Came out to ride the dunes…read more Stayed two nights and overall experience was the dunes are small. It was windy, but there's plenty of parking and you can't get lost. Get your parking permit as you enter the parking Sanddune area and don't forget to pick up your trash. Have fun.

Beautiful playground for those on dirt bikes, four wheelers, side-by-side's, and more. If you like…read moreto have fun with your toys this is a place to let loose and get wild in the sand. There's a flat rate to get into the area, you can park pretty much wherever you want except on the dunes, there are a few out houses scattered around the site but the area is very remote and desolate. If you're staying longer than a few hours make sure you have plenty of supplies and water. I went out with the 4 x 4 truck but it weighs so much I would sink into the sand so we drove around the perimeter watched other people have fun and climbed up a few Sandune's to take pictures. Even though we were only there for a few hours it was absolutely worth it to be able to drive on and around such large sand dunes For those that have off-road toys it's an absolute must visit place!!

Yes, there's a waterfall in the middle of the desert! What an incredible hike. The hike begins at…read morethe China Ranch Farm parking lot, where the China Ranch Trail starts. Clear signs along the way help guide you, and you can also pick up a map at the China Ranch Date Farm store. Be sure to bring plenty of water and snacks to stay hydrated, and always remember to leave no trace. The waterfall was absolutely stunning, such a cool and unexpected sight. A truly great hike! Highly recommend!

I highly recommend using the information and mile markers outlined in the Moon Death Valley travel…read morebook, without this detailed information I don't think we would have found the mine! There are some carins that help mark they way, but they can be easy to miss because there is so much rock all around. We actually didn't see the carins that mark the first turn off until we came back! The elevation gain for this hike is about 1,200 feet in a little over 2 miles to the mine. It is pretty slow going due to all the scree and there is also quite a bit of scrambling up and down over larger rocks. There, back, and exploring the hike took us 3.75 hours. Overall the canyon hike is cool, but there are cooler canyons in Death Valley. The real treat is the mine destination and getting to explore. There are some "signs" that you are on the right track, pressed wood, old cans, a lookout tower, etc, so keep lookout for them as you hike up the canyon. The old mine and mine camp are pretty cool to look through as they are pretty untouched. There is a Hantavirus Advisory posted (transmitted by rodents) so be sure not to touch or disturb the camp. While you're there be sure to sign the log book located in the refrigerator next to the stove. Very cool destination hike. Remote location, we didn't see one car from the time we passed Badwater Basin until we left and were driving back; there is no cell phone signal. Be sure to be prepared with food, water and emergency supplies!

The staff at Shoshone Campground tipped us off to this great hike close to the Shoshone High School…read more(just a quick walk from the campground). The trail is relatively well-marked and I would rank it as an easy hour-long walk. The Dublin Gulch houses built into the limestone hillsides near the end of the hike were definitely a highlight of this trail.

This could have been a five star hike. Unfortunately, some parts of the hike were clearly marked…read moreand then the trails would disappear, leaving us to guess where to go. It's in the back of the Death Valley High School in Shoshone, Ca. And parts of the hike were through bushy shrubs that poke your legs. I'd recommend wearing pants and good hiking shoes. We went in the later afternoon and after getting lost, fortunately saw a hiker who looked like a local and knew where he was going. We took his path back and found our exit out. Whew! The views are stunning, and peaceful with nobody around you. I would be careful though I'm hiking alone, and bring lots of water and sunscreen- there is no shade and you're at elevated heights throughout the hike exposing you to the sun quite fiercely. We saw a couple of jackrabbits on our hike and luckily saw no rattlesnakes or coyotes.

I want to thank the guy who works at the Crowbar, and works for the Conservancy, who told us about…read moreall of the hiking trails in Shoshone. We have been here so many times and never know about these trails. We hikes them all, and they are all so worth it. The trail that starts behind the Crowbar connects with two others and makes up for one GREAT hike that comes out across the road from the Shoshone Campground. The other trail starts beside Death Valley High School and goes way back into the Shoshone Badlands and comes out between the Shoshone Cemetery and the Dublin Gulch. Awesome hikes, and thanks to the Amargosa Conservancy!

I have many friends buried here. I believe that all of the people who are buried here felt the…read morepower of the place, spiritual for healing the soul, as well as the Hot Springs for healing the body. I have been told by several knowledgeable people from Sedona AZ, that it has the same powerful vortex as Sedona has. I also know that there was a burial site on the other side of Amargosa River SE of the Post Office, miners lived in caves there and made the caves into homes. The site is lost now but I saw the remnants of the homes and believe it is possible. Please visit our town and enjoy the beauty of this place.

It's quite weird to write a review for a cemetery as a viewer, but here it is. I have been to…read moreTecopa many times and I find the area to not only be fascinating, but a beautiful place. I loved visiting the Tecopa cemetery because it was this amazing, beautiful and peaceful place. One thing that I really envy about the desert people is that they really try and go for the more natural burial. i think it is a beautiful thing to bury your loved ones on the top of hills and in a more 'natural" site. This vemetery is beautiful.

This is one of my most favorite places in the world, a lovely, meditative stroll more than a…read morechallenging hike. Beautifully re-wilded native plants and trees lead you up a shady trail alongside that most rare treasure, a flowing stream in the desert. There's a meditative pond at the top, home to endangered Shoshone pupfish and sometimes visited by a remarkable array of water fowl and others on migratory journeys.

A very short walk from the wonderful Shoshone Campground, the pupfish pond hiking trail is a very…read moreshort, more accessible walk than some of the other more challenging hikes in DV park. It's also a testament to those who made it possible for the pupfish to thrive when they were on the brink of extinction.

If you love Death Valley history and lore, this is a must see spot for you! We stopped here along…read morethe way from Russel's Cabin headed towards Furnace Creek, and ended up spending extra time checking out all the cool buildings, the cool water spring, and swimming pool! Be mindful of stirring up dust inside the structures, as the threat of hantavirus is real. Lots of evidence of rodents here, but still worth the risk. There are interpretive panels that discuss the history of the property, as detailed in the previous review. Our favorite part of exploring this area was the mining equipment and kitchen area of the ranch house. The smoke trees shade much of the buildings, and it was cooler here than other areas of the park. To the east of the buildings you can see a mine, cut deep into the hillside. We didn't explore that area this time, but will for sure on our next visit. Driving in we did see several burros as well, a special treat for my wife who is a huge fan of the furry desert dwellers. Be sure to check out the old empty swimming pool that is on the north side of the main building. You can almost hear the echoes of swimmers from the desert past, enjoying a break from the baking sun to relax in it's once cool waters. We stopped for a group photo here in the shallow end of the pool, a great spot to set your camera's self timer! Inside one of the rooms there is a very nice stone fireplace, that looked recently used. In the same room we also discovered poker chips and a couple of beer bottles...desert poker anyone? This spot is just one of the must see's of Death Valley's immense mining history, and from what we read this spot was the most prolific in production at it's hey day. Don't miss this really cool area as you drive through to other DV locales!

Mining in Death Valley got its start in the 1849 Gold Rush, when prospectors were scouring…read moreCalifornia for the bright yellow ore and the instant wealth it promised. The vaguest of rumors would bring hordes of miners, merchants, swindlers, and criminals flooding into an area, only to abandon it overnight when another rumor surfaced elsewhere. Most of the 50-plus ghost towns in Death Valley date from this period. Some others, like Warm Springs, are more modern. These came out of the search for the less glamorous talc and borax deposits found here by tough pioneers like Louise Grantham. In the 1930s, Louise bought the Gold Hill Mine on the west side of Death Valley and established the Warm Springs Mining Camp. Louise brought in 50 miners and mined talc here until her death in the 1950s. After her, the Pfizer Company took over, finally abandoning the area in 1982. Today, the camp that Louise built is almost perfectly intact. Apart from the mine shafts, the remains include the main building, a bunkhouse, three varieties of ore crushers, and a swimming pool. Warm Spring still bubbles up out of the ground above the camp most of the year. Everything looks exactly the way it did in Louise's day. The Mitchell Scale measures roads from I to IV according to the difficulty of access. The unmarked road up to Warm Springs is Class I (light SUV) and II (4-wheel drive). Beyond the camp, it degenerates to Class III (difficult) all the way up to the Mengel Pass and the crest of the Panamint Mountains, and then Class IV (military 4WD) down Goler Wash to Barker Ranch, where Charles Manson hid out with his family in 1969. There are definitely more accessible ghost towns in Death Valley, but none are more intact or more evocative of the eccentric people who sought their fortunes here.