Shoshone Road

Shoshone Road is a rough dirt route that connects Big Springs Road to US 93 via its paved northern portion. It winds through pretty rolling hills with mild washboard, plus bumpy sections of exposed bedrock and cobble-like rock that create a rough ride in spots. Minimal vegetation dominates the east end amid expansive high-desert views of the surrounding ranges, including Mt. Wheeler, while sparse junipers appear in the ravines. Highlights include the wide-open scenery and the Minerva townsite, where weathered wooden structures remain from its days as a tungsten mining camp.

Minerva began with silver discoveries in 1869 that briefly organized the Shoshone district before abandonment by 1876; tungsten (scheelite) mining then drove activity under the Minerva Tungsten Corporation during World War I (peaking around 1916–1918) and a major revival by Tungsten Metals Corporation from the mid-1930s through the 1940s, with a company camp of cabins and a mill that supported dozens of workers until the market collapsed and later operations faded by the late 1950s. Shoshone, about 1½ miles north, served as the local post office, school (for Minerva miners’ children), and the Swallow/Shoshone Ranch headquarters, which supplied water to the camp; the ranch remains active today, while the mining site is abandoned.

Dispersed camping is allowed along most of this trail, but there are no established, suitable sites. There is little shade or windbreak along most of the trail amid the open sagebrush and sparse vegetation, although several spur trails leading farther up into the mountains offer some camping opportunities.