Overview

Banshee Peak is the eye-catching craggy peak above Banshee Canyon and Hole in the Wall Visitor Center. This short route runs 0.3 miles up the east side of the peak to the summit ridge. Views from the summit ridge are grand, but hikers can scramble (Class 3 and Class 4) onto higher ledges on the east and west sides of the peak, but technical climbing gear is required to safely climb onto the summit. It is, however, hard to imagine that views from the summit are any better than those from the summit ridge.

Link to map.

Watch Out

Other than the standard warnings about hiking in the desert, ... this off-trail hike and scramble leads into steep and loose, rocky territory. Be extra careful near edges, and don't climb anything you don't want to climb down (which is always harder than climbing up). Hikers are almost always in sight of the visitor center, so hikers in trouble might be able to call for help.

While hiking, please respect the land and the other people out there, and try to Leave No Trace of your passage. Also, even though this hike is short, be sure to bring what you need of the 10 Essentials.

Getting to the Trailhead

This hike is located in Mojave National Preserve, about 2 hours south of Las Vegas. From town, drive out to Mojave National Preserve and the Hole in the Wall Visitor Center, which is about 85 miles south of town. Park in the Visitor Center parking area. Park here; this is the trailhead.

The Hike

From the Hole-in-the-Wall Visitor Center parking lot (Table 1; Waypoint 01), the route passes a picnic table and starts up towards an obvious cleft in the cliffs. The route, however, bypasses the obvious cleft because the cliffs are too high, and instead runs up through the next cleft in the cliffs to the left.

Atop the first band of cliffs (Wpt. 02), the route angles back into the main drainage (above the obvious cleft) and follows the wash uphill. A band of cliffs is passed at a low pour-over (Wpt. 03) in the wash.

The next band of low cliffs is passed left of the wash, and this brings hikers onto a saddle (Wpt. 04) with nice views south to a working cattle ranch in Wild Horse Canyon and north to the campground.

From the saddle (Wpt. 04), the route turns west and runs up the steep hillside where hikers will find faint use-trails aiming for a cleft in the ridgeline above and left of the peak. After climbing the steep hillside, the route passes another band of cliffs in a rocky gully that suddenly ends (Wpt. 05) when hikers look down the west-facing cliffs.

Carefully turning north on the narrow ridgeline, hikers can scramble onto higher ledges. On the east face of the peak, ledges run a short distance to grand views overlooking the campground. Ledges on the west face lead all the way around to the north side of the peak.

Return to the trailhead by retracing the route, always using care when high enough to fall and get hurt.