Due to looting (people seriously suck), Carey's Castle is closed. Do not enter.
Jan 26, 2016 — Carey's (Cary's) Castle is a fun surprise, and along with a lesser-traveled Joshua Tree National Park wilderness canyon, this hike is a great excursion in the desert. After passing multiple "no trespassing" signs along the way to the trailhead, which is technically on Metropolitan Water District of Southern California land, I frantically ran up the trail, unsure if I'd get cited some ridiculous Californian fine (seriously, CA is nuts with their tickets). What I thought would be a secret hike ended up ultimately being a very easy to follow trail marked by the footprints of hundreds of hikers before me. Though I passed nobody the entire time, I'd say it's hard to get lost. After hiking for a while through open desert into the mouth, keep right and swerve up through the beautiful canyon with granite walls typical to Joshua Tree. At the first two forks, make a left, and then at the third, go right. There are a few sections with some easy scambling, but overall it's a fairly straighforward hike. Once you get to the Castle, good luck on finding the Cache. I won't give coordinates or the location on the attached map, but please do not take anything should you find it.
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