Tunnel Vision

Hiking to Burro Schmidt Tunnel in the Mojave Desert

Don’t expect logic from oddball desert hermits! At Burro Schmidt Tunnel, that’s to our great benefit. It took 32 years for William “Burro” Schmidt to dig through a mountain in a remote part of the north Mojave as a shortcut for taking his ore to a smelter. Long after new roads rendered it pointless, Schmidt kept at it. He finally broke through in 1938—a truly amazing feat of one-man engineering that we can readily enjoy today.

You’ll find the tunnel, plus the cabin where Burro Schmidt lived, on the northern slopes of Copper Mountain in the El Paso Range down a long dusty road in Last Chance Canyon northeast of the town of Mojave. Schmidt dug the nearly half-mile-long passage through solid granite using only hand tools and an occasional stick of dynamite. His two donkeys aided in hauling rock away—hence the nickname “Burro.”

Visitors are free to enter the tunnel. Headlamps or strong flashlights are a must—there are no lights inside, nor sunlight visible at the far end, since the tunnel makes a turn before opening up. The experience can be fearful and claustrophobic for some, but the challenge is more psychological than physical. The tunnel is structurally sound and the reward is the same far-side vista that must have delighted Burro Schmidt. You emerge onto a south-facing mountain ledge high above Fremont Valley with fantastic views of Koehn Dry Lake (a salt flat) and the El Paso Mountains.

Although most of Schmidt’s homestead has seen better days, his one-room wooden plank shack remains mostly intact. The walls and ceiling inside are covered in layers of vintage product packaging, newspapers, and magazines—some dating to the Depression era—tacked up by Burro himself for insulation.

Final note: Burro never transported any ore; the tunnel itself became his obsession.

STAY: If Burro Schmidt’s tunnel puts you in the mood for more old-time mining experiences, you can  stay overnight in an old miner’s cabin in the nearby “living ghost town” of Randsburg. Several cabins there have been renovated and are now listed as affordable vacation rentals on Airbnb, including this one.

To get to Burro Schmidt Tunnel, take CA-14 about 34 miles north of Mojave to Last Chance Canyon Rd. (EP-15) and turn right. Continue 6.3 miles and bear left when EP-15 joins EP-30. Continue 2.2 miles and turn right on Burro Schmidt Tunnel Rd., a spur that leads to the site. (Other routes require 4WD and high clearance.) Friends of Last Chance Canyon, a nonprofit group, is attempting to preserve and restore the Burro Schmidt site, which is managed by the BLM. Please be respectful and tread lightly. Dog-friendly!

Trending Stories NorCal

View all Stories
  1. Field of Light at Sensorio in Paso Robles

    Light This Way

    Hidden in the bucolic hills of Paso Robles lies one of the greatest light shows on earth. The lighted art exhibition, Sensorio, is as if the rainbow magic of the aurora borealis was plucked from the sky and planted in the fields.

    View
  2. Bikers and walkers on the Bay Area Ridge Trail with the Golden Gate Bridge behind them

    National Park City Walk

    See San Francisco the way locals do by hiking the Presidio, a national park right in the city! Wooded trails, secluded beaches, and epic views of the Golden Gate Bridge feature on this 5.5-mile out-and-back on the Bay Area Ridge Trail. It’s a lovely slice of the City by the Bay.

    View
  3. Bucks Up!

    Come on in, the water is beautiful. Whether you like swimming, kayaking, stand-up paddling, or heading out on a bigger boat, Bucks Lake is a high mountain haven that’s easy to access, blissfully uncrowded, and surrounded by sandy beaches, picnic areas, pines, and aspens.

    View
  4. Surfboards and tents for shade are set up on the beach at Cull Canyon Regional Recreation Area in the Swim Lagoon Area

    Switchbacks and Swimming Holes

    Hike hard, play hard! This 7-mile out-and-back in Cull Canyon Regional Recreation Area is a great workout with payoff vistas and a relaxing post-hike picnic and dip in the water.

    View

Trending Stories SoCal

View all Stories
  1. Bear Hug

    This 5.5-mile loop through Coyote Lake-Harvey Bear Ranch County Park explores one of the newest segments of the acclaimed Bay Area Ridge Trail, one redolent with trees ranging from madrone and manzanita to buckeye and blue elderberry (with a bubbly post-hike bonus).

    View
  2. Two kayakers on Upper Klamath Basin on tour with Sky Lakes Wilderness Adventures

    Zen & the Art of Kayaking

    It’s the most meditative and relaxing experience you’ll ever have on a kayak. Yes, you read that right, a Zen experience on a kayak. It all happens in beautiful Klamath County when you head out on a guided tour with Sky Lakes Wilderness Adventures.

    View
  3. A Rose in the Pines

    A crackling fire, a bottle of wine, a bubbling Jacuzzi tub with a waterfall … now the big question: Marvin Gaye tunes or not? In the morning (ahem) it's breakfast in bed and a leis

    View
  4. Alex Villicana, Villicana Winery and Re:Find Distillery

    Locals' Feature: Alex Villicana

    Tech booms, AI revolutions, okay that’s all fine, but you wanna know what else is really cool? Being a pioneer in a world-famous industry that—in Paso Robles—remains solidly down to earth. When Alex Villicana established Villicana Winery in 1993, he clearly had grape expectations...

    View