hikespeak

Today the Irish Hills are like a gold mine for hikers, but the small mountain range in San Luis Obispo historically hosted several mines for chromium and mercury. The ruins of one of these mines can be visited on Old Prospector Trail, which opened in 2015 to join the growing group of trails in Irish Hills Natural Reserve. This hikers-only single track starts in Froom Canyon and is 0.9 miles... Read more.

If you think being a prisoner at a Tasmanian penal colony sounds bad, add coal mining to that prison sentence and you get something truly awful. Such was the case in the 1830s and 40s when, just after the famous Port Arthur Penal Colony was established, convict laborers were sent to another part of the Tasman Peninsula to work in coal mines (and you can imagine that working conditions in the... Read more.

Not to be confused with Fish Canyon Falls on the east end of the Angeles National Forest, the Fish Canyon Narrows reside on the far west end of the Angeles in the Sierra Pelona Mountains north of Santa Clarita. Here a mountain stream passes through hundred-foot cliffs that are at time only twenty feet apart. The red rock walls mimic those you might find hiking in Zion National Park or other... Read more.

For a brief period at the start of America's involvement in World War Two, this area was heavily mined for its high-grade calcite, a mineral then used to make bomb sights. This approximately 4-mile long expedition follows an old mining road into the Santa Rosa Mountains, crossing a narrow ravine with slot canyons that hikers may explore to add variety and excitement to this trek in... Read more.

Contact Mine was in operation at the start of the 20th century, extracting gold and silver from the mountains south of Twentynine Palms, California. A hundred years of desert decay have left the mine rusty but recognizable. The old road to the mine is worn down and eroded, now just a little-used hiking trail. This 3.95-mile round trip trek ascends 700 feet up a wash, a canyon, and an old... Read more.

The Ashford Mill ruins are visible to those driving up route 178 to Badwater Basin and Furnace Creek in Death Valley National Park. The ruins rest on the valley floor at an elevation of 121 feet below sea level. They serve as a picturesque example of the rigors of life in this harsh desert. In 1914, Ashford Mill was built to process gold from the Ashford Mine, located in the mountains to... Read more.

This short desert hike visits a gold mine that operated profitably for decades on land now protected by Joshua Tree National Park. An overlook across from the mine is reachable via an easy 0.7-mile round trip trail, and the excursion can be extended to 1.6 miles by crossing a canyon to the mine itself. Begin hiking on the nearly level Desert Queen Mine Trail (just to the right of the... Read more.

Mastodon Peak offers panoramic views of southeastern Joshua Tree National Park. The low summit is located in the Colorado Desert, so you will not see any Joshua trees around here. What you will see is some beautify desert that becomes populated with wildflowers come spring. Mastodon Peak can be reached via a 2.6-mile loop with 440 feet of elevation gain. The easiest way to complete... Read more.

The ten-stamp mill and foundation of Lost Horse Mine stand at the end of a gradual 4-mile round trip trail. Lost Horse Mine has one of the best-preserved mills under National Park protection. Unlike less fortunate nearby efforts, Lost Horse Mine was one of the few mineral speculations in Joshua Tree National Park to be productive. According to the NPS, The mine yielded approximately 10,000... Read more.

Dawn Mine offers a glimpse into the history of the San Gabriel Mountains. The abandoned shafts can be reached on a moderately strenuous 6-mile round trip hike up beautiful Millard Canyon. To visit the entrance to this forgotten gold mine, start from the Millard Campground parking area and hike half a mile up the canyon to Millard Falls. Take in the falls and back up three hundred feet.... Read more.