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Saline Valley has been inhabited for thousands of years, petroglyphs can be found throughout the valley.  Native Americans lived here until the early 1900s.

Borax was mined from the salt marsh from 1874 to 1895. Some of the mine pits can still be seen near the dry lakebed.  Salt was also mined here. An aerial tram was built in 1911 to carry the salt over the Inyo Mountains to Keeler in the Owens Valley. The remains of the tram can still be seen today in the Saline Valley.

During the sixties, the hot springs here a popular hippie hangout.  Charles Manson frequented the Saline Valley hot spring before his capture in 1969 at nearby Panamint Valley. He was obsessed with the springs, one of which he believed might be “The Hole,” a bottomless pit leading to an underworld paradise.

Saline Valley is in the northwest corner of Death Valley National Park.

The most popular way to the hot springs is via the North Pass route. The northern pass is higher, but the road is usually better and shorter than South Pass. “Road Closed” signs may be posted. Check road conditions before taking this trip.

Burros eat just about anything, and the coyotes like to steal things.

The warm springs bubble up near the middle of this 100-mile-long desert valley, where the climate is like that of Coachella Valley, including possibly strong winds. There are mountain vistas in all directions and the night sky is without compare.

Beginning in the 1960s, before the area was included within Death Valley National Park, volunteers built concrete tubs and a shower. Those improvements, which could not be built in the National Park today, are accepted by the Park Service, as is the clothing-optional nature of the area. Nudity is certainly not required, and the area is quite family friendly.