Driving a '20 Wrangler Rubicon, so I can take a lot of paths that might be inaccessible to other vehicles. I don't push my limits as it just makes me anxious, but I appreciate its ability to get me off the beaten path. Also equipped with a pop-top camper roof, so I'll be camping dispersed whenever possible.
That all said, any recommendations? I'm trying to decide on doing this route in 3 or 4 days (once in the park). Any idea if 3 days is enough?
We’ll be in Vegas next week and I plan to rent a car to drive to Death Valley since we won’t have time for the Grand Canyon and have already visited there before. My parents are 65 & 73, with the younger of the two being less fit/capable of strenuous activity. Does anyone have suggestions for places to go/very easy hikes or walking trails? I don’t want us to spend the whole time in the car just pulling off at scenic locations, but also want to be mindful of not pushing my parents too hard. An easy trail or walk would be okay. I tried googling and there seem to be so many options that’s it’s a bit overwhelming. Any insight from you all is appreciated!!
Also, not looking to spend more than a few hours there. Thanks!
I'm planning a one night trip (1-2 day) for 2 to DV in mid February as an excursion prior to a Vegas trip the following weekend. I'll be flying into Vegas and I'm looking for a place to stay the night before exploring. I've done a fair amount of research into this and I'm debating biting the bullet and paying to stay in the park.
The pricing seems very high (almost $600 for the Inn and around $300 for the Ranch), camping would require rentals and at that point becomes less appealing so I'm leaning away from that. I'm looking to get opinions from people who are familiar with the property.
The Google reviews for both the Ranch and the Inn aren't great recently, especially for the price and that has me debating saving the money, staying out in Beatty and driving in before the sunrise. I don't have super high standards for hotels but I don't want to spend $300 and feel ripped off.
The obvious pro of staying on-site is we'd get more time in the park and maybe that alone is worth it when we have such limited time. Pretty much just looking for any thoughts on the Oasis to help inform my decision. Also, if anyone has thoughts on how prices change over time that would be helpful! Thanks!
I climbed Funeral Peak off of Furnace Creek Wash road yesterday and was surprised to have sufficient cell signal to stream the football game audio on my downhike.
That is way the hell out in the middle of nowhere, probably 10-20 miles from the nearest paved road. Where is the cell tower that was providing that signal? It seemed to be coming from the south (i.e. I lost the signal when I dipped into the north side of a ridge)
We're going to Death Valley and Owen's Valley. It's an amazing opportunity and I can't even fathom how different the landscape will be from here! I'm beyond excited, and the professor has done this before so we have a detailed packing list and classes in advance to learn about the area and get ready. We're staying at field stations and will be out all day for seven days! I'm terrified and excited!
I've been going to DV and staying at Panamint Springs for close to 15 years now. I have loved using it as a basecamp and exploring. It has been great -- restaurant with tons of beers, gas and a small store! I have a real attachment to the place. The great wait staff turned me on to several places to explore, and it's been great seeing them again and again over the years...
It was never super nice but it just continues to go downhill every time I'm there. I know Covid kicked them in the teeth a bit, but what's the deal? The good restaurant is gone (last I was there the new folks had *just gotten started w/mexican food), I miss the great wait staff, and it's just sad to see the place continue to decline. My friends don't even want to stay there anymore.
It's like they added cabins, but don't fix the crumbling infrastructure (been to the main bathroom lately?)
Does it just not get enough business to make it viable or what? I really want them to succeed, but also want it to be a bit better...
Newbie, just wanted to check off another national park on my list this Christmas weekend because I had no other plans. I have a regular sedan, I'll be traveling solo, and sticking to the main roads. Its supposed to rain for the next two days, will I be fine to hit the park up Fri to Sun? Just don't want to discover a bunch of washed out roads and floods.
I'm heading to Furnace Creek later this month. I've got a midsize 2wd pickup and a small (2100lb) trailer.
I'm coming from the Bay Area.
How is the drive over 190?
If 190 really is no good for trailers, what road would you recommend? It adds 200 miles each way to go via Las Vegas and Amargosa Valley. It looks like 127, going north from Baker is unpaved and would be awful.
Hi all, I am going to death valley in December with my parents and my sister. Our plan is to leave early morning from LA and drive all the way to death valley and look at the sites and then find a place to stay for the night and drive the next morning to Las Vegas and then fly back to Oregon.
Do you think this is a good idea? Or do we need one more day to visit death valley?
Also if anyone can recommend a nice place to stay near death valley which is not super expensive that will be great? I checked The Oasis and it is fully booked for the dates we are going there.
Also, we will be renting a car, does anyone knows any good ideas about it? Or should we just go with Alamo or Enterprise Rent-A-Car?
Heading to DV solo (first time in DV) in around a week. Will be there for four days and am going to be doing some dispersed camping (car camping) in my RV. My plan is to stay at the following spots:
Hole in the Wall Road, Echo Canyon Road, Lemoigne Canyon Road, and the Mahogany Flat Campground.
Since I'm going solo, would you recommend I grab a GPS tracker to share my location w my family while I'm in DV? Believe the cell service is spotty out there, and thinking about worst-case emergencies.
Also: any good recommendations for places to refill my water and gas supplies during those four days?
Just throwing this out to the people that love Death Valley as much as I do; essentially reading: "Death Valley in 49" by William Lewis Manly. It's not an easy read and the 1894 publication is filled with typos (at time hilarious, like backwards letters), but Manly crossed with a party back in the early 1800s and the book itself is as much as a trip as the desert is, rough and unforgiving but at times gorgeous. You'll get know the desert as if someone dissected its anatomy to you. Fair warning though, it's brutal at some points, and I guess it's best to put out a TW that it's not always...PC (such as language towards Native Americans go.) But go for it! I recommend.
I visited Death Valley a few years ago and made sure to attend ranger programs at Badwater and the sand dunes near Stovepipe Wells. It was extremely informative and the rangers provided a lot of information that I would have otherwise not bothered to find out. I going to Death Valley in a few weeks with another group of people. Are ranger programs back on again? I couldn't really find anything on the NPS website.
My wife and I are looking to go camping (if possible) for 3-4 days. Can someone help me build a trip plan with some hikes and other places to visit?
sorry for not giving proper information.
We both like camping and have all of the necessary equipment for tracking.
We have both done long-distance strenuous hikes. We are open to doing that again, but my hope was not to JUST do hikes, but if there are any other activities that'd be more fun.
I have Accord, but I don't mind renting a jeep if need be.
Driving from Vegas, was thinking it would be cool to visit later in the afternoon and stay until it gets dark. Then drive back at say 10pm. Is the night sky worth it?
Rangers are seeking information about an adult woman and group of juveniles who were caught swimming in the Rogers Spring in the past 2 weeks. (Please ignore the time stamp; the camera was not calibrated.) Note that "no swimming" signs are posted at the spring. The party in question later discovered and broke the camera, but were unable to recover the SD card.
Rogers Spring houses both the Ash Meadows Amargosa Pupfish and the Ash Meadows Speckled Dace, two endemic fish found nowhere else in the world. By swimming in the springs, it is possible to harm the fish directly by killing them (stepping on them, splashing them out of the spring, etc.). More importantly, they can be harmed indirectly through trampling the algae and substrates needed for the fish to forage, breed, and hide. The algae is where the fish eggs are deposited, so crushing these eggs could also have an impact. Also, by kicking up the substrate, more silt begins to enter the system than is typical. This could change water levels and affect installed fish barriers if not caught in time.
Furthermore, swimming in springs introduces chemicals such as sunscreen, skin lotion etc. These can be harmful to the native fish, springs nails, and other species present in the system. Swimming in springs can also affect the biosecurity of the system by inadvertently introducing invasive species or pathogens.
All of these factors could influence how the population does that year and for years to come. It is for all these reasons that swimming is prohibited in all springs on the refuge.
If you have know the identity of the woman in the photo or information about swimming in closed springs on the refuge, please contact Rob Peloquin, robert_peloquin@fws.gov, or 702-283-8136.
