Last week we took a weekend road trip to Death Valley to kayak on Badwater Basin’s temporary & ancient Lake Manly ( [ Ссылка ] ), and on our way home we made a stop at a truly unique and geological wonder. Join me today as we explore the otherworldly Trona Pinnacles in the California Desert Conservation Area just outside of Death Valley National Park.
This is a perfect stop when taking a road trip from Los Angeles to Death Valley National Park. This BLM land is filled with unique rock formations that have been used as a filming location for many TV shows, commercials & movies, and currently there are wildflowers blooming.
Located in the Searles Dry Lake basin about a half hour east of Ridgecrest, CA and an hour south of the Panamint Valley entrance to the national park, Trona Pinnacles makes for the perfect add-on to any Death Valley road trip from Los Angeles. Just south of the town of Trona you’ll find a clearly marked turnoff with signs placed by the Bureau of Land Management along SR-178. The road from here is all dirt & gravel, and it can be quite sketchy if you don’t have a high clearance vehicle. Four wheel drive is not necessary on this entrance road, but I would be hesitant to bring a low clearance sedan on this road. The Kia Sorento we had last weekend handled it without any issues. This access road can be muddy in areas and will even close as a result of weather at times, especially during the winter months.
Just a 3 hour drive from Los Angeles and 4 hours from Las Vegas, you can plan a short pit stop to stretch your legs here as part of a Death Valley day trip, or plan an overnight camping trip to see the stars! The Trona Pinnacles offer a mesmerizing backdrop for adventure and exploration. Photographers, nature enthusiasts, hikers, and off-roaders will all be spellbound by the rugged beauty of the tufa formations found here.
Trona Pinnacles might not be well known for wildflower superblooms, but when this desert landscape gets abundant winter precipitation, the landscape can fill with vibrant colors in the early Spring. Currently the middle pinnacles walking loop is lined with striking yellow Desert Gold (Geraea canescens) blooms and rich purple hues of Desert Sand Verbena (Abronia Villosa). While it’s still too early in the season to tell if we will get a true “superbloom” here this Spring, the current wildflower conditions are already lovely and worthy of a visit in my opinion. Most years the wildflowers peak in March/April in California’s Mojave Desert and only last for a few weeks before the warm dry weather causes them to fade for the season.
For more information on visiting this geological wonder, visit my full Trona Pinnacles blog post at:
[ Ссылка ]
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