Trail Overview
Whitmore Gold Mines is a short, scenic desert loop perfect for beginners, history buffs, and offroaders looking for a quick excursion into the western Mojave Desert's rich mining past. Located just west of Sierra Highway near Rosamond, this trail provides an accessible detour with low-intensity driving and remarkable historical sights right along the path. The terrain consists of mostly hard-packed dirt tracks that are easily negotiable in two-wheel-drive vehicles, though high-clearance four-wheel-drive vehicles, SxSs, and dirt bikes will find it especially effortless. Visitors can comfortably navigate the flat loop while taking in the views of the surrounding desert flats and the prominent mining ruins dotting the landscape.
While the trail remains straightforward and carries a low technical rating under dry conditions, rainfall can quickly turn the desert dirt slick and muddy, presenting minor traction challenges for inexperienced drivers. The main attraction is the historical Whitmore Gold Mine site, where visitors can park and walk to grated-over vertical shafts, old wooden ladders, and historic structures that once produced millions in gold during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. This Bureau of Land Management area is open year-round, though the extreme heat of summer makes late fall through early spring the most comfortable time for a visit. Explorers must stay on designated routes to preserve the fragile historic ruins and protect the surrounding desert habitat.
History
Enjoy a quick and easy drive through the abandoned Whitmore Gold Mine operations that helped make the Mojave-Rosamond Mining District famous in the late 1800's and early 1900's. Along with Standard Hill's mining operations to the immediate northeast, these mines were utilized until the World War II era, bringing in approximately $28M of gold for the St. Mary Mining and Standard Companies. Today, the abandoned mine shafts and their wooden ladders are covered with grates, and are home to owls and pigeons; however, an active gold mining operation still exists at Soledad Mountain, to the immediate southeast.
