DEATH VALLEY

I want to preface this post by saying that if you’re going to visit this combo, make sure it is the absolute very first thing you do in Death Valley. If you go to ANY of the other trails first, you’re going to be wildly disappointed. Consider it kind of a feet wetting exercise before you delve into the real treasures Death Valley has to offer. Death Valley is one of those places where as soon as you get in proximity, everything is very wow. The pastel colored hills and the white salt stretch as far as the eyes can see. Well, Mustard Canyon is like the palette cleanser before the meal. It gives you just enough to get you interested, but that’s it.

Before You Go

The first thing I did when I got to Death Valley was drove into “town” to the visitor’s center and got a map. If you haven’t read any of my other Death Valley posts, go get the map!! You’re most certainly heading through Furnace Creek at some point. If you’re coming from the west or north, you’ll pass it on your way to the eastern trails. If you’re coming up the 190, it’s only a five minute drive from Badwater Rd (main attraction central). Once I had the physical map in my hand, which details many sites that can’t be found on Google Maps, I decided to do Harmony Borax Works first because it is the closest trail to the visitor’s center. Leaving there, you’ll make a left turn north and come right up to Harmony in less than five minutes.

HARMONY BORAX WORKS

Coming up to Harmony Borax Works, you’ll immediately see large train out front and a circular fence area that looks like it goes into the hill up top and then exits to the right. Spoiler alert: it does not. It doesn’t go anywhere. It is a 100 yard loop with a couple of signs and a train. Once I realized this, I was immediately disappointed and wondered if this was how the rest of the park was going to be as well. I’ve gone places where you drive hours to get somewhere just so you can get out of the car and look around for ten minutes, and I really, really didn’t want Death Valley to be like that. Well, come to find out this park is really about going where everyone else isn’t going. Get off the beaten path and go explore. That being said, when you leave the parking lot, the exit is to the right but there’s an obvious dirt road to the left. While the dozens of other cars came and went from the paved parking lot, I decided to follow the unmarked path and see where it took me.

MUSTARD CANYON

And that is how I stumbled onto Mustard Canyon, the only redeemer to the waste of time that is Harmony Borax Works. While short and sweet in comparison to many of the other Death Valley trails, careening through the yellow green hills of dirt that has been oxidized over time by salt and minerals is a nice teaser. It gives you just a taste of what the park has in store for you (intro to Artists Drive) and was the refreshing reboot I needed after walking in a circle for nothing. Go to Harmony if you want, even get out of the car if you have to stretch your legs, but don’t snub Mustard Canyon because it deserves a little respect.