Last verified September 2026
Aguereberry Point Road climbs from Emigrant Canyon Road to a viewpoint on the Panamint crest, high above the floor of Death Valley. The Park Service rates it high-clearance, citing a rock outcrop in the roadbed at 3.5 miles and a steep, rocky final half mile to the point.
The historic Eureka Mine sits at 1.7 miles. The road is day-use only, so no camping along it, and snow and mud can close it in winter.
Rock outcrop at 3.5 miles. The Park Service names this as one of the two reasons high clearance is required.
Steep, rocky final half mile. The hardest driving on the road, and it comes immediately before the viewpoint, when turning back is least appealing.
Snow and mud. The road is documented as subject to both. The upper end sits high enough on the Panamint crest that winter storms close it off.
Exposure at the point. The viewpoint is an open crest above a long drop to the valley floor.
Flat tires. Common across the park's backcountry roads. Street and all-season tires may not be adequate.
Recovery cost. Towing from a dirt road in Death Valley often runs past $2,000, and most rental agreements prohibit off-pavement driving and exclude recovery.
Heat on the approach. The drive in crosses country where summer heat carries genuine dehydration and heat-stroke risk, even though the point itself sits high and cool.
Mine hazards. Shafts, tunnels, and structures anywhere in the park are dangerous to enter, the Eureka Mine included.
Approx. location 36.358, -117.048
| Agency | National Park Service |
|---|---|
| Nearest town | Stovepipe Wells, California |
| Website | www.nps.gov/deva/planyourvisit/backcountryroads.htm |
| Closed | Jul, Aug |
| Approx. location | 36.358, -117.048 |
Aguereberry Point Road leaves Emigrant Canyon Road, which runs south from CA-190 near Emigrant, between Stovepipe Wells and Panamint Springs.
The Eureka Mine comes up at 1.7 miles. The rock outcrop the Park Service flags sits in the roadbed at 3.5 miles. The last half mile to the viewpoint is the steepest and rockiest driving on the route.
The road ends at the point. It is an out-and-back, so the same steep half mile has to be driven back down.
Photos · 7
Checked 16 September 2026 against the park's road conditions page, last updated 4 September 2026: Aguereberry Point Road has no closure and no posted caution, and neither does Emigrant Canyon Road, the paved road it leaves from. The Park Service does describe the road as subject to snow and mud, which is reason enough to check the page again in winter or after a storm.
Elsewhere in the park's backcountry network, Darwin Falls Road is closed and likely to remain so into summer 2027. Hunter Mountain Road is closed for mud that has stranded multiple vehicles. The final three miles of Phinney Canyon Road are washed out and impassable. Titus Canyon Road is temporarily open after initial repairs and closes for a full year from 1 October 2026 through 30 September 2027.
The road leaves Emigrant Canyon Road in the Panamint Range and climbs east to a viewpoint on the crest, looking out over the floor of Death Valley toward the Amargosa Range. Badwater Basin, the lowest ground in North America at 282 feet below sea level, lies within that view. The drop from the point to the salt flats is about a mile and a quarter of vertical relief.
Aguereberry Point Road is one of the park's designated day-use-only dirt roads, in company with Skidoo Road, West Side Road, Wildrose Road, Titus Canyon Road, and about a dozen others. The historic Eureka Mine at 1.7 miles is the one marked stop between the pavement and the point.
A rock outcrop sits in the roadbed at 3.5 miles, and the final half mile to the viewpoint is steep and rocky. On that basis the Park Service calls for high clearance and stops short of requiring four-wheel drive.
The park defines high clearance as at least 15-inch tire rims and eight inches from the lowest point of the undercarriage to the ground. A crossover built on a car or light-truck platform that meets those numbers qualifies. A sedan does not, and the park limits low-clearance vehicles to paved roads and the dirt roads rated for them.
The Park Service warns that street and all-season tires may not be suitable here, and flats are common across the park's backcountry roads. Rental agreements typically prohibit off-pavement driving and often exclude towing and recovery, and a tow off a dirt road here frequently exceeds $2,000.
Not on this road. The day-use-only designation closes Aguereberry Point Road and a one-mile buffer around it to camping.
The nearest developed campgrounds are south along Emigrant Canyon Road in the Wildrose area: Wildrose Campground, which has no water, and the primitive Thorndike and Mahogany Flat campgrounds higher up. All three were listed open on the park's conditions page as of 4 September 2026. Emigrant Campground, the closest to the CA-190 junction, is closed indefinitely for water system repairs, and its restrooms are closed with it. The nearest open restrooms are at Stovepipe Wells.
Dispersed camping elsewhere in the park must be at least a mile from any developed area, paved road, or day-use-only road, and at least 100 feet from water. Groups are limited to 12 people and four vehicles. Overnight backcountry permits are voluntary and available at Furnace Creek Visitor Center or Stovepipe Wells Ranger Station.
There is no water and no service of any kind on the road or at the point.
Gasoline inside the park is sold around the clock at Furnace Creek and Stovepipe Wells. Panamint Springs Resort sells fuel daily from 7:00 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. Stovepipe Wells and Panamint Springs are the two nearest to the Emigrant Canyon Road junction.
Carry all drinking water. Natural springs in the park are unmonitored and should be purified if used at all.
Skidoo Road also leaves Emigrant Canyon Road and has a similar rating: high-clearance, with a steep grade and protruding rocks at 3.5 miles that put sedan undercarriages at risk. It reaches an early 1900s townsite and one of the largest and best-preserved stamp mills in the park.
Upper Wildrose Road climbs from the historic charcoal kilns to Mahogany Flat, needing high clearance on the final 1.6 miles and often four-wheel drive above the kilns because of steep, narrow sections and deep ruts. The Telescope Peak and Wildrose Peak trailheads sit at the top. No RVs or trailers, and it closes often in winter for snow and ice.