By the early 20th century, the publicity surrounding Death Valley enticed many to experience the desert. Railroads opened up the region and the automobile made its appearance by 1904, in spite of the lack of roads.
One of the earliest roads through Death Valley's was built by Bob Eichbaum in 1926 to allow travelers to reach his newly-opened resort at Stovepipe Wells. The attraction of comfortable accommodations in the warm desert climate attracted hundreds of winter vacationers to his "Bungalette City." It featured electricity, a swimming pool, golf course, and spectacular vistas of the desert landscape.
The Pacific Coast Borax Company found itself in the campground business as tourists in the early 1920s came to the green oasis of the Furnace Creek Ranch to settle for the night. The company eventually built small cabins on its land, as well as the Furnace Creek Inn and the Death Valley View Hotel, to provide accommodations for the increasing tourist trade.
By the time Death Valley National Monument was created in 1933, tourism had been a mainstay of the local economy for more than a decade. Picture postcards, travel books, and even feature films made on location in Death Valley enticed even more to enjoy a vacation in the desert.
Today's tourists enjoy modern accommodations, air conditioning, paved roads, museums, 10,000 years of human history and a billion years of geological wonders in this national park.
