If you think the otherworldly spires of the Trona Pinnacles look like something right out of Star Trek—you’d be right, because this surreal landscape is where numerous science fiction movies have been filmed. Star Trek V, The Planet of the Apes, Lost in Space, and Battlestar Galactica were all filmed here.
The Trona Pinnacles, consisting of more than 500 tufa spires, were designated a National Natural Landmark by the U.S. Department of the Interior in 1968. The pinnacles—some reaching as high as 140 feet—vary in size and shape from short and squat to tall and thin. There are few places on earth quite like California’s Trona Pinnacles. Utah’s Kodachrome Basin comes close, but not quite.
Managed by the Bureau of Land Managment, the Trona Pinnacles National Natural Landmark makes a terrific overnight stop before heading into Death Valley National Park.
Tufa Formations
Nature’s ancient recipe for tufas occurred between 10,000 and 100,000 years ago. The spires were formed when hot springs bubbled up from beneath the lake. This upward thrust created fissures that allowed the calcium rich groundwater to combine with the carbonated brine and snow melt from the nearby Sierra-Nevadas. Combined with algae underneath, this calcium carbonate mixture or tufa created the hollow tubes or spires that we see today. These tufa spires represent one of the most unique geologic landscapes in the Mojave Desert if not the world.
The tufa pinnacles overlook California’s Searles Basin. Searles Lake is mostly a dry lake bed boasting a rich treasury of over half of the natural elements known to man. Trona is one of the many minerals found here, as well as borax, epsom salts, and potash.
The Searles Basin has been commercially mined since Dennis and John Searles first discovered borax in 1862. The brothers switched from mining gold to borax, forming the San Bernardino Borax Mining Company. In 1873 they mined a million pounds of borax and sold it for $200,000—a fortune in today’s currency.
How to get there
The Trona Pinnacles are located in southern California, a short distance southwest from Death Valley National Park. From Ridgecrest, take State Route 178 towards the mining community of Trona. The pinnacles can be seen from the state route with signs to dirt road turnoff clearly marked. A high clearance vehicle is recommended when traveling on this 12.5-mile dirt road. Travel on this road would be extremely difficult in wet weather, so a watchful eye on precipitation is warranted. Our very own YouTube video exploring a portion of the road to the Trona Pinnacles can be found here.
Along the way, we crossed the railroad tracks for the Trona Railway, the shortest regulated train tracks in the United States. The tracks are still used for commercial mining operations today by Seares Valley Minerals. Additional off-road info on this route can be found here.
Camping
Consisting of 14 square miles, the Trona Pinnacles National Natural Landmark is loaded with boondocking and hiking opportunities. Camping can be accessed via a network of dirt roads in and around the tufa formations. A single vault toilet is offered in a designated camping fee area. We did not see any water or trash receptacles in the BLM-managed landmark—meaning pack it in, pack it out.
Expect weather extremes, hot or cold depending upon the time of year. We’ve camped here in February with the night temperatures dipping down into the 20s. Summer temps are known to reach triple digits. The winds can get fierce making huge plumes of dust. Beware: this is earthquake country. The nearby city of Ridgecrest has experienced numerous tremors some rated as high as 7.1 on the Richter Scale.
Be prepared to be awed by the Trona Pinnacles. We love the stark beauty of the otherworldly landscape and how the sun’s movement is constantly changing the look of the monoliths through shadows and highlights. The whitish hue of the dry lake bed gives a contrasting backdrop while the surrounding mountain ranges—often topped with snow—add their own majestic inspiration to the “science fiction” scenery. If you enjoy photography, this is a great place to do it. If you enjoy stargazing, good views can be enjoyed looking to the east and and to the south.
Trona services and events
The nearby town of Trona has a nice market that offers groceries, food to go, and quite a selection of hardware. The market also offers diesel and gasoline at a fair price by California standards. There we stocked up on ice, firewood, and bungee cords.
The community offers an interesting mineral museum, a thrift store, a few markets, several churches, and an airfield. There were no restaurants at the time of our visit, but food and groceries were offered at the markets.
The Gem-O-Rama is a popular annual event in Trona. Held the second week in October, the Gem-O-Rama is organized by the Searles Lake Gem and Mineral Society and Seares Valley Minerals. Rock hounds come from all over the world to attend this hands on event. The event consists of three field trips over one weekend where crystal and geology enthusiasts can collect as many specimens as they can haul in a narrow, 2.5-hour window.
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