Owl Canyon and Rainbow Basin Loop

Rainbow Basin Natural Area BLM, CA Central Mojave Desert

Trip stats

Distance
6.8 mi
Net Gain
1,400 ft
Time
2-4 hrs
YDS Rating
Class 2
Route
Loop
Peaks
1

Ratings out of 10

Effort
3.1/10
Personality
5/10
Beauty
7/10
Solitude
3.9/10
What do these mean? →

Peaks on this hike

Summits listed in route order

  1. Rainbow Basin Overlook
    3,964′ elevation · 164′ prominence

Route map + Trailhead

Trailhead Coordinates

35.025010, -117.022530

The directions link below drops a pin on the trailhead coordinates and lets Google Maps pick the route. If the drive has rough roads or access issues that GPS nav might get wrong, I cover that in my trip report.

Get directions (opens Google Maps in a new tab)

Trip report

Feb 10, 2023 — Rainbow Basin Natural Area is a highlight of the otherwise pretty bleak Barstow CA desert landscape. Most visitors seem to come here to enjoy a drive along the scenic loop road, but I was mostly interested in hiking through Owl Canyon, a featured trail through a beautiful and colorful canyon. With some research, I found a loop that includes the Owl Canyon Trail, but also links in an interesting-looking slot to its west. I figured I'd follow the loop as intended for the most part, but decided to amend it as I went. I included the sections of the somewhat commonly completed loop hike in blue on my attached map so you can see where I deviated.

I drove through the Owl Canyon Campground and parked at the trailhead, free for day use. The trail immediately dropped into Owl Canyon and I headed north into it. The canyon progressively got more beautiful as I went, starting with bright white eroded features and some interesting rock formations. It's mostly just a sandy drainage, but there was some Class 2 boulder-hopping mixed in and a short Class 2/2+ dryfall obstacle within a section of pretty narrows. As I neared the head of Owl Canyon it opened up significantly and introduced more fun and unique features better described visually below. The badlands toward the head of the canyon were a little more difficult to navigate since social trails lead in different directions. Many of these are the handiwork of irresponsible dirtbikers. I chose to keep left at a couple of junctions in order to ascend out of the canyon and up to higher ground.

Being at the top of the Rainbow Basin had me itching for a viewpoint, so I located what I labeled "Rainbow Basin Overlook" since it's a minor high point separating the two canyons I was hiking through. Reaching it required some steep Class 2 up its northern slope, but I thought it was worth it to be able to look down into the colorful landscape below.

I followed an ATV road west and down into the western canyon I'd be using as my descent route in order to form a loop. It was unevenful for the first half, but then the canyon narrowed and I scrambled down some fun Class 2+ to enter the depths of a really nice slot. It continued to twist pleasantly as it descended. There was a bit more Class 2 and even a rabbit hole crawl under a massive boulder. I emerged from the canyon mouth and reached the scenic drive.

It was an easy hike along the scenic road for a while, but I wasn't really interested in hiking along it longer than necessary. The standard hiking loop wraps all the way around a wide, low mesa/ridge separating this road from the trailhead, but I was confident I could find a way up and over it. As I reached the base of the hump I realized the eroded slope was actually pretty steep and I grew slightly irked I would have to try enjoying the boring extended walk. Fortunately, I was able to find a Class 2 route up to the mesatop. From here I wandered off-trail to the eastern rim and then south until I located a social trail that took me back down to the Owl Canyon Campground.

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Photos

55 photos

  1. Owl Canyon Trailhead.
  2. Shortly after entering Owl Canyon, some bright eroded badlands.
  3. Some cool formations along the sides of the canyon.
  5. Looking back at some cool cliffs.
  6. Progress up Owl Canyon's badlands.
  7. Entering some narrows.
  9. Excellent narrows within Owl Canyon.
  10. The narrows open up a bit and there's some Class 2 boulder-hopping.
  12. Approaching some more narrows.
  13. Class 2/2+ stuff to get above a dryfall and enter the narrows.
  14. A cool hairpin turn within the narrows.
  17. The canyon begins to open up a bit, but the rock features are still very cool.
  19. Looking back toward a spot where Owl Canyon flows between two neat, taller walls.
  20. Another short section of narrows. I found the many shifting colors as I progressed up Owl Canyon to be particularly unique.
  21. View back within the narrows.
  22. A wider section higher up.
  25. A final bit of cool cliffs as I near the end of the colorful, unique rock features.
  26. View back as I ascend toward the head of Owl Canyon.
  27. Exiting the canyon and now within its northern hilly badland reaches.
  28. View back once I located a social trail that led me out of the canyon.
  29. Some oddly-colored badlands.
  30. The social trail led me up and out of Owl Canyon.
  31. View back into Owl Canyon.
  32. A Class 2 detour to reach Rainbow Basin Overlook.
  33. View down the steep detour and into the head of Owl Canyon.
  34. Rainbow Basin Overlook, view toward Owl Canyon.
  35. Rainbow Basin Overlook, a view toward the unnamed canyon I'll be descending soon (far right).
  36. I descended from the Rainbow Basin Overlook along an ATV road.
  37. And then down into the head of the descent canyon.
  38. After some uneventful walking, the canyon narrowed.
  39. View back toward the Class 2/2+ moves I did to get into the canyon.
  40. The canyon gets more and more narrow.
  41. And then enters a slot.
  43. A hairpin turn within the slot.
  45. A rabbit hole crawl under a boulder.
  46. The near little crawl-through.
  47. Deeper into the narrows shortly before the canyon opens up.
  48. Nearing the mouth of the canyon.
  49. View back toward the canyon mouth as I reach the scenic road.
  50. Hiking along the scenic road for a bit. My goal is to get up and over the mesa seen center. The standard loop seems to direct hikers to wrap all the way around it.
  51. I found a Class 2 option to ascend the mesa.
  52. This is a view back down to the road as I ascend to the mesatop.
  53. Flat mesatop. I headed to its east side.
  54. A rim view from the mesatop down toward the Owl Canyon Campground.
  55. Along the rim, where a social trail led me back down to the campground and trailhead.

Photo 1 of 1

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Hire or refer me as a web developer, or send me a few bucks if you find my site useful. I'm not sponsored, so it's funded by yours truly. It also takes a ton of work to edit photos and write these reports. I really appreciate it!

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GPX track

Owl Canyon and Rainbow Basin Loop GPX route and driving track

The complete GPX track is available to download, so you can load the route straight into your navigation app or device. The trip report, route info, photos and planning details stay free.

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