Sight · Death Valley National Park
Remote wooden tram towers with big views and bigger history
Overview
If you like your history wild and remote, this one’s for you. Built 1911–1913, the Saline Valley Salt Tram hauled salt across the Inyo Mountains with an electric aerial tramway stretching roughly 13–13.4 miles and climbing more than 7,000 vertical feet with grades up to 40 degrees—the kind of audacity that put it on the National Register of Historic Places. Only the first four towers sit inside the park; most of the line continues onto public lands beyond the boundary.
Few early 20th‑century industrial projects matched this combination of length, relief, and steepness. Standing beneath the towers, the engineering leaps off the page—an improbable line strung over a serious mountain barrier to move salt from Saline Valley to markets in Owens Valley.
Parkwolf’s verdictWhy It’s UniqueMap
Local know-how
Bring detailed maps and a GPS; routes are rugged and not obvious.
Start with a full tank and carry plenty of water and emergency supplies.
Do not climb on towers or remove artifacts; the site is fragile.
Check road and weather conditions before you go; plans change fast here.
Know that only the first few towers are in the park; respect boundaries.
Plan your stop
The highest, rockiest slopes around here are a summer buffet for grizzly bears.
Death Valley Tour Guide
Parkwolf is a GPS audio tour guide for Death Valley National Park. As you drive, it chimes in with what’s ahead: hidden gems, upcoming stops, history, geology, and wildlife, right through your car’s speakers.
See the Death Valley audio tourMore stories near here in the app
“Fantastic app with many points of information… It’s great to just turn on while you’re driving and it gives you an audio tour of the national Park. We love it!!!!”
Guide
Expect weathered wooden tram towers, remnants of stations and cable works, and massive timbers preserved by the desert’s dry air. The scenery is half the show: big, open views over Saline Valley, the Inyos, and toward Owens Valley. You may come across scattered historic artifacts—look, photograph, leave them in place.
Salt extraction in Saline Valley dates back to the 19th century. The tramway was completed in 1911, saw sporadic use under several companies, and finally shut down in the 1930s. The remains endure as a rare industrial landscape in a spectacular setting.
This high, arid country can feel empty, but the broader area supports desert bighorn sheep, raptors, reptiles, and small mammals. Sightings are hit‑or‑miss given the elevation, dryness, and remoteness—treat any encounter as a bonus.
These historic structures are fragile and can be unstable—admire without climbing or disturbing anything. There’s no water, fuel, or cell service. Come self‑reliant and practice Leave No Trace. Remember: only a handful of towers are within the park; the rest lie on adjacent public lands with their own rules.
Wildlife
71 sightingsBighorn SheepMost seen around 6 PMSighting map
101 sightingsDesert TortoiseMost seen around 8 AMSighting map
458 sightingsCoyoteMost seen around 6 PMSighting map
28 sightingsFeral BurroMost seen around 5 PMSighting map
30 sightingsMule DeerMost seen around 7 PMSighting map
62 sightingsKit FoxMost seen around 7 PMSighting mapSighting maps show where each species has been reported across Death Valley. Wildlife moves, so no sighting is guaranteed.
Parkwolf’s Death Valley ranking
The audio tour guide for the drive, plus offline maps, trails, and wildlife heatmaps for when the signal drops.
