Eureka Dunes, Death Valley National Park, California

Eureka Dunes is located at the northern tip of Death Valley National Park in the Eureka Valley — the tallest sand dune in California. The road from Ubehebe Crater takes a fork onto a 45-mile graded dirt road through deep grades, washes, and sand. Subaru-friendly but rattly. Bring a lot of extra gasoline — there's nothing out there, especially coming from the east.

We packed up and headed to the top of the highest dune — the last pitch was steep and slow going: two steps forward, slide back one. As we worked up, we could hear the singing sands — water contained inside the dunes reflects vibrations from rolling sand creating a low humming noise. At the top we watched the sunset. The winds shifted sands covering our tracks within hours.

🎒 Gear for this: Osprey Atmos 50 Backpack · Sawyer Squeeze Water Filter