Tin Mt
Starting Point: halfway between Ubehebe Crater and Race Track. For both these hikes there are a few spots where you can leave the car without blocking the road. As of 2026, there is a wide parking space facing Dry Mt, and there are two small ones near the southern route of Tin Mt and two small ones near the northern route of Tin Mt.
Race Track Rd runs north to south from Ubehebe Crater to Race Track.
From Race Track Rd to the summit the distance is only 4 kms as the condor flies, but the elevation gain is 1300 meters, from little more than 1400m to 2729m (southern route - a little more for the northern route). Coordinates of Tin Mt: N36.88666, -117.45606.
Note that temperatures on Race Track Rd can be significantly lower than in Furnace Creek. You may be cold on top of the mountain when the temperature in Furnace Creek is 30 degrees.
Tin Mt/ Southern Route
This is the popular route.
We found easy parking 12 kms south of Ubehebe Crater at N36.90035, -117.50054.
Cross the "forest" of Joshua trees and head to
36.88075, -117.48909 and you should see a use-trail. The use-trail climbs a series of west-east ridges and drops you onto the wash/arroyo that comes down from Tin Mt. Follow the wash until you see the summit and then head straight up. It takes about 4 hours up and as little as 2.5 hours down.
Tin Mt/ Northern Route
We may have been the first ones to try this, or at least we are the first ones to document it.
From the north. Starting point:
36.94540, -117.48395 (tiny parking for maximum three cars).
Walk up the gentle slope to a "gate" at 36.93516, -117.47266.
At that point you enter a friendly canyon with increasing vegetation. Stay in the canyon and any time you feel there is a fork choose the right side.
The only major obstacle is a headwall/waterfall that looks impassable but it is passable with easy class-3 moves when you get below it. Steep sandy terrain above it may be tedious but it doesn't last a long time. Then you are again into
a canyon, this time a very broad one, and you can choose to stay higher in the vegetation or lower in the sandy wash.
At some point you will feel that Tin Mt is the monolith rising in front of you,
but Tin Mt is actually behind it, slightly to the left.
When you finally see the real summit, you can head straight up or continue in the wash towards an east saddle and then turn left on that ridge to the top.
Six hours up and 4 hours down.
Video from the top of Tin Mt
Dry Mt
Dry Mountain (across the road from Tin Mt) is a little lower at 2,644 meters but a longer hike because of its location.
GPS coordinates from Steve Hall:
parking area 36.886219, -117.505400; the first ridge 36.879746, -117.554568;
final ridge leading to the summit 36.908732, -117.585534;
summit 36.90902, -117.59787.
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