The historical Burro Schmidt Tunnel is located in the El Paso Mountains of the northern Mojave Desert, in eastern Kern County, southern California.

It is a 0.5-mile (0.80 km) mining tunnel dug with hand tools and dynamite over a 38-year period by William "Burro" H. Schmidt (1871–1954).

Its southern adit (portal) overlooks the Fremont Valley, Koehn Dry Lake, and the ghost towns of Garlock and Saltdale.

By 1938 he had achieved his "goal", having dug through nearly 2,500 feet (760 m) of solid granite using only a pick, a shovel, and a four-pound hammer for the initial section, and carefully placed dynamite with notoriously short fuses for the majority portion.

[citation needed] The historical buildings on the mining claim site were transferred by Tonie Seger's will to her granddaughter, Cheryl Kelly.

[8] The second half of Episode #509 of California's Gold with Huell Howser, which was first aired in September 1994, is devoted to the Burro Schmidt Tunnel.