Elliot Mine Trail

Nestled within California's Jacumba Wilderness, just over a mile north of the U.S./Mexico border, lies a four-wheel-drive trail with some historical treasures waiting to be explored. Smugglers' Cave, reached by a short hiking trail, is a man-made shelter with ties to early 19th century Native Americans as well as Mexican banditos of the early 1900s. Today, it is a welcoming, shaded resting place for Mexican immigrants braving the trek to the United States. At the end of the trail is the abandoned Elliot Mine which sits atop Tahe Peak. Tahe Peak provides an astounding vista of the granitic rocky oasis known as Valley of the Moon Wilderness as well as views of the Salton Sea and Mexico.