This short trail heads out to the site of the Elton Mine (originally called the Lucky Boy and the Elltun) and the fantastic Lucky Boy Vista. The trail follows the old mine road out to the mine and then returns via a wash.
There isn't anything left of the Elton Mine. The NPS has reclaimed the site; the buildings have been removed, mine shafts gated, and even the mine dumps have been flattened out. Still, this is an interesting and scenic hike to do along with the Desert Queen. It has a great view and a bit of mining history.
Thomas Munro and John Robinson located the Lucky Boy mining claim on July 7, 1922, in what would later become Joshua Tree National Park. The claim changed hands a few times over the years before landing with Wilfred Tunstall, who gained ownership on July 22, 1940. Tunstall shipped around twenty tons of rock from the mine to the Stuebner Mill in Barstow. However, assays showed the rock was too low a grade to recover any gold profitably. The mill charged $20 per ton to process the ore, exceeding the value of Tunstall's ore. Thus, no money was made from these milling attempts.
Historical photos of the Lucky Boy (Elton) Mine. July 1967. Courtesy of the NPS
When surveyed by the NPS in 1973, the buildings were gone, and only a wooden structure and the remains of a stone and concrete house remained. The mine had four vertical shafts, each approximately 50 feet deep, with some lateral drifts.
My photos are from 2016 and 2017.
