Trona Pinnacles National Natural Landmark

In San Bernardino County of Southern California, the out-of-this-world formations 3,800 acres of the Trona Pinnacles National Natural Landmark have been used as a backdrop in a number of science-fiction films. There are about 500 towers of various shapes that reach as high as 140 feet above the base.

The formations are the weathered remnants of tufa (a form of calcium carbonate) towers created under water between 10,000 and 80,000 years ago when Searles Lake formed a link in an interconnected chain of Pleistocene lakes stretching from Mono Lake to Death Valley that’s now all dry. Nowadays the elevation is 1,800 feet.

Over 30 film projects a year are shot among the tufa pinnacles, including backdrops for car commercials, sci-fi movies and television series such as Battlestar Galactica, Star Trek V: The Final Frontier, Disney’s Dinosaur, The Gate II: Trespassers, Lost in Space, and Planet of the Apes.

You’ll find this unique place in the western Mojave Desert, 400 miles southeast of the Bay Area. The formations lie nearly seven miles south of California Highway 178, down a graded dirt road that’s passable for most vehicles in dry weather. In or shortly after rainy times, the road may become impassable, even with four-wheel drive. Be cautions: it is easy to get bogged down in the loose sand of the dry washes that cross the area.

Although there are no facilities at the site, primitive camping is permitted. The nearest habitation, 10 miles north, is the town of Trona, where the IMC Chemicals facility extracts borax and other minerals from the dry lake deposits. The closest abundant lodging is in Ridgecrest, about 15 miles to the west. If you stay there, set your alarm. You would not want to miss the sunrise scene.

You can visit Trona Pinnacles for free. It is open year-round, but due to the extreme heat in the late spring and summer months, the temperature can reach 110 and up. The best times to visit are fall, winter and early spring. Visitors should wear hiking boots or good walking shoes, and also make sure to bring plenty of water.

From the Bay Area, you can take highway 5 or 99 south to Bakersfield，then head east on highway 178，about 116 miles, turn right onto Pinnacle Road, the destination will be on the right.