Johnny Lang Grave

Located about 100 miles west of Riverside, CA, the Johnny Lang Grave in Joshua Tree National Park provides mystery and intrigue to the backcountry of the national park.

The dying legend of Johnny Lang alleges that the miner embezzled money from the Lost Horse Mine and buried the gold somewhere in the surrounding area. When he trekked back to his buried cache while ill, a snow storm approached, so Lang stopped to take cover and rest on the trail. He fought the illness for several days before succumbing to death. After Lang failed to reappear, his friends started a search party. They found his body and buried him in the spot where he died along the trail, wrapped in his sleeping bag.

Bill Keys, the last remaining miner to remember Johnny Lang and who years later built a monument on the grave, claims to know the whereabouts of the gold. However, any gold found will belong to the United States Government, since it is on U.S. property. The monument is located about 3 miles south of Cap Rock on the right side of the rock going to Salton View.

Joshua Tree National Park is located within 50 miles of other tourist attractions, such as Empire Polo Club, General Patton Memorial Museum, and a couple of casinos.