Weird Day Trips
Trona Pinnacles
The Trona Pinnacles are about 3 to 3.5 hours from Las Vegas, and the last miles are dirt. That is a planning number, not a report on the road this week. What you actually see is tufa spires, not a town.
The Trona Pinnacles are about 3 to 3.5 hours from central Las Vegas. That is a rounded planning number, not a report on the dirt road this week. The last miles are dirt. A rental that has to stay on pavement is a poor match for those miles. What is there is tufa spires: a weird landscape, not a town. The place has been used as a film location.
- From Las Vegas
- About 3 to 3.5 hours
- Distance
- West of the Baker corridor
- Road
- Paved highway, then dirt for the last miles
- Time to allow
- Full day, or overnight if you camp rough
Short history
The spires are geologic, not a built attraction. There is no town at the site.
Visit
Worth a look if the spires are the point and leaving the pavement is acceptable for the last miles.
Camp
Camping is possible if you are set up for primitive camping on Bureau of Land Management land. That is part of why some people come. There are no services. Check current access. This is not a maintained campground.
Skip
You might leave it off with a low-clearance rental, a tight schedule, or if the day has to stay on pavement.
The call is yours.
Practical visitor info
Hours and fees change. Check the site, the park, or the business before you go. This page does not quote a current price or a current opening time.
The numbers match the drive times and distances page. Read desert day-trip tips before a hot day, and see sample itineraries if you want to combine stops. The town list is Ghost Towns Near Las Vegas. Tonopah and the Extraterrestrial Highway are indexed under Weird Day Trips.
How long is the drive to the Trona Pinnacles?
Plan on about 3 to 3.5 hours. The highway portion is ordinary driving. The last miles leave the pavement.
What is unpaved on the way to the Trona Pinnacles?
The last miles are dirt. How rough they are depends on grading and weather, which this page does not report. A rental that has to stay on pavement can turn around before those miles. There are no services at the spires. Fuel and water come from the last town you trust.
What you can see
Tufa spires in open desert. The film use is a fact about the landscape, not a set you can tour.
Heat and safety
Summer afternoons commonly sit above 100°F (38°C), and shade is scarce. Read the desert tips. Carry water for the time you are away from the car.
On the ground
What you can see
You can see tufa spires in open desert. The landscape has been used as a film location.
Private or off limits
The last miles are dirt. There are no services. Primitive camping is possible. It is not a maintained campground.
Summer and the season
About 3 to 3.5 hours from Las Vegas. Summer afternoons are hot and shade is scarce.
The spires, with the dirt approach in the frame if that is the road you used.
Get directions
Get directions from Las Vegas. The link opens a map. It is not a live traffic report.
Combine this
Times below are planning figures. Conditions change. A north stop and a south stop do not belong in the same day. The return drive eats it.
West, about 3 to 3.5 hours, and the last miles are dirt. It does not pair with a pavement-only day or with Laughlin.