A hike into the Mesquite Flat Sand Dunes can be as long or short, arduous or easy as you wish to make it. There is no official trailhead, nor do any maintained trails lead into them. Instead, miles of parking along Highway 190 allow you improvise your own starting point and route into this remarkable 14 square mile landscape.

Clumps of Arrowweed, a member of the Aster family, form the Devils Cornfield on the fringe of the Mesquite Flat Sand Dunes

The Mesquite Flat Sand Dunes are named for the mesquite brush communities growing at its edges

Wind ripples form on dune slopes, changing almost daily

A setting sun behind the Panamint Mountains

A surprising wealth of animal life can exist on the dunes' sparse vegetation

Wind ripples contribute to the dunes' surreal aesthetic

Mesquite Flat Sand Dunes backed by the Funeral Mountains