Cottonwood Spring/Morten's Mill Site Trail

The mini-oasis at Cottonwood Spring is not natural; the cottonwoods were planted by settlers in the late 19^th century and the palms even later in the 1920s.  However, the spring was used for centuries by the Cahuilla Indians before the prospectors and homesteaders arrived.

It is .4 mile down a wash from Cottonwood Spring to the site of Morten's Mill.  To gain access to the mill, the miners built a ramp around a set of huge boulders which blocked the wash.  The ramp is massive and steep, so that moving loaded wagons up and down it would not have been easy.  Not much remains of the mill, so finding the rusty fender seen in this picture took some hunting.

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