Eureka Mine Site: Fascinating ruins from Pete Aguereberry’s 40 years of mining.
Visited on March 27, 2016; reviewed on May 14, 2016 See this review on TripAdvisor.
Death Valley National Park, California
The Eureka Mine site is a very interesting piece of the mining history in Death Valley and pretty easy to visit as it is just a short drive along the Aguereberry Point Road (less than 1.5 miles from the junction with the Emigrant Canyon Road). This makes a great additional stop on the drive to Aguereberry Point or just by itself (in case you don’t think you can make it to Aguereberry Point in your vehicle; check at the Death Valley visitor center for road conditions).
Our stop at Eureka Mine was not on our original itinerary. We decided to come up this way based on the advice of some Death Valley regulars who we met while hiking in Golden Canyon. They said that the view from Aguereberry Point was not to be missed, and that they had visited just the day before and had to place to themselves. They also said that the road was in the best shape that they had ever seen it. So we added that to our plan. On the drive out to the point, we spotted some of the remains of the mine site and decided to take the short side road leading to the mine. This driveway to the mine is a narrow but fortunately we did not meet any other cars as there is really no place for two cars to pass.
This was a very interesting stop. The mine site is mostly on a little hill known as Providence Ridge where the Eureka Mine was dug and processing facilities built. There were still a few relics lying about and the remains of a few structures. Trails crisscrossed the area allowing up close access to most of the interesting items. An interpretive sign near the parking lot provided a little history of the mine as well as some information on the more recent inhabitants in the mine, the endangered Townsend Big-eared Bat that live in the mine during the winter months.
The short story of the history is that the Pete Aguereberry established a claim on the site in 1905 and mined gold here until his death in 1945. It is estimated that he extracted $175,000 worth of gold from the mine. I found a brief historical summary about Pete Aguereberry on the NPS website that I’ve attached here.
We walked around the mine site including up to the top of Providence Ridge. This took us past the remains of the Cashier Mill which was built in 1909 to extract gold by first pulverizing the ore then putting it through a chemical process using mercury and cyanide. We walked around the mill and up the trails to the top. There were clumps up wildflowers along the way; bright red Indian paintbrush and little lavender blooms from another wildflower. We also spotted a few birds (Rock Wrens) and Chuckwallas. The trails were not marked but they were obvious. Pretty easy to follow and in good shape. Obviously some elevation change to get to the top of the low ridge by the trails are not steep at all (less than 100 feet of elevation change from the parking area to the top of the ridge). The views from the top of the ridge were great in all directions. We could also see Aguereberry’s humble homestead from the ridge; a dilapidated collection of small shacks and out buildings. Once back down the at the base of the hill we walked around to the east end of the ridge past the main entrance of the mine and continued on to the north side of the ridge where there were a couple adits and the abandoned hulk of old car. No idea what the car used to be as any distinguishing marks at long since been stripped away and the poor thing had obviously been the main attraction at the shooting gallery for decades as it was riddled with bullet holes. Still it had some photographic interest. We decided not to walk down to Pete’s old camp and instead circled back the way we came and returned to the parking lot and continued our drive to Aguereberry Point.
We only spent about 30 minutes at the mine site but that was plenty to get the lay of the land and see the mining elements of the site. If we had included the homestead we might have added another 15 minutes or so. But it was time well spent at a very interesting historical location.
Visited on March 27, 2016; reviewed on May 14, 2016 See this review on TripAdvisor.
Death Valley National Park, California
The Eureka Mine site is a very interesting piece of the mining history in Death Valley and pretty easy to visit as it is just a short drive along the Aguereberry Point Road (less than 1.5 miles from the junction with the Emigrant Canyon Road). This makes a great additional stop on the drive to Aguereberry Point or just by itself (in case you don’t think you can make it to Aguereberry Point in your vehicle; check at the Death Valley visitor center for road conditions).
Our stop at Eureka Mine was not on our original itinerary. We decided to come up this way based on the advice of some Death Valley regulars who we met while hiking in Golden Canyon. They said that the view from Aguereberry Point was not to be missed, and that they had visited just the day before and had to place to themselves. They also said that the road was in the best shape that they had ever seen it. So we added that to our plan. On the drive out to the point, we spotted some of the remains of the mine site and decided to take the short side road leading to the mine. This driveway to the mine is a narrow but fortunately we did not meet any other cars as there is really no place for two cars to pass.
This was a very interesting stop. The mine site is mostly on a little hill known as Providence Ridge where the Eureka Mine was dug and processing facilities built. There were still a few relics lying about and the remains of a few structures. Trails crisscrossed the area allowing up close access to most of the interesting items. An interpretive sign near the parking lot provided a little history of the mine as well as some information on the more recent inhabitants in the mine, the endangered Townsend Big-eared Bat that live in the mine during the winter months.
The short story of the history is that the Pete Aguereberry established a claim on the site in 1905 and mined gold here until his death in 1945. It is estimated that he extracted $175,000 worth of gold from the mine. I found a brief historical summary about Pete Aguereberry on the NPS website that I’ve attached here.
We walked around the mine site including up to the top of Providence Ridge. This took us past the remains of the Cashier Mill which was built in 1909 to extract gold by first pulverizing the ore then putting it through a chemical process using mercury and cyanide. We walked around the mill and up the trails to the top. There were clumps up wildflowers along the way; bright red Indian paintbrush and little lavender blooms from another wildflower. We also spotted a few birds (Rock Wrens) and Chuckwallas. The trails were not marked but they were obvious. Pretty easy to follow and in good shape. Obviously some elevation change to get to the top of the low ridge by the trails are not steep at all (less than 100 feet of elevation change from the parking area to the top of the ridge). The views from the top of the ridge were great in all directions. We could also see Aguereberry’s humble homestead from the ridge; a dilapidated collection of small shacks and out buildings. Once back down the at the base of the hill we walked around to the east end of the ridge past the main entrance of the mine and continued on to the north side of the ridge where there were a couple adits and the abandoned hulk of old car. No idea what the car used to be as any distinguishing marks at long since been stripped away and the poor thing had obviously been the main attraction at the shooting gallery for decades as it was riddled with bullet holes. Still it had some photographic interest. We decided not to walk down to Pete’s old camp and instead circled back the way we came and returned to the parking lot and continued our drive to Aguereberry Point.
We only spent about 30 minutes at the mine site but that was plenty to get the lay of the land and see the mining elements of the site. If we had included the homestead we might have added another 15 minutes or so. But it was time well spent at a very interesting historical location.
Aguereberry Point: Amazing Views!
Visited March 27, 2016; reviewed May 15, 2016 See this review on TripAdvisor.
Death Valley National Park, California
We made the drive up to Aguereberry Point on advice we received from a couple of Death Valley regulars who we met while hiking through Gower Gulch. They had been at Aguereberry Point just a day or two before and said that the road was in great shape and that they had the place to themselves, but most importantly the views were some of the best in the park. This sounded like something we needed to see.
After spending the morning walking in the Mesquite Flat Sand Dunes the hiking through Mosaic Canyon, we still had time in the afternoon for the drive to Aguereberry Point. The Aguereberry Point Road was in good shape, probably the best dirt road we had been on in the park to that point. It was wide and well maintained with minimal washboard. The road is fairly flat up to the Eureka Mine site (which is worth a short visit as well), then begins to climb. For the most part the road cuts through rolling terrain and is open and wide but there was one stretch that worked through a narrow stretch of rocks and was steep. This was the only part of the drive that was happy to have a little extra ground clearance. The road continue to climb steadily through the rolling hills until rather abruptly reaches the edge of the ridge less than a half mile from the view point. At the point the road climbs steeply along the edge of the ridge up to Aguereberry Point. This is really the only part of the road that could be considered scary for anyone not used to mountain driving (the road is straight so just take your time). The drive from the paved road to Aguereberry Point is a little over six miles.
Once we arrived at Aguereberry Point I was a little surprised to see a Jeep parked there as there had been no other travel on the road beyond the mine site. Interestingly the couple in the Jeep were Skyping with their daughter; seems there was good signal up here. My wife and I walked around the area and along the short trail leading away from the parking area, just taking in the views. As expected, it was chilly up here at over 6400 feet above sea level, probably in the 50s with a little breeze but under blue skies. The views in all directions were beautiful. From the edge you can take in 360 degrees of Death Valley, including peering down over Badwater. Simply spectacular. Yes it was certainly worth the drive to get up here.
Figure on dedicating at least a couple hours for a visit to Aguereberry Point as it takes time to drive out to the point. Our drive time from Aguereberry point back to Furnace Creek was a little over an hour.
Visited March 27, 2016; reviewed May 15, 2016 See this review on TripAdvisor.
Death Valley National Park, California
We made the drive up to Aguereberry Point on advice we received from a couple of Death Valley regulars who we met while hiking through Gower Gulch. They had been at Aguereberry Point just a day or two before and said that the road was in great shape and that they had the place to themselves, but most importantly the views were some of the best in the park. This sounded like something we needed to see.
After spending the morning walking in the Mesquite Flat Sand Dunes the hiking through Mosaic Canyon, we still had time in the afternoon for the drive to Aguereberry Point. The Aguereberry Point Road was in good shape, probably the best dirt road we had been on in the park to that point. It was wide and well maintained with minimal washboard. The road is fairly flat up to the Eureka Mine site (which is worth a short visit as well), then begins to climb. For the most part the road cuts through rolling terrain and is open and wide but there was one stretch that worked through a narrow stretch of rocks and was steep. This was the only part of the drive that was happy to have a little extra ground clearance. The road continue to climb steadily through the rolling hills until rather abruptly reaches the edge of the ridge less than a half mile from the view point. At the point the road climbs steeply along the edge of the ridge up to Aguereberry Point. This is really the only part of the road that could be considered scary for anyone not used to mountain driving (the road is straight so just take your time). The drive from the paved road to Aguereberry Point is a little over six miles.
Once we arrived at Aguereberry Point I was a little surprised to see a Jeep parked there as there had been no other travel on the road beyond the mine site. Interestingly the couple in the Jeep were Skyping with their daughter; seems there was good signal up here. My wife and I walked around the area and along the short trail leading away from the parking area, just taking in the views. As expected, it was chilly up here at over 6400 feet above sea level, probably in the 50s with a little breeze but under blue skies. The views in all directions were beautiful. From the edge you can take in 360 degrees of Death Valley, including peering down over Badwater. Simply spectacular. Yes it was certainly worth the drive to get up here.
Figure on dedicating at least a couple hours for a visit to Aguereberry Point as it takes time to drive out to the point. Our drive time from Aguereberry point back to Furnace Creek was a little over an hour.