Up in the Queen Valley of Joshua Tree National Park, near the Ryan Campground lies the ruins of the Ryan Ranch. An actual working cattle ranch from the 1890′s to about 1919, it’s now a silent reminder of days long gone when cowboys herded cattle and fought off rustlers in the high desert.
Found just off the main park blvd a quarter mile past the Ryan Campground turnoff, the ranch trail is identified by a sign located in a handy parking pull-off.
The trail is an easy half mile stroll through the cactus scrub, Yucca trees and bushes to a group of large boulders that mark the entrance to the old home site.
Upon turning the corner where the gate once stood, one is brought to the faded and sun-bleached adobe walls of the actual Ryan ranch house. Talk about cool!
Nestled amongst the picturesque boulders, the old adobe walls look like something out of an old Hollywood movie set, but these are the real deal! The Ryan family were a hardy bunch of pioneers who tried ranching cattle in the Queen Valley back when rustlers and thieves still roamed the desert. In fact, down the road is the Hidden Valley Campground, which was a secluded little rock-enclosed area that rustlers used to pen cattle stolen from the lower Coachella Valley back in the 1800′s!
There are numerous remnants and reminders of the cattle business still laying about the ranch. Here is a large water trough for livestock.
The large prop/fan from the windmill that pumped the water from the parched ground still lays half-buried in the dirt.
The base of the old windmill tower and storage tank nearby.
But there are also reminders of people that came after the Ryans had given up ranching and left the area after it proved too hard to make a go of it by the 1920′s. This old tractor engine lies rusting in the hot desert sun.
In places you can still find posts and strands of barbed wire that enclosed the ranch site and small outbuildings (a few which still stand dotted about the hills behind the main ranch house).
If you’re out and about in the Queen Valley area of Joshua Tree National Park, you owe it to yourself to take an hour and visit the Ryan Ranch, a vivid reminder of the days when hardy souls dreamed of making the desert pay and fought the elements for basic survival.
Enjoy!
JTCamping
PS – If you’re camping at the Ryan Campground the ranch is located a short walk to the East of the camping area on a well-worn dirt trail. It makes for a nice stroll around sundown during “magic hour”.
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