Main Index
West ♦ North ♦ East ♦ South
(2D images exclusively on this Index page. Click Photos to Enlarge.)
LOST HORSE VALLEY is the large valley encompassing Lost Horse Road formations, sweeping southeast as far as Key’s Point, five miles south of Cap Rock. The main points covered in the current Galleries all are in the northern portion of this valley. Following the lead of author and rock-climbing professional, Robert Miramontes, I am breaking this area into three distinct groups: the West Side (Valley), the North Side (Lost Horse Road), and the East Side (Roadside Rocks that are bisected by Park Boulevard).
Lastly, the final 4 miles of Lost Horse Valley, what I call The Uplands, flanks Keys View Road as the valley floor slowly rises from 4262ft elevation (at Cap Rock) to 5154ft elevation at Keys View parking lot. Scenic views, unpopulated by visitors for the most part, this is a serene area in which to explore or to just sit on a rock and enjoy your lunch or an afternoon snack.
The remarkable, often majestic features of Lost Horse Valley can be approached from (1) Lost Horse Road, (2) one of numerous Park Boulevard turnouts, (3) Hemingway parking lot, or (4) the Hidden Valley parking area as well as (at the southern extreme) via the Keys View Road which splits from Park Boulevard at the iconic Cap Rock area.
On this Page will be found 2D images exclusively, highlighting the various named formations and scenery. More detailed 2D & 3D Galleries can be found using the following links:
- Houser Buttress • Zombie Woof • Miles of Piles
- Blue Nubian Wall • Arid Piles
- Jimmy Cliff • Mt. Grossvogel • Cockroach Crags
- Poetry Rock
- Aiguille de Joshua Tree • Uncle Remus
- Beetle Buttress • Lloyd’s Rock • Atlantis
- Super Creeps Wall • Super Heroes Wall
- View of Ranger Station area
- Lost Horse & Freeway Walls
- To Ranger Station via Super Heroes Wall
- Ranger Station Wall
- Views of Lost Horse Valley West and North
- Ranger Station Picnic Area
- Hill Street Blues
- S-Crack Formation
West ♦ Lost Horse Valley 7 (pending)
- Candlestein Pass
- The Protozoan
- The Amoeba
- Pet Rock • Jellystone
- Brian’s Crag • Lizard’s Hangout
- Roadside Rock • Mel’s Diner • Bush Dome
- Granny Goose
- Left Hand of Darkness (part of Granny Goose)
- Ken Black Memorial Dome • Mindless Mound
- Banana Cracks Formation
North ♦ Lost Horse Valley 3 ♦ Hemingway Area
- Hemingway Buttress • Copenhagen Wall
- I.R.S. Wall • Dairy Queen Wall
- Playhouse Rock
- Filipino Wall
- Freeway Wall • Lost Horse Wall
- Rock Garden Valley • Imaginary Voyage
- The Mile Post • The Cathouse
- Poon Dome • Pep Boy’s Crag • Dihedral Rock
- East and West faces
- Glory Dome • The Swidgeteria
- Lost in the Shuffle • Found in the Duffle
- Jam or Slam Rock
(Listed also as Hidden Valley Campground ♦ Outback West Part 2)
- The Aviary • Watts Towers • X-Factor Dome
- The Heap • Labor Dome • Hit Man Rock
- The Uplands
- Johnny Lang Gravestone
See Also:
Hidden Valley Camground ♦ Outback West Part 1
Lost Horse Valley ♦ West
The view north, east and southward is best achieved from the western edge opposite Jimmy Cliff. I shot these in mid-afternoon. Click to Enlarge.
- Super Creeps area, far left. View from Ranger Station hillside area
Houser Buttress to Jimmy Cliff
(Hover mouse over image to see caption)
Aiguille de Joshua Tree to Atlantis
Super Creeps Area
Lost Horse Ranger Station Area ♦ Super Creeps to Ranger Station Wall & S Crack Formation
Lost Horse Valley ♦ North
Jellystone to Mel’s Diner
Ken Black Memorial Dome to Banana Cracks
Lost Horse Wall & Freeway Wall
- Lost Horse Wall
- Lost Horse Wall, south end
Hemingway to Playhouse Rock
Roadside Rocks
The Mile Post to Dihedral Rock
- The Mile Post
- Pep Boys, approach from Park Blvd.
- Poon Dome (L) and The Cathouse
- Poon Dome, viewed from the southern end
Glory Dome to Shuffle/Duffle
Lost Horse Valley ♦ South, The Uplands

Lost Horse Valley, southern uplands area far right. The famous Cap Rock is the nearest inselberg left of center
I hope you enjoy your journey through the various Lost Horse Valley Galleries, there is much to see here, plenty to do, hours where you can while away a lazy afternoon at Joshua Tree National Park.
John Murbach
Temple City, California
Posted 2015 Nov 25
Updated 2017 Nov 5