RV Rentals and Death Valley Ghost Towns
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California
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Welcome to one of the hottest and most extreme places on the face of the Earth. Experience a taste of the sublime in your RV rental during your visit to California’s Death Valley. Death Valley is both the driest and the hottest place in North America featuring average seasonal temperatures of over 100 degrees Fahrenheit, and, at 282 feet below sea level, its parched earth receives less than 2 inches of precipitation each year.
Death Valley National Park is open year-round and also provides year-round accommodations at the Stovepipe Wells RV Campground. Situated at sea level and equipped with all your camping needs including showers and a swimming pool, your RV rental vacation to America’s hottest spot will be both comfortable and unforgettable.
In 1849, the first group of non-Native settlers got lost in the valley on their way to California Gold Country. It was this lost group of travelers that gave Death Valley its enduring name. After this encounter, boom towns sprung up in the valley during the 19th and early 20th centuries with the prospect of mining for gold; however, the only profitable, long-term ore to be mined in the area was borax. Mining for this compound used in the manufacture of soap was the primary activity in the area before it was declared a National Monument in 1933, and was redesignated as a National Park in 1994.
The Ghost Towns
Although you might not find any gold during your RV rental journey to Death Valley, you will come across a valuable trove of national historic treasures. What remains of the short-lived boom towns of early frontier history are now Death Valley’s famous ghost towns which are open for visitors’ perusal. On your next Rent4Less RV rental vacation to Death Valley, these are some “towns” you won’t want to miss:
Ballarat: founded in 1897 and sharing its name with a city in Victoria, Australia, Ballarat was a mining town that was rather successful in its quest to find gold. For five years between 1898 and 1903, the town’s Radcliffe mine boomed producing 15,000 tons of gold ore. The Panamint Valley road west of Death Valley will bring your RV rental to the site of the town’s remaining adobe ruins.
Chloride City: enjoying its status as a mining town for only one year from 1905-1906, Chloride City has spent more time as a ghost town than any of the others in Death Valley. The site includes several dumps, the grave of one James McKay, and the remains of three stamp hills.
Panamint City: “the toughest, rawest, most hard-boiled little hellhole that ever passed for a civilized town,” Panamint City was founded by outlaws who struck silver in Surprise Canyon. The town reached its height in 1874 with a population of over 2,000 inhabitants, but by the following year, the mining prospects were no longer profitable, and in 1876 the town was destroyed by a flood. Today, what remains of this famous ghost town includes the chimney of the mine’s smelter.
Harrisburg: founded by Shorty Harris and Pete Aguereberry who struck gold in 1905, Harrisburg was originally supposed to be called Harrisberry after the two men who established it; however, Shorty Harris took all the credit and named the town after himself. Harrisburg began as a tent city whose population grew to 300. Today, you can drive your RV rental down the dirt road to Aguereberry Point to visit the remains of Pete’s home and the Eureka gold mine he worked for 40 years.
Rhyolite: once nicknamed the “Queen City of Death Valley,” Rhyolite boasted a population of 10,000 people in its heyday. In 1904, Shorty Harris and E.L. Cross discovered quartz veined through with gold. The rush began and a townsite was founded nearby and named Rhyolite after the silica-rich volcanic rock that dominated the area’s geography. The social and financial life of Rhyolite boomed for three years, but 1907 saw the beginning of the town’s end. The prosperous city became a ghost town after 1916. Today, you can explore the ruins of the old bank building, the jailhouse, the train depot and the Bottle House. Although Rhyolite is not within the boundaries of Death Valley National Park, you can drive your RV rental to the train depot and arrive at the site via passenger car.
For more information on the ghost towns of Death Valley or on Death Valley National Park, please visit http://www.nps.gov/deva/.
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