2 Best Sights in Death Valley National Park, California

The Rand Mining District first boomed when gold was discovered in the Rand Mountains in 1895. Along with neighboring settlements, it grew further due to the success of the Yellow Aster Mine, which yielded $3 million worth of gold before 1900. Rich tungsten ore, used in World War I to make steel alloy, was discovered in 1907, and silver was found in 1919. Randsburg is one of the few gold-rush communities not to have become a ghost town; the tiny city jail is among the original buildings still standing in this town with a population under 100, and there's a museum that hosts Old West Days the third Saturday in September. In nearby Johannesburg, 1 mile south of Randsburg, spirits are said to dwell in the stunning Old West cemetery in the hills above town.

This tiny 1926 town, the first resort in Death Valley, takes its name from the stovepipe that an early prospector left to indicate where he found water. Although the area has a hotel (rooms from $180), restaurant, convenience store, gas station (fill the tank here if you're heading across the park to its western edge), swimming pool, and RV hookups, you're better off staying in Furnace Creek, which is more central to the park's natural attractions. Off Highway 190, on a 3-mile gravel road immediately southwest, are the multicolor walls of Mosaic Canyon.