Yellow Kid Trail

Overview

The Yellow Kid Trail goes through the New Almaden Mine area that was a hub of activity in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, when cinnabar (mercury ore) was mined here. Mercury was extracted from the cinnabar by the Mine Hill Rotary Furnace at this site.<br><br>The Yellow Kid Trail starts at the Wood Road Trail, where the ruins of the old Mine Hill Rotary Furnace are. It is a very wide open trail and intersects the Hidalgo Cemetery Trail after about a tenth of a mile. Views of the unpopulated Santa Cruz Mountains can be seen. At the junction with the Hidalgo Cemetery Trail, to the left, in the distance, the ruins of the on-site mine supervisor's house can be seen. To the right is the site of the old Spanish Town where the Mexican, Spanish, and Chilean miners lived.<br><br>Crossing Hidalgo Cemetery Trail, the trail remains wide and well traveled as it enters terrain covered with thick bushes. After about a quarter of a mile, one arrives at the site of the entrance to the Main Tunnel of the New Almaden Mine. Continuing another few hundred yards, the trail enters thicker woods, and one comes upon the site of the Yellow Kid Tunnel entrance to the New Almaden Mine.<br><br>After the site of the Yellow Kid Tunnel entrance, this trail narrows to a singletrack path. The Yellow Kid Trail then ends at the next central trail junction, after a few hundred more yards. Here it joins Castillero Trail and English Camp Trail.

Trail Stats

Photos

The entrance to the Main Tunnel of the New Almaden Mine was down there in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. This was a cinnaber (mercury ore) mine.

The entrance to the Main Tunnel of the New Almaden Mine was down there in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. This was a cinnaber (mercury ore) mine.

Site of the Yellow Kid Tunnel entrance to the New Almaden Mine, a cinnabar (mercury ore) mine in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

Site of the Yellow Kid Tunnel entrance to the New Almaden Mine, a cinnabar (mercury ore) mine in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

Ruins of the old Mine Hill mine on-site supervisor's home.

Ruins of the old Mine Hill mine on-site supervisor's home.

Ruins of the Mine Hill Rotary Furnace - used to extract mercury from cinnabar in the early 20th century.

Ruins of the Mine Hill Rotary Furnace - used to extract mercury from cinnabar in the early 20th century.

Getting close to the ruins of the Mine Hill Rotary Furnace - used to extract mercury from cinnabar in the early 20th century.

Getting close to the ruins of the Mine Hill Rotary Furnace - used to extract mercury from cinnabar in the early 20th century.

The Castillero Trail offers an interesting perspective into the ruins of the old mine office.

The Castillero Trail offers an interesting perspective into the ruins of the old mine office.

The old English Camp, pictured here, was a town of about 1000 people inhabited by miners and their families in the late 19th and early 20th centuries when nearby mines were active.

The old English Camp, pictured here, was a town of about 1000 people inhabited by miners and their families in the late 19th and early 20th centuries when nearby mines were active.

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