Trona Pinnacles
Pinnacle Road off Highway 178
Trona, CA
More than five hundred stone towers rising from a dry lakebed, so unearthly they stand in for alien planets on film.
The Trona Pinnacles look less like a place on Earth than a set from a film, which is exactly why so many films have been shot here. More than 500 pale spires of stone rise from the flat, cracked bed of Searles Dry Lake, some as tall as 140 feet, scattered across roughly fourteen square miles of empty Mojave basin. Stand among them at dusk and it is easy to forget what planet you are on.
For all their strangeness, the towers have a simple origin: they are tufa, a porous form of calcium carbonate, the same mineral that makes limestone. They grew underwater, back when this basin held a deep lake, and were left standing when the water disappeared. The Bureau of Land Management named them a National Natural Landmark in 1968.
What Guests Love
- Hundreds of pale stone spires scattered across a flat desert basin, like a landscape from another world
- Wandering freely among the towers, some rising as high as a ten-story building
- The huge, empty silence and the dark night skies over the Mojave
- Recognizing the setting from countless science-fiction films and commercials
Worth Knowing
- The access road is dirt and can become impassable when wet, so avoid it after rain and check conditions
- There is no water, shade, or services, so bring everything you need and plenty of it
- Summer heat is extreme, making late fall through early spring the comfortable time to visit
- It is fragile geology on public land, so tread lightly and pack out everything you bring
Details
Trona, CA
Learn about Trona Pinnacles
How the towers formed
During the Ice Ages, Searles Lake was one link in a chain of interconnected lakes that flowed down from the Owens Valley toward Death Valley when the climate was far wetter. Somewhere between about 10,000 and 100,000 years ago, calcium-rich groundwater welled up through the lakebed and met the carbonate-rich lake water, and colonies of microscopic algae helped precipitate the mineral out of solution.
Layer by layer the tufa built up around the vents, growing toward the surface until, in some cases, the towers broke the water. When the lake finally dried out, the spires were left standing on the exposed bed. Geologists sort them into four rough shapes: towers, tombstones, ridges, and cones.
A protected desert landmark
The Pinnacles sit within several thousand acres of federal land managed by the Bureau of Land Management, which designated them a National Natural Landmark in 1968 as one of North America's finest examples of tufa formation. The designation recognizes both their scientific value and their sheer strangeness.
Their alien look has made them a favorite film location for decades, standing in for other worlds in science-fiction movies, music videos, and car commercials. Visitors are free to walk among the towers, but the tufa is porous and breakable, so the land is best treated as the rare relic it is.
Life in an empty basin
This is hard, high desert, and life here is sparse but tenacious. Creosote bush and saltbush dot the basin, and desert wildlife such as jackrabbits, kit foxes, lizards, and the occasional raptor move through in the cool hours. Searles Lake itself, still worked for its minerals nearby, is a chemical oddity that has yielded borax and other salts for over a century.
The real spectacle after dark is the sky. With almost no light for miles, the Milky Way arches over the towers, and photographers come to shoot the spires against the stars.
When to go
Come in the cooler half of the year, roughly October through April, when daytime temperatures are pleasant and the long drive is comfortable. Summer brings dangerous heat with no shade or water anywhere on the flats.
The dirt access road off Highway 178 is usually fine for most vehicles when dry but can turn to impassable mud after rain, so check conditions first. Sunrise, sunset, and the night sky are the magic hours, so consider timing your visit to catch the low light on the towers.
Closest Boutels
The closest Boutel™ stays, so you can turn this stop into an overnight. Each is an independently owned, editorially selected place to stay.
Safari Inn, a Coast Hotel
Honorable Mention1911 West Olive Avenue, Burbank, CA
114 miles away|Learn More ›
Things to Do Near Trona
Ridgecrest
About 25 miles west
The main desert town of the area, with services and the Maturango Museum, a good primer on the region's geology and Native rock art.
Death Valley National Park
About 45 miles northeast
The largest national park in the lower forty-eight, a land of salt flats, dunes, and the lowest point in North America.
Fossil Falls
About 40 miles north
A dry lava gorge polished by an Ice Age river, with ancient Native grinding sites nearby along Highway 395.