Wildrose Charcoal Kilns

"Designed by Swiss engineers and built by Chinese laborers in 1879, these kilns produced charcoal for the Modock Mine smelter, about 30 miles west of here. The kilns closed after only three years of use. Because of their brief life and remote location, these may be the best-preserved examples of charcoal kilns in the West. Workers filled the air-tight kilns with pinyon pine logs (relatively abundant in the area) and fired them. The burning, which reduced the wood to charcoal, took 6-8 days. Cooling took another five days. Wagons then hauled the charcoal to the Modock Mine smelter, where it was used to extract silver and lead from the rich ore from Modock's mines." - US Department of the Interior, National Park Service, Death Valley National Park

To get to the kilns, take the Wildrose Canyon route to or from Death Valley. Drive carefully, because the road is rough and narrow, with pavement missing in places. The last leg of the journey is a dirt road. It is still do-able in a street car. You will pass a campground and ranger station on the way up.

Past the Charcoal Kilns the road gets worse, I don't recommend it without high clearance. However, if you can make it up, there is a great little campground with a fabulous view called Mahogany Flat as well as the trailhead to Telescope Peak.

Visit my website for photos.