After driving along the Coachella...
After driving along the Coachella Canal, turn left(east) on S301, the Bradshaw Trail, at Siphon 24.
A few months after Abraham Lincoln was elected president, gold was found on the Arizona side of the Colorado River. The site was at La Paz, just north of the present town of Ehrenberg. The well-known frontiersman Pauline Weaver panned $2 or $3 worth of gold flakes and, returning to Fort Yuma, displayed his find in most of the local saloons. This occurred in January 1862, and marked the beginning of the Colorado River gold rush.
By March of that year, rumors of the discovery had reached the pueblos of Los Angeles and San Bernardino, and both towns became alive with excitement. Rumors ran rampant - nuggets as big as potatoes; a bigger strike than Sutter's Mill; and people walking out with hundreds of dollars worth of gold in their pockets. There were serious concerns in Los Angeles that between the Civil War volunteers and the gold rush, the male population of Los Angeles would be depleted.
Dos Palmas Oasis was an important...
Dos Palmas Oasis was an important stop on the Bradshaw Trail. It's off-limits today as it belongs to the Nature Conservancy.
The gold rush was on, but getting to the site proved to be a major problem. The only known route to La Paz was along the Colorado River. The quickest route to Fort Yuma was from Los Angeles by stage, through El Monte, Cucamonga, San Bernardino, Redlands, and Beaumont. Here, the route turned south through Lamb Canyon to Warner's Ranch, then across the desert into Mexico (to avoid the giant sand dunes), and finally to Fort Yuma.
An alternate route, equally rough and just as long, headed north from San Bernardino through Cajon Pass, then east to Fort Mojave on the Colorado River by way of the Mojave Road. From there, it was either a tedious trail south, or for the more fortunate, by barge or steamer down the river.
The trail (S301) is well marked...
The trail (S301) is well marked for most of the way.
The most comfortable but least desirable route for an anxious miner was to board one of the ships that sailed regularly from San Francisco around the tip of Baja California to the mouth of the Colorado River. From there, it was a long trip by steamer and trail to La Paz.
William Bradshaw was an enterprising man who had learned much about California while serving with John C. Fremont, whose expeditions helped assure American conquest of the territory. Bradshaw's name was well known in Southern California when he made his first trip to the gold fields. Recognizing the need to shorten the route to the boomtown of La Paz, Bradshaw saw an opportunity.He decided to establish a passenger and freight route that would connect San Bernardino to the diggings by the shortest and most direct route possible. This was an ambitious plan because at least half of the direct route would be through uncharted desert washes and mountains.
Don't explore south of the...
Don't explore south of the Bradshaw Trail, as this is the northern boundary of the U.S. Navy's Chocolate Mountains bombing and gunnery range.
Realizing that water was the key to any route through the desert, he contacted the only group that might be familiar with water sources. From Chief Cabazon of the Desert Cahuilla Indians, Bradshaw learned the locations of all the springs and water holes along the southern end of the Orocopia and Chuckwalla mountain ranges. Starting at Dos Palmas, which was already a stage stop on a route from San Bernardino to Fort Yuma, and moving east, the following water sources were identified: Canyon Springs, Tabaseco Tanks, Chuckwalla Spring, Mule Spring, and, once in the Palo Verde Valley, the Colorado River.
This route, from Dos Palmas to the Colorado River, later became famous as the Bradshaw Trail. The final road, which covered 180 miles from San Gorgonio Pass to the river, shortened the trip by several days and was soon recognized as the primary route to the gold fields. Water, which made the difference, was abundant compared with other routes through the desert. In only one stretch, the distance between natural watering sources was longer than 35 miles and wells were developed along this stretch.
 A few miles from Clements...  A few miles from Clements Well is the site of the old Canyon Springs stage station. There's nothing left there now, but you can hike to the spring (usually dry) in the canyon to the north. |  Much of the Bradshaw Trail...  Much of the Bradshaw Trail looks the same today as it did when the wagons and stagecoaches were traveling it back in the 1860s. As you drive along in comfort, think back to what it must have been like to travel the trail back then. |  This monolith marks the entrance...  This monolith marks the entrance of Red Canyon from the north. Take the time to explore this interesting side road. |