Every Trail Tells a Story
Panamint City
A ghost town with a past as wild as Bodie’s, now reclaimed by wilderness.
A canyon hike that delivers water, willows, and surprises in Death Valley country.
Mining ruins, a brick chimney, and a “Hilton” cabin at trail’s end – history with a wink.
“Pan a mint,” was the cry of prospectors who swarmed into these mountains after silver was discovered in 1873. By 1875 once tranquil Surprise Canyon was the locale of Panamint City, boasting a population of 2,000.
With a multitude of saloons, a house of ill fame in Little Chief Canyon, a Boot Hill in Sourdough Canyon, and a very high homicide rate, the town had a reputation nearly as bad as Bodie. To its credit, however, Panamint City also had a newspaper – Death Valley’s first. Civilization may not have run very deep, but it did leave a paper trail.
Much of the ore was reduced right in Panamint by the company’s huge twenty-stamp mill, built of a half-million bricks and, by one account, “the closest thing to a church Panamint ever had.” The mill’s tall brick chimney still stands like a gravestone, a mute reminder of ambitions as grand as the surrounding canyon walls.
But nature was a fickle partner. The ore veins were stubborn and stingy, and in 1901 a catastrophic flash flood roared down Surprise Canyon, finishing off what little hope of revival remained. Subsequent attempts to bring Panamint back to life – all the way into the late 20th century – fizzled. Mining dreams kept proving more durable than the ore itself.
Today the road to Panamint is long gone, replaced by a rugged footpath. The journey there is as much the attraction as the ruins. Surprise Canyon earns its name with contrasts: bare cliffs and barrel cactus one minute, willow groves and juniper woodland the next. Springs trickle year-round, feeding the creek that threads through the canyon, which means – surprise again! – a surprisingly wet hike in the middle of desert country.
Ruins tell the story once you arrive: stone foundations, rusting machinery, and the hulking brick chimney. In between you’ll find mid-20th-century leftovers – derelict trucks, weather-beaten shacks, trailers, even the odd washing machine left by optimists who thought Panamint might rise again. Adding to the surreal mix are the “locals”: feral burros braying from the brush and bighorn sheep scrambling the cliffs above.
This is a trail for determined hikers, not casual strollers. Brushy stretches, creek crossings, and a thigh-burning climb of more than 3,000 feet ensure you’ll earn your visit to the so-called “ghost city.” And when you finally reach the Panamint Hilton – a miner’s cabin grandly renamed – you’ll understand the name. In these mountains, humor was a survival tool.
From Highway 190, some 34 miles west of Stovepipe Wells and just 2.5 miles east of the hamlet of Panamint Springs, head south on Panamint Valley Road for 14 miles to Trona-Wildrose Road. Turn south (right) and proceed 9.5 miles to Ballarat Road. Turn left and head 3.5 miles into tiny Ballarat. Turn north on Indian Canyon Road and travel 2 miles to Surprise Canyon Road, turn right and continue 4 miles to road’s end. Park alongside the road next to the primitive campground.
The path (washed-out road) meanders creekside with occasional crossings through sometimes narrow, sometimes wide, Surprise Canyon. Early on, the trail establishes a pattern that continues for 3.5 wet miles. Finally, the route leaves the creek behind and begins an aggressive 1.5 miles of ascent. After gaining a thousand feet in elevation, glimpse the first of Panamint City’s far-flung mining ruins about 5 miles from the trailhead.
The road emerges from the narrows and reaches the head of Surprise Canyon, a bowl surrounded by pinyon pine-dotted slopes. This is a hard hike: bushwhacking through thick brush, hiking in the creek, a killer climb. A very long 5.5 miles to reach the first stop – a cabin known as the Panamint Hilton.