the Panamint Mountains,
the survivors slaughtered
their oxen and burned
their wagons near what
today is the Mesquite
Flat. Get out of the car to
hike up and down across
the rolling field of sand
dunes that look like a
mini Sahara.
The Drive » You can fill up
the gas tank and buy food and
drinks at Stovepipe Wells Village,
2 miles further west along Hwy
- Heading west, you’ll pass
the side road to Mosaic Canyon
on your left before reaching
Emigrant Canyon Rd after 9
miles. Turn left and start winding
uphill toward Emigrant Pass.
6 Emigrant &
Wildrose Canyons
Faced with no other
choice, the ’49er pioneers
eventually walked out
of torturous Death
Valley over Emigrant
Pass. As they left, one
woman reputedly looked
back and fatalistically
uttered the words:
‘Good-bye, death valley.’
Later pioneers flooded
back when gold was
discovered in Death
Valley, including at
Skidoo, a boomtown that
went bust in the early
20th century, and where
the influential silent
movie Greed was filmed
in 1923. Nothing remains
of the ghost townsite
today. Farther south, the
ruined Eureka Mine is en
route to vertigo-inducing
Aguereberry Point,
where you can see the
Funeral Mountains and
the parched valley spread
out below. Both of these
side trips travel on rough,
rutted dirt roads (high-
clearance 4WD vehicles
recommended). Turn left
onto Wildrose Canyon Rd
to reach the abandoned
charcoal kilns. Built in
the 1876, these beehive-
shaped kilns made the
fuel miners needed to
process Death Valley’s
silver and lead ore. The
landscape is subalpine,
with forests of piñon pine
and juniper; it can be
covered with snow, even
in spring.The Drive » Backtrack
downhill, turning left at the
intersection with Emigrant
Canyon Rd onto Wildrose
Canyon Rd, which snakes
through a flash-flood zone (don’t
attempt this road except during
dry weather). At Panamint
Valley Rd, turn right and drive
north to Hwy 190, then turn left.
The longer all-weather route
is to backtrack down Emigrant
Canyon Rd to Hwy 190, then
turn left for the 22-mile drive to
Panamint Springs.7 Panamint Springs
At the park’s far western
edge, Panamint Springs
is a remote base camp.
In spring, you can drive
the 2-mile graded gravel
road, followed by a mile-
long cross-country hike,
to Darwin Falls, where
a hidden natural-spring
cascade plunges into a
gorge, embraced by shady
willows and migratory
birds. Or get more
adventurous and follow
roughshod Saline Valley
Rd out to Lee Flat, where
Joshua trees thrive. Or
play it safe and stay on
the paved highway 6
miles west of Panamint
Springs Resort to Father
Crowley Point, which
peers deep into Rainbow
Canyon, created by lava
flows and scattered
with painterly volcanic
cinders.The Drive » Turn around
and drive back downhill east
on Hwy 190. About 7 miles east
of Stovepipe Wells Village, turnTRIP HIGHLIGHT
Start: 4 Furnace Creek
For spectacular valley views across Death Valley’s
golden badlands eroded into waves, pleats and
gullies, drive 3.5 miles east of the Furnace Creek
Inn on Hwy 190 to Zabriskie Point. Escape the
valley’s midday heat or catch a memorable sunset
by continuing up to Dante’s View. There you can
simultaneously view the highest (Mt Whitney) and
lowest (Badwater) points in California. The 22-mile
drive takes about 1½ to two hours round-trip.DANTE’S VIEW
DETOUR:
SOUTHERN.CALIFORNIA..32
.LIFE IN DEATH VALLEY