Happy New Year’s Day: Field Trip From Las Vegas To Death Valley For Full Day Of Inspiring Landscape Stops
By Alan Snel, LVSportsBiz.com Publisher-Writer
DEATH VALLEY, California — One the first day of the new year, it was all quiet at the Keane Wonder Mine.
I have never heard of a mine with the word, “Wonder,” in it, so on my Jan. 1 visit to Death Valley’s Beatty Cutoff Road, which heads to Daylight Pass Road and, yes, Beatty, I was lured to hike to this mine that dated back to 1907 in the hills rimming this amazing below-sea level valley.
It was truly a wonder because an aerial tram system was built to move 70 tons of gold ore during peak production from 1907-1911 before the mine was shuttered in 1942.
I parked my car on the road’s dirt shoulder, took my hiking sticks and hoofed a roundtrip of nearly nine miles to see the remnants up close. In the late morning, I saw a pickup truck head out as I walked the dirt road and met a family from Los Angeles who were walking down a steep hill along the mine.
The hiking conditions were fine — probably about 60 degrees with a slight breeze and some clouds filtering the sunlight.
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Then it time to drive back to the Furnace Creek Visitor Center and a left turn on California 190 to head to the 20 Mule Team Canyon dirt road for some Surly Pugsley time.
It’s 2.5 miles of biking on an unpaved road that runs parallel to 190 amid the badlands terrain.
It was a slight uphill before the dirt road curls back to the 190 artery that heads to Death Valley Junction and eventually Pahrump.
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A right turn off California 190 and 13 miles of driving up to 5,575 feet to Dante’s View is well worth the time.
There’s a safe dirt trail to follow along the ridge from the parking lot when you get to the top.
The views are fire of Death Valley and Badwater Road below. You can actually see the the cars moving on segments of the road more than 5,000 feet below.
The last quarter mile to reach the parking lot is steep, about a 16 percent grade.
The landscape is downright wild and serene at the same time.
It’s easily the most underrated day trip out of Las Vegas.
And I’ll take Death Valley over the Strip a hundred times in a hundred chances.
Happy 2025 and New Year’s Day
