Saline Valley Road – Death Valley

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Death Valley, Death Valley nATIONAL pARK, Saline Valley, overland trails, over land trails, off road trails, off-road, off-roading, overland adventure, off-road adventure, vehicle supported adventure,

GPS	N 36 19.84′ W117 42.84′
Elevation	1000-7,600 ft
Season	Year round: best Oct.-May although higher elevations may be closed due to snow. Call:760-786-3200 for weather info
Terrain	Packed dirt, sand in places, washboard
Difficulty	washboard, packed dirt, long distance with no facilities and possible harsh weather condions
Required Vehicle	High clearance 2 or 4 wheel drive
Time	5.5 hours
Length	91.4 miles — 78.8 unpaved

Directions: Saline Valley Road starts at California 190, 9.5 miles east of the intersection with CA 136. It ends at California 168, 2.5 miles east of Big Pine and the intersection with US 395.

Site Location and Descripton: Saline Valley Road is one of the most remote locations overland in California. This desert basin in Death Valley National Park is surrounded by rugged mountains on all sides. It contains a wonderful Joshua tree forest (8 miles in at Lee Flat), a salt marsh, sand dunes, and a warm spring. This valley gives the overland adventurer amazing views of both the Inyo Mountains and, if you choose to set up your primate overland camp there, a fantastic array of brilliant stars in the night sky. This is truly a peaceful and beautifully unique destination on your journey through Death Valley.

History of Saline Valley: Saline Valley is best known for it’s salt and borax mining operations. Borax was discovered there in 1974 and was mined there from the late 1880’s through the early 1900’s. Salt was mined there at the same time as well but did not become a major concern until 1903. The need to transport the salt to the ferry and railroad on the western side of the Inyo Mountains for shipment across what was then Owens Lake led to the development of the salt tramway. It was constructed between 1911 and 1913 and ran from the floor of Saline Valley, up and over the Inyo Mountains, to Swansea in the Owen Valley.

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Death Valley-Lost Burro Mine

By

Lori Palmer

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Lost Burro Mine equipment from trail going up to it

GPS	N 36 44.91′ W 117 31.49
Elevation	Approximately 5200 ft
Season	Year round: best Oct.-May
Terrain	Packed dirt, gravely wash
Difficulty	Trail guides indicate a difficulty rating of 2. We found it rocky and washed out (2014/2015)
Required Vehicle	2 or 4 wheel drive. High clearance is best
Time	As long as you like to explore this amazing mine.
Length	1 mile off Hidden Valley road

Directions: Turn-off to Lost Burro Mine trail is 3.1 miles from Tea Kettle Junction on Hidden Valley Road in Death Valley National Park.

Site Location and Description The mine is located a proximately a mile up Lost Burro Gap off of Hidden valley road. Lost Burro Gap is a narrow canyon of tilted, striated rock with a trail that follows a gravelly wash through this short but beautiful gap in Death Valley. Lost Burro mine is on a side trail and is clearly visible from Lost Burro Gap. The site includes extensive mining remains set in a tight, small canyon. There is a miner’s cabin full of interesting mining tools as well as old furniture and cooking utensils, cans etc., an outhouse, and various wooden structures. There are ore bins, various mine openings, and concentrations of equipment, and machinery parts.

The History of Lost Burro Mine In 1907 a prospector named Bert Shively was chasing his burro who had strayed. Bert caught up with his burro in a remote canyon and picked up a rock to throw at him to get his attention only to discover that it was laced with gold. In 1915 the Montana-Tonapah Company built a water powered 5-stamp mill, with water piped in from Burro Spring 8 miles away. The Lost Burro changed hands many times over the years, the most productive years were between 1912-1917. Mining continued sporadically until the mid-1970s.

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Near Death Valley-Rhyolite Ghost Town

By

Lori Palmer

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GPS	N 36°54′14″ W 116°49′45″
Elevation	3,819 ft.
Season	Year round: best Oct.-May
Terrain	Paved road
Difficulty	Easy terrain
Required Vehicle	2 or 4 wheel drive.
Time	1/2 hour from Furnace Creek Visitor Center in Death Valley
Length	35 miles each way.

Directions: Rhyolite is 35 miles east of the Furnace Creek Visitor Center in Death Valley and 4 miles west of the town of Beatty, Nevada on HWY 374.
Site Location and Description Rhyolite ghost town is not within the boundary of Death Valley National Park, but don’t miss it on your adventure in Death Valley because it is one of the beauties of the area. A trip to this ghost town reveals the remnants of Rhyolites glory days. Some walls of the 3 story bank are still intact. You can walk into reminants of the old jail, an old rail car, and a privately owned train depot as well as The Bottle House which was restored by Paramount pictures in January 1925. The ghost town of Rhyolite is both federal and private land.

The History of Rhyolite In 1904 two prospectors, Shorty Harris and E.L. Cross found gold in the quartz on a nearby hill. At that time there was only one other person in the area: Beatty, who lived in a ranch with his family five miles away. Soon the rush was on and several camps were set up including Bullfrog, the Amargosa and a settlement between them called Jumpertown. A townsite was laid out nearby and was named after the silica-rich volcanic rock in the area, rhyolite. There were over 2000 mining claims in the area. The Shoshone mine was the most prosperous and located by the town which made the population grow tremendously. The townsite included a stock exchange and Board of Trade, hotels, schools for 250 students, electric and ice plants, an opera house, a red light district and much more. In 1906 Tom Kelly built a Bottle House out of 50,000 beer and liuor bottles. In 1907 electricity came to the town. After that a mill was built and the Montgomery Shoshone mine became nationally known because Bob Montgomery claimed he could take $10,000 a day in ore from the mine. It was later owned by Charles Schwab, who purchased it in 1906 for somewhere between 2 and 6 million dollars. In October of 1907, the financial panic or the 1907 Banker’s Panic set in and bankruptcies were numerous. Rhyolite was not impervious to this financial melt down and it marked the beginning of the end of Rhyolite. Over the next few years, banks in Rhyolite failed and mines started closing. By 1910 there were only 611 residents left in Rhyolite and on March 14, 1911 the directors closed down the Montgomery Shoshone mine and mill. The light and power was shut off in the town in 1916.

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Lippincott Mine Road – Death Valley National Park

By

Lori Palmer

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Lippincott Mine Road, Death Valley, Death Valley trails, overland trails, off-road trails, over land, overlanding, offroad, off-roading, off-road, vehicle supported adventure, expedition,

GPS	N36 34.78′ W117 28.65′
Elevation	2,000-3,900 ft
Season	Year round: best Oct.-May
Terrain	Loose gravel, large embedded boulders/narrow shelf road
Difficulty	Rugged, moderately to highly challenging depending upon recent weather conditions. Requires careful wheel placement. Trail is not maintained, beware of washouts.
Required Vehicle	High Clearance 4WD
Time	1/2 hour each way
Length	8 miles

Directions to Lippincott Mine Road: Head east out of Saline Valley Road ten miles north of the end of Hidden valley road. The off-road Trail ends at a fork. The graded road on the left is Racetrack road. Keep going east and you enter Lippincott Mine Area.

Site Location and Description: There is no trail marker or signpost for this road, coming from Saline Valley. From Racetrack Playa, there is a sign. This road is not on the map handed out by the rangers when you enter the park. Lippincott Mine Road, also called Ubehebe Road connects Saline Valley Road and Racetrack road. You can get to Saline Valley Road off of State Highway 190, west of Panamint Springs. For the moderately experienced off-road driver, this is a fun road that winds up approximately 2,000 ft and provides the Death Valley adventurer amazing views over the expanse of Saline Valley. Many guide books and on-line magazines describe this climb or descent as treacherous. We travelled it in 2014 and found it mildly challenging and fun. Wheel placement is a priority and we suggest that you do not attempt this road in a standard 2 or 4WD. Due to rocks and imbedded boulders, you will need high clearance. Again, it’s a fun road to drive BUT use caution as this is not a maintained road and even slight rainfall can seriously compromise the safety of this pass. Also know that there are some narrow ledges, which may prove difficult if there is a vehicle coming in the other direction (there are periodic turnouts). When you get to the top of the trail, you can see Lippincott mine on the far side of the canyon. The top of Lippincott Mine Road meets with the end of Racetrack Road and then there is a split off Racetrack that leads to two different parts of the mine and a primitive overland camping area.

History of: The Lippincott Mine Road in Death Valley was one of many working mines in the Ubehebe region. The earliest record of active mining on the lands that now constitute the Lippincott Lead mine was in 1906. According to George Lippincott, Jr., the Lippincott Mine produced and shipped ore during World War I. During the second world war, the Ubehebe area was used for gunnery exercises, closing the mine. By 1946 Lippincott’s Southern Lead Company resumed operations and was producing 2 carloads of lead a week. The mine was stil producing in 1951 and consisted of twelve unpatented claims. With a main tunnel 100 feet west of the mine on a hilside and running a distance of 625 feet long. The mine produced lead, silver and zinc. It closed in 1951.

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Titus Canyon Road – Death Valley

By

Lori Palmer

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Titus Canyon Road, Death Valley, Death Valley trails, overland trails, off-road trails, over land, overlanding, offroad, off-roading, off-road, vehicle supported adventure, expedition,

GPS	N36 51.56 W116 50.70
Elevation	200 ft.- 5,300 ft.
Season	Year round: best Oct.-May
Terrain	Packed dirt, some washboard
Difficulty	Generally graded with some areas containing small imbedded rocks. Canyon can experience flash flooding so check with weather forecast and visitor center if unsure. 760-786-2331
Required Vehicle	Stock SUV or truck.
Time	2.5 hours
Length	25.4 miles East to West travel only

Death Valley- Titus Canyon Start of trai — Titus Canyon- Start of trai

Directions to Titus Canyon Road: This is an east to west travel only off-road trail. It begins from Nevada 374, 6 miles southwest of Beatty in Nevada. Turn west on the graded dirt road sign-posted to Titus Canyon. The road enters Death Valley National Park by crossing the Von Schmidt line, the original boundary between California and Nevada and the present day state line. None of which are marked. The trail ends at a T-intersection with North Highway.

Site Location and Description: The Titus Canyon road is an easy overland trail and although on dirt, rarely is considered true off-roading. It is one of the most popular trails in Death Valley, and for good reason. Views from the highest point are excellent and the drive through the canyon itself are worth it alone. Other points of interest along this trail are the Klare Spring petroglyphs and the Leadfield ghost town. Don’t miss this vehicle supported adventure.

The History of Titus Canyon: Named after the ill fated prospector, Edgar Morris Titus who died of exhaustion and thirst in this area. In 1905, a supposed workable ore area was discovered and Leadfield Mine was quickly established. Unfortunately the demise of the mine was as quick as it was established, lasting less than a year. Today you can see remains of old mine shafts and buildings along with Petroglyphs at Klare Spring. Leadfield was placed on the National register of historic sites in 1975.

Petroglyths Marker Titus Canyon Road	Old mine building Titus Canyon Road	Leadfiled Mine Titus Canyon Death Valley
Leadfield Town Marker Titus Canyon Trail	View fromTitus Canyon Road Death Valley	Titus Canyon Marker Death Valley

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Oriflamme Canyon – Anza Borrego DSP

By

Lori Palmer

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Oriflamme Canyon, Oriflamme Canyon Trail, Anza Borrego, overland trails, over land trails, california overland trails, off-road, overlanding, off-roading, vehicle supported adventure, adventure,

GPS	N 33 00 27.4 W116 27 19.6
Elevation gain	approximately 2,500 ft
Season	Year round: best Oct.-May. There may be snow in the winter.
Terrain	Packed dirt, mildly rocky with some steep switchbacks.
Difficulty	Moderate
Required Vehicle	Stock 4×4 with high clearance.
Time	1 1/2 hours one way
Length	11.1 miles one way

Directions TO Oriflamme Canyon: Go west just north of mile post 27 from Hwy S2 approximately 10 miles south of Hwy 78. The road is well marked and ends up in Banner and Hwy 78.

Site Location and Description: This is a beautiful and really fun, moderately difficult off-road trail to drive. You cross through a remote canyon, traverse some tight switchbacks; a few of which you may need to back up and three-point turn into them with longer wheelbase vehicles. You will need a high clearance vehicle due to some uneven and rocky terrain on this overland trail.

This is a nice afternoon adventure as it has so many varied types of topography and vegetation to feast your eyes on as you drive. The view from the top of the canyon is also spectacular. We didn’t see anyone else while up there and thoroughly enjoyed the desert bloom and peace.

TAP Note: The Pacific Crest Hiking Trail passes through this route at the six-mile point.

The History of Oriflamme Canyon: This overlanding trail was used by Native Americans to traverse in the summer from the blazing arid desert heat to the moderate climate of the Laguna Mountains. It was also the route that Colonel Pedro Fages took in 1772 while searching for army deserters. He was the first European to go to Anza Borrego Desert, survive, and later write about it. In the 1800s cattle ranchers built a rough road through Oriflamme Canyon to move their cattle to summer pasture in the Laguna Mountains.

The name Oriflamme most likely comes from the name of a side-wheel steamship with that name that brought the first miners to the area in 1870 during the Julian gold rush. The first mine in the area was called Oriflamme and soon thereafter the canyon and mountain were called that as well. In the 1850s, Oriflamme Canyon was part of the transcontinental mail route, “The San Antonio and San Diego Mail Line” or “Jackass Mail” because mules were used to transport the mail up the steep road through the canyon.

The Adventure Portal

Saline Valley Road – Death Valley

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Death Valley-Lost Burro Mine

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Near Death Valley-Rhyolite Ghost Town

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Lippincott Mine Road – Death Valley National Park

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Titus Canyon Road – Death Valley

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Oriflamme Canyon – Anza Borrego DSP

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