Panamint Springs facts for kids
Panamint Springs is a special resort in Inyo County, California. It's a private place where you can find a motel, cozy cabins, and spots for RVs and tents. There's also a restaurant and a gas station. All these are run by a company called Cassell Enterprises, LLC. This resort sits at a height of about 1,926 feet (587 meters) above sea level.
Where is Panamint Springs?
Panamint Springs Resort is found along State Route 190. It's located between Old Toll Road and Panamint Valley Road. This spot is super important because it's the closest store and gas station to a famous place called Star Wars Canyon. It's also the last gas station for many miles on State Route 190.
About 2.5 miles east of Panamint Springs, you'll find a spot called Panamint Junction. This is where State Route 190 meets Panamint Valley Road. If you keep going east for about 13.9 miles, you'll reach Towne Pass. This pass is a well-known landmark when you're heading towards Death Valley. After the pass, the road goes down about 5,000 feet (1,524 meters) to the dry bed of Lake Manly.
Just west of the resort is the Darwin Falls Wilderness. This is a special protected area. Nearby, you can also visit Darwin Falls. It's a small but beautiful waterfall, grotto, and creek. This creek is the only place with water all year round in one of North America's driest areas. Even though it's near the wilderness area, the falls are part of Death Valley National Park. You can find the dirt road to the Darwin Falls trail just a quarter mile west of the resort.
A Look Back in Time
Panamint Springs Resort was first owned by Agnes Cody and her husband W.A. Reid. Agnes Cody was a cousin of the famous Buffalo Bill Cody! The motel first opened in 1937. This was when the first toll road was built across the Panamint Valley.
A post office used to be at Panamint Springs from 1940 to 1946. Today, the resort doesn't even receive mail anymore. In 1958, Peter and Elizabeth Clarkson took over the ownership. Later, in 1986, the managers found it too costly to install telephone lines to this faraway resort. The Cassell Family has owned Panamint Springs since 2006.
Panamint Springs and Airfields
From 1989 to 1998, Panamint Springs Resort had its own small airport. It was called Panamint Springs Airport. It had one unpaved runway. Even after it stopped being an official airport, the runway was still used for planes to land.
During World War II, from 1942 to 1945, the US Army used another airfield nearby. It was called Panamint Spring Auxiliary Airfield. This airfield was on a dry lake bed about 2 miles north of Route 190. It was used to train pilots for the war. After the war ended, the airfield was left behind. Today, you can't find any traces of it.
