Derek and I rode our bikes up to Aguereberry Point. We started from the Wildrose Campground and rode out and back for a total of 33 miles with 3745’ of climbing.
The first half of the road is on pavement and climbs up through Death Valley on a little to no traffic road. I think we saw 4 cars on our 15 mile ride out. The initial climb got us warm for the ride up through the valley and climbed up to some good viewpoints. The right hand turn onto gravel that leads to the point came after about 8 miles. After a couple miles we came to Eureka Mine and the town of Harrisburg.
Pete Aguereberry
Pete Aguereberry and old time prospector Shorty Harris discovered gold in 1905. Of all the prospectors and miners who toiled there only Pete worked the claim consistently for forty years until his death in 1945. Gold from the Eureka Mine sustained him for all that time and records show he extracted about $175,000 worth of gold during his lifetime.
Aguereberry Point
After getting back on the main gravel road the riding to the point got harder. This 4 mile section was mostly climbing through the twisty canyon on some rough washboard gravel. If you are going to drive the road, be sure you’re in a suitable vehicle. I wouldn’t want to be in a Honda Civic on this road. It’s VERY quiet back in this area of the park and we had the entire place to ourselves. Every turn had me hoping it was the last and we would round the bend and be at the point, but no, it went on forever. We made a left and inched up the last hill to the point. Wow, worth it.
A headwind greeted us for most of the 15 miles back to the car but with sunshine beating down and golden California desert hills as far as the eye could see, we didn’t mind. The descent was pretty fun as we snaked down everything we climbed in the morning. Success!
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