Eagle Mining Co

The Deserts


Pan for gold and be regaled with tales of the hardscrabble life of the town’s early pioneers during an hour-long underground tour through the former Eagle and High Peak gold mines.


Lonely Planet's must-see attractions

Nearby The Deserts attractions

1. Foot & Walker Pass Monument

11.57 MILES

Back in the day when the Butterfield Overland stage coach had a hard time making it across this pass, passengers had to temporarily get off and walk –…

2. Vallecito County Park

16.08 MILES

This pretty little park in a refreshing valley on the southern edge of Anza-Borrego Desert State Park centers on a replica of a historic Butterfield Stage…

3. Borrego Art Institute

17.64 MILES

This nonprofit outfit in a modernist glass-fronted bungalow in central Borrego Springs presents desert-themed paintings, sculpture and crafts created by…

4. Anza-Borrego Desert State Park

17.7 MILES

The largest state park in California, Anza-Borrego comprises a staggering 640,000 acres of land punctuated with hiking trails, canyons, palm groves and…

5. Peg Leg Smith Monument

22.9 MILES

The pile of rocks is actually a monument to Thomas 'Peg Leg’ Smith – one-legged mountain man, fur trapper, horse thief, con artist and Wild West legend…

6. Palomar Mountain State Park

23.3 MILES

To stretch your legs after visiting the ridgetop Palomar Observatory, nearby Palomar Mountain State Park has forested hikes along panoramic-view trails…

7. San Diego Zoo Safari Park

23.48 MILES

Take a walk on the 'wild' side at this 1800-acre open-range zoo, sibling of the San Diego Zoo, in the suburban San Pasqual Valley. Giraffes graze, lions…

8. Palomar Observatory

23.59 MILES

High on Palomar Mountain, at an elevation of 5500ft to avoid light pollution, the Palomar Observatory is simply spectacular – as large as Rome’s Pantheon, with…