Death Valley Junction, California

Population 4

Located near the East Entrance of the famed national park, Death Valley Junction has just four (and sometimes fewer) full time residents. That said, during the borax mining boom in the early 1900s there were 300 people living there. In 1960 New York City ballet dancer Marta Becket had a flat tire there and fell in love with the desert. She later transformed the former dorm and recreation hall into the Amargosa Hotel and the Amargosa Opera House (www.amargosaoperahouse.org). She painted murals throughout the hotel, and even painted an audience on the walls of the opera house. Today the murals still grace the walls of the hotel, and tours of the opera house are available. Both venues have level access so it’s a nice stop for wheelchair-users and slow walkers. Unfortunately the Amargosa Café, which is located next door, has an eight-inch step up to it, but the picnic table in front of the hotel is wheelchair-accessible.