Overview
Black Butte is part of the Chuckwalla Mountain Range and it is the high-point in the Chuckwalla Wilderness. The Chuckwalla Mountains and Little Chuckwalla Mountains rise out of the rocky sand south of Interstate 10 east of the Coachella Valley and west of the Colorado River.
The two Wilderness Areas that encompass the Chuckwallas and the Little Chuckwallas are the: 28,019 acre Little Chuckwalla Mountains Wilderness and the 80,770 acre Chuckwalla Mountains Wilderness.
The terrain in the Wilderness areas consists of steep-walled canyons, washes, and rock outcrops surrounded by the vast desert. Wildlife in the areas include jack rabbits, bighorn sheep, mule deer, coyote, desert tortoise, and mountain lion. The areas have been identified as a critical desert tortoise area. Vegetation includes Ocotillo, cholla, yucca, nolina, creosote, barrel cactus, and Ironwood trees.
Corn Springs in the Chuckwalla Mountains Wilderness is a Cahuilla Indian sacred site and contains petroglyphs. Other Native American artifacts in the Chuckwalla Wilderness include pictographs, intaglios, rock shelters and village sites.
Another fine desert peak in the area is Chuckwalla Mountain (3,446'), which is the high-point of the Little Chuckwalla Mountains Wilderness.
The Chuckwallas are also just north of the Chocolate Mountain Gunnery Range - the boundary is clearly marked.
The summit of Black Butte has tons of old batteries on it. Does anyone know what they were used for???
Getting There
From Indio, California take Interstate 10 east and exit at Red Cloud Road about 9 miles east of Chiriaco Summit.
From the exit drive south on an very good dirt road (C032) and pass under the high power transmission lines.
0.7 miles after the power transmission lines bear right at a junction and travel 0.85 miles to a fork.
Bear left at the fork and follow light duty powerlines on your left and railroad tracks on your right for 0.15 of a mile to a fork.
At the fork bear left (lower road) and follow the power lines 0.95 of a mile to a fork.
At the fork bear right and follow the road 0.85 of a mile to the junction with the unsigned Gas Line Road (easy to identify because of the Gas Line signs along the road). Turn right onto Gas Line Road and follow it for 7.7 miles until you reach the Bradshaw Trail.
At the Bradshaw Trail turn left and drive 6.8 miles to a faint dirt road (this road is easy to miss and the intersection is hidden because of the berms from the grading of the Bradshaw Trail).
Turn left on the faint dirt road and take it as far as you can. Hopefully, you'll be able to drive down the road 3.7 miles but you'll probably need 4WD and high-clearance to get further than 2.4 miles on this road.
Park where you can.
Road conditions:
Gas line Road - Good dirt road but sandy in places.
Bradshaw Road - Very good dirt road
Faint dirt road (last 3.7 miles) - rocky and in fair condition until the last 1.3 miles then it is in poor condition.
Red Tape
Permits are not required. The wilderness areas are managed by BLM and the local field office is in Palm Springs, California:
BLM - Palm Springs South Coast Field Office
690 W. Garnet Ave,
P.O. Box 581260
North Palm Springs, CA 92258-1260
Field Manager - Gail Acheson
Phone (760) 251- 4800
Fax (760) 251- 4899
Link to the BLM Website:
BLM Palm Springs
When To Climb
November until April is the best time to climb Black Butte. The rest of the year is just too hot.
Camping
Corn Springs Campground is a developed campground that you an stay at. To reach the campground:
From Interstate 10, take the Corn Springs Exit and turn south. At the end of the road take a left. You will see the sign of Corn Springs Campground. The campground is located 10 miles from Interstate 10. Two-wheel drive passenger vehicles can reach the campground.
The Corn Springs Campground is located in a canyon of the Chuckwalla Mountains. There is a palm oasis at the campground and because Corn Springs was a major occupation site of prehistoric Native American Indian groups there are petroglyphs near the campground. There are nine camp sites including one group site is available with tables, grills, potable water, and shade ramadas. Handicap accessible vaulted toilets are also available in this campground.
PRIMATIVE CAMPING: Primitive camping is permitted in the Wilderness areas and is limited 14 days. After 14 days, campers must relocate at least 25 miles from previous site. There are lots a good places to pull off the backcountry roads and camp. If you're going to have a campfire, try to use a site that already has a fire ring set up.
Mountain Conditions
See the red tape section for information on how to contact the BLM Field Office.
Miscellaneous Info
A good guide to buy if you're interested in checking out some of the desert peaks is the Desert Peak Guide put out by the Sierra Club's Desert Peak Section.
Here' s a link to information on purchasing the DPS Guide:
Desert Peak Section Road and Peak Guide
External LinksImages
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