Sources
Trail data on this page is compiled from OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL), the maintaining organisation's public-facing materials, and Wikipedia (CC BY-SA where excerpts are quoted). Distance, terminus, and descriptive text for nationally-designated trails are hand-curated from federal land-manager websites and trail-association sources. We do not modify the underlying data; this page presents what is already publicly recorded. To suggest corrections, see our methodology page.