The Panamint Dunes are my personal favorite sand dunes in all of Death Valley. They are spectacular to visit and without equal, in my opinion. My second favorite sand dunes are the Hidden Dunes in Eureka Valley, but those dunes can't quite match the majesty and beauty of the Panamint Dunes. To reach the Panamint Dunes, we turned off on what is called the Big Four Mine or Lake Hill Road and drove about 5 1/2 miles and parked where the road turned east. The second picture below is taken from that location. Then we hiked out for about 1 1/2 hours (or about 3 1/2 miles) to reach the dunes and all four of us went to different peaks. I was amazed at how isolated and beautiful these dunes were. We were only buzzed by one military jet and didn't see any other people all day. And even as I was resting on the highest peak (the eastern-most peak), I was watching the tracks I had just placed being erased by a light wind. It was such a beautiful day and our pictures turned out very well. And to think, at the same time when we were enjoying the prettiest dunes in the park all by ourselves, dozens of people or more were just over the mountain at the Mesquite Flat Sand Dunes following in the footsteps of the hundreds of other tourists. I'm so glad that the park service installed a new parking lot there, to keep the tourists corralled there and away from majestic places like the Panamint Dunes.
Driving on the Big Four Mine Road. Up ahead you can see Lake Hill on the left. A little further beyond, also on the left are the Panamint Dunes:
Starting point for the hike along the Big Four Mine / Lake Hill Road:
(Left to right) Tiffany, Ryan, and Brandon joined me for this amazing hike out to the dunes:
It is quite a long walk out to the dunes. Not very difficult as the ground is mostly firm with some sandy spots:
Nearly to the base of the dunes now:
Climbing up the first sandy small hill:
These are raven tracks which we found at the bottom of the dunes:
Steve comparing his hand to the size of the raven tracks across the sand:
Up ahead we could see some tall sand peaks approaching:
Early on we could see there would be some beautiful ridge patterns:
Once we arrived at the Panamint Dunes, we split up into two groups and headed for the peaks:
This was untouched sand, as nobody else was out here on this day. It may have been days or weeks since the last person visited these dunes:
As you can see, there were lots of different ridges and peaks to choose from:
First picture of Steve at the Panamint Dunes on January 8, 2007:
A member of our group walking out towards a personal peak they have chosen to summit:
Looking back on one member of our group and Lake Hill beyond:
Amazing perfect ridge lines which I felt guilty for having to trample on:
This is one of my favorite pictures I've ever taken in Death Valley. It is framed on my wall at home:
The ridge lines were well defined and there was a slight wind during our hike. I noticed that it didn't take long for my footsteps to start erasing behind me:
Steve pausing for a break on top of the peak which he chose:
Incredible view down and across the Panamint Dunes:
A panoramic view looking south from the Panamint Dunes towards Lake Hill (click to enlarge):
Another great view from my summit. I believe this was actually taken looking directly to the north:
And this was looking west, which means that the wash of Mill Canyon runs through the back of the picture (it would flow from right to left):
Somebody else admiring their view from a nearby summit:
Casting a long shadow across the sand:
Another magnificent ridge of sand as we continued our hike:
Working our way down the slopes in front of us:
This time looking to the northwest towards Mill Canyon and South Pass:
In case you were wondering, we were here in the late afternoon, which allowed us to take such amazing photos of the views:
A black spot on the sand. There were black patches in different areas of the dunes:
Steve relaxing on the sand after conquering another set of Death Valley dunes:
Tiffany looking down at the tracks she has created in the sand:
One final picture from my first visit here to emphasize how beautiful the Panamint Dunes really are. We loved this place:
A panoramic taken while making my return trip to the Panamint Dunes on March 12, 2010. It's hard for me to believe that over 3 years had gone by between visits to my favorite dunes in the park. But here I was, heading towards the Panamint Dunes after exiting the mouth of Mill Canyon. This was a much different approach, as now I was hiking towards the dunes from the west instead of from the south (click to enlarge panoramic photo):
It was certainly thrilling to set foot on the sand of the Panamint Dunes once again:
Sadly, the sun was already setting so I didn't have time to do this place justice. But I still got some good pictures:
Sand in Death Valley the way I love seeing it, untouched with no footprints:
Laying on the sand once again at this amazing place:
Two final shots of the pristine sand before hiking back to our vehicle (in the dark) parked near Lake Hill: