If you are considering a short stopover on your way from the cold northern states or Canada to your winter desert hangout, try Tecopa Hot Springs south of Death Valley National Park and 50 miles north of Baker on California Route 127.
Named for Chief Tecopa of the Paiute Tribe, the springs have been a major crossroads of cattle rustlers, gunslingers, gamblers, cowpokes on cattle drives, missionaries, and ordinary settlers on the Old Spanish Trail (photo above left) throughout the history of the Wild West.Now mostly a sparsely settled ghost town (sparse on living people, not ghosts) the town and springs have seen the boomtown growth of mining interests and the bust of bad times. The healing hot mineral baths of the springs was proclaimed by Chief Tecopa to be free for all, with the springs bathing pools enclosed in buildings (for privacy concerns, there are separate women's and men's baths, no bathing costumes allowed). Today, however there is a small fee collected to help with maintenance and cleaning.
The area's colorful history is evident in building remains along the Old Spanish Trail, the now abandoned talc and gypsum mines, and the nearby China Ranch Date Farm (photo left) now a family run date growing operation that welcomes visitors--where you can re-supply your date stores and sample superb, fresh out-of-the-oven date-and-nut bread set in a verdant oasis near the Amargosa River smack in the middle of the Mojave Desert. It's so hot here in mid-summer that the date pickers work with huge lamps in the middle of the night.
Though there is a campground with hook-ups in the middle of town (what there is of it) conveniently across the street from the hot springs, there is a free 14-day short term BLM designated camping area three miles north of town. The area's historic past and the current quirky combination of residents and snowbirds alone makes Tecopa a worthwhile stopover.
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