Panamint Springs is private resort in
Inyo County
Inyo County () is a county in the eastern central part of the U.S. state of California, located between the Sierra Nevada and the state of Nevada. In the 2020 census, the population was 19,016. The county seat is Independence. Inyo County is ...
,
California
California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...
.
It consists of a motel, cabins, RV and tent campsites, restaurant, and gas station, all operated by Cassell Enterprises, LLC.
It lies at an elevation of 1926 feet (587 m).
Location
Panamint Springs Resort is located along
State Route 190 (SR190) between Old Toll Road and Panamint Valley Road. The closest store and gas station to
Star Wars Canyon,
the site features a motel, campground, restaurant, and the last gas station for many miles in either direction on SR190.
Although not official by the Board of Geographic Names,
Caltrans
The California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) is an Executive (government), executive department of the U.S. state of California. The department is part of the Government of California#State agencies, cabinet-level California State Tran ...
calls the SR190/Panamint Valley Road intersection 2.5 driving miles east of Panamint Springs Panamint Junction. Towne Pass, a landmark when traveling to
Death Valley
Death Valley is a desert valley in Eastern California, in the northern Mojave Desert, bordering the Great Basin Desert. It is thought to be the Highest temperature recorded on Earth, hottest place on Earth during summer.
Death Valley's Badwat ...
, is 13.9 driving miles east on SR190. Beyond the pass, SR190 descends about to the dry bed of
Lake Manly
Lake Manly was a pluvial lake in Death Valley, California. It forms occasionally in Badwater Basin after heavy rainfall, but at its maximum extent during the so-called "Blackwelder stand," ending approximately 120,000 years before present, the ...
.
The
Darwin Falls Wilderness
The Darwin Falls Wilderness is a protected area in the northern Mojave Desert adjacent to Death Valley National Park. The wilderness area was created by the California Desert Protection Act of 1994 and is managed by the Bureau of Land Managemen ...
, a
U.S. Wilderness Area, is located just west of the resort. The nearby area also features the
Darwin Falls, a small but scenic waterfall, grotto and creek that are the only year-round water supply in the driest part of North America; despite the similarly named wilderness, the falls are located in and administered by
Death Valley National Park
Death Valley National Park is a national park of the United States that straddles the California–Nevada border, east of the Sierra Nevada. The park boundaries include Death Valley, the northern section of Panamint Valley, the southern sect ...
. The dirt road entryway to the trail to Darwin Falls is located ¼ mile west of the resort.
History
Panamint Springs Resort was originally owned and operated by Buffalo Bill Cody’s cousin, Agnes Cody and her husband W.A. Reid. The motel was opened in 1937 when the first toll road was constructed traversing the Panamint Valley. A post office operated at Panamint Springs from 1940 to 1946,
but it no longer receives mail at all. Ownership transferred to Peter and Elizabeth Clarkson in 1958 in a motel exchange with Agnes Reid. In 1986 the managers found it too expensive to install telephone lines to the remote resort. It has been owned by the Cassell Family since 2006.
From 1989 to 1998 Panamint Springs Resort operated the Panamint Springs Airport at , just south of
California State Route 190
State Route 190 (SR 190) is a state highway in the U.S. state of California that is split into two parts by the Sierra Nevada. The western portion begins at Tipton at a junction with State Route 99 and heads east towards Porterville before end ...
. Panamint Springs Airport had a single unpaved northeast/southwest runway. While not operated as an airport, the runway was still used for landing.
From 1942 to 1945 the
US Army
The United States Army (USA) is the primary land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of the United Stat ...
operated the Panamint Spring Auxiliary Airfield at , 2 miles north of Route 190 on a dry lake bed. The runway was used for the training of
World War II
World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
pilots. After the war, the runway was abandoned and no trace can be found today.
See also
*
Notes
External links
Resort website
{{coord, 36, 20, 23, N, 117, 28, 04, W, region:US-CA, display=title
Motels in the United States
Campgrounds in the United States
Resorts in California