Palm Springs & the Deserts - California - page 1681

ing bed of salty, mineralized water that's otherworldly in its beauty. Along the way, you
may want to check out narrow Golden Canyon ( MAP GOOGLE MAP ) , easily explored on
a 2-mile round-trip walk, and Devil's Golf Course ( MAP GOOGLE MAP ) , where salt has
piled up into saw-toothed miniature mountains. About 9 miles south of Furnace Creek, the
9-mile, one-way Artists Drive ( MAP GOOGLE MAP ) scenic loop offers 'wow' moments
around every turn; it's best done in the late afternoon when exposed minerals and volcanic
ash make the hills erupt in fireworks of color.
Stovepipe Wells & Around
Stovepipe Wells, about 26 miles northwest of Furnace Creek, was Death Valley's original
1920s tourist resort. Today it has a small store, gas station, ATM, motel, campground and
bar. En route, look for the roadside pull-off where you can walk out onto the powdery,
Sahara-like Mesquite Flat sand dunes ( MAP GOOGLE MAP ) . The dunes are at their
most photogenic when the sun is low in the sky and are especially magical during a full
moon. Across the road, look for the Devil's Cornfield ( MAP GOOGLE MAP ) , full of ar-
row weed clumps. Just southwest of Stovepipe Wells, a 3-mile gravel side road leads to
Mosaic Canyon ( MAP GOOGLE MAP ) , where you can hike and scramble along the
smooth multihued rock walls. Colors are sharpest at midday.
Along Emigrant Canyon Rd
Some 6 miles southwest of Stovepipe Wells, Emigrant Canyon Rd veers off Hwy 190 and
travels south to the park's higher elevations. En route you'll pass the turnoff to Skidoo (
MAP GOOGLE MAP ) , a mining ghost town where the silent movie Greed was filmed in
1923. It's an 8-mile trip on a graded gravel road suitable for high-clearance vehicles only
to get to the ruins and jaw-dropping Sierra Nevada views.
Further south, Emigrant Canyon Rd passes the turnoff for the 7-mile dirt road leading
past the Eureka Mines ( MAP GOOGLE MAP ) to the vertiginous Aguereberry Point
(high-clearance vehicles only), where you'll have fantastic views into the valley and out to
the colorful Funeral Mountains from a lofty 6433ft. The best time to visit is in the late af-
ternoon.
Emigrant Canyon Rd now climbs steeply over Emigrant Pass and through Wildrose
Canyon to reach the charcoal kilns ( MAP GOOGLE MAP ) , a lineup of large, stone,